Service Overview

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What services does NAFN offer?

Our core data and intelligence service provides a secure, single point of contact to access a wide range of information providers using robust legal gateways and processes that meet the highest standard of legislative compliance.

Key services you may be able to access include:

Investigatory Powers Act 2016, acquisition of communications data service (used only for the prevention and detection of crime)
Authorised Officer Services including Prevention of Social Housing Fraud Act 2013 and Council Tax Reduction Scheme Regulations 2013
Access to our overnight service for DVLA current vehicle keeper details
National Automatic Number Plate Recognition (Trading Standards Only)
Direct access to TransUnion and Equifax providing instant retrieval of credit reports and bank account verification and validation; access to Experian Reports
Sanction Information Database (SiD, National database holding all trading standards prosecutions, cautions and penalties)
National Register of Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Revocations, Refusals and Suspensions (NR3S)
Intelligence Database

NAFN provides public-sector organisations with a trusted, cost-effective and legally compliant route to accessing data, intelligence and specialist expertise that can support the prevention and detection of fraud and crime, debt recovery and the protection of public funds and assets.

The strength of NAFN is its ability to provide a single, secure point of access to a wide range of information providers, using established legal gateways and processes. This means members can obtain information efficiently and appropriately without each organisation having to develop and maintain its own arrangements, expertise and relationships with multiple data providers.

For public sector organisations, this supports robust due diligence and verification across areas such as payments, grants, employment, procurement and tenancies, as well as investigations into fraud, crime and debt recovery. For housing providers in particular, this can support tenancy verification, housing fraud investigations and the recovery of social housing where misuse has been identified.

There is also significant value in the collective strength of the membership. NAFN can negotiate on behalf of members, provide access to nationally available intelligence and data more efficiently and share intelligence alerts, best practice and learning across the public sector. This helps individual organisations tackle issues that may cross organisational or geographical boundaries.

Importantly, NAFN is a not-for-profit public sector service designed around the needs of its members, with a focus on value for money, collaboration, continuous improvement and protecting the public purse.

The benefits of NAFN extend well beyond individual teams. We offer a corporate licence because we provide services that can support a wide range of public-sector functions. By helping organisations verify information, identify and investigate fraud and crime, recover public money and protect public assets, NAFN helps public bodies make better-informed decisions and direct limited resources towards those who genuinely need them.

Members should expect NAFN to act as an extension of their own organisation, providing access to specialist knowledge, experience, data and intelligence when they need it. NAFN specifically states that its service team is available by telephone and email and will support members in identifying and accessing the services most likely to deliver the best results.

Members can expect:

Legal and compliant services
NAFN places strong emphasis on lawful data acquisition, legislative compliance, appropriate processes and professional standards.
Access to expertise and support
Members have access to a specialist team with knowledge of the services, legislation and processes involved. NAFN also provides training, webinars and best-practice resources to support public sector organisations.
Secure and efficient access to intelligence
Members can access a broad range of data and intelligence services through NAFN, including credit information, vehicle keeper information, communications data where legally authorised, intelligence databases and services supporting housing fraud and regulatory activity.
Value for money
NAFN’s shared-service model can reduce the costs associated with individual organisations procuring services, developing processes and maintaining specialist expertise independently. Our corporate licence also provides access to services without individual additional licence fees for the relevant services.
A voice and a collaborative network
Members can expect NAFN to represent their interests, work collaboratively with stakeholders and respond to emerging threats and changing member needs. Our purpose and values explicitly emphasise putting members first, advocacy, collaboration and continuous improvement.
Continuous development
NAFN is not simply a data-access service. We aim to evolve our services as legislation, technology, fraud methodologies and members’ needs change. Training and new service development are intended to ensure that members can continue to use intelligence effectively and obtain better outcomes.