Briefly describe the initiative/ project/service; please include your aims and objectives

The National Right to Buy (RTB) Anti?Fraud Service is a sector?leading partnership between the National Anti?Fraud Network (NAFN), hosted by Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council, and National Hunter, a consortium of more than 90 financial institutions. The initiative was established in response to a growing challenge within the Government’s Right to Buy scheme, where councils were increasingly encountering suspicious applications but had no lawful route to access the financial intelligence needed to verify concerns. This gap left local authorities exposed, limited their ability to protect housing stock and created opportunities for organised fraud.

Through close collaboration, NAFN and National Hunter developed a secure, legally compliant referral gateway that enables councils to access financial intelligence that was previously inaccessible. This partnership provides investigators with the information they need to confirm or challenge applications and make confident, evidence?based decisions.

The aims were clear from the outset:

prevent fraud within the Right to Buy scheme

• give investigators access to financial intelligence they could not previously obtain
• strengthen public sector capacity to enforce against housing fraud
• support wider safeguarding and financial integrity across housing and tenancy

This initiative directly reflects the principles of the Partner Excellence Award, demonstrating how a strong, trusted and innovative cross?sector partnership can transform a critical public service. NAFN’s collaboration with National Hunter has reshaped how councils assess risk, make decisions and protect public assets, delivering outcomes that neither organisation could have achieved alone.

What are the key achievements?

The partnership has delivered significant and measurable results for local authorities, housing investigators and the wider financial community. Since its launch in 2017, the service has prevented more than £6 million in fraudulent RTB applications. Individual cases highlight the impact: a £167,000 application was refused after false residency was uncovered, and a£240,000 claim was blocked due to undisclosed property ownership. These decisions directly protected public funds and prevented valuable housing stock from being transferred into fraudulent ownership.

The strength of the partnership was further demonstrated during the Covid 19 pandemic, when the model was rapidly expanded to support business grant investigations. Using the same secure infrastructure, councils were able to identify mule accounts and prevent £29 million in attempted fraud. This adaptability showcased the value of the collaborative model and its relevance beyond the housing sector.

The service has also improved the quality and consistency of investigations. Councils now have access to financial intelligence that confirms or challenges applications, reducing delays and increasing confidence in refusals, escalations and enforcement. Investigators report faster turnaround times, clearer decision-making and a more robust audit trail.

The partnership continues to evolve. In 2025, the service expanded to support shared ownership and subletting abuse, reflecting the changing nature of housing fraud. Based on current usage and historic trends, projected savings for 2025 alone are expected to exceed £2 million.

Authorities describe the service as “game changing”, citing the assurance, consistency and professionalism that the partnership has brought to the sector. The collaboration has embedded standardised, legally compliant processes across councils, reducing risk and strengthening enforcement.

How Innovative is your initiative?

The National RTB Anti-Fraud Service is innovative because it redefines how public bodies and financial institutions can work together to protect public assets. Before its creation, councils had no lawful route to obtain the financial insight needed to verify suspicious RTB applications. The partnership between NAFN and National Hunter bridged this long-standing gap by creating a secure, compliant and practical mechanism for intelligence sharing.

The two-way referral model is central to its innovation. Local authorities submit cases to NAFN, which reviews each application for investigative merit and legal integrity. Cases are then shared with the National Hunter’s network of financial institutions, who can confirm or challenge the application’s legitimacy. In return, financial institutions can raise concerns with public bodies when mortgage or account activity suggests deception. This structured, trusted channel between local government and the financial sector had never existed before.

The partnership also demonstrated innovation through its adaptability. During the pandemic, the model was expanded to support business grant investigations, preventing £29 million in losses. This showed that the approach was not only effective but flexible enough to be applied to new and emerging risks.

Innovation is also evident in the service’s support for investigators. The NAFN Academy provides training and guidance to embed the service into day-to-day practice, while intelligence alerts and policy briefings ensure practitioners stay informed about trends and risks.

The initiative continues to evolve, with recent expansion into shared ownership and subletting abuse. The partnership has set a new standard for how intelligence can be shared across sectors to prevent fraud before it happens.

What are the key learning points?

The initiative has generated valuable learning that can be applied across the public sector. The first lesson is the importance of creating lawful, secure and trusted channels for intelligence sharing. Councils had long recognised the need for financial insight but lacked a mechanism to obtain it. Through this partnership, a compliant, proportionate and easy-to-use model was developed that overcame long-standing barriers.

A second key learning point is the value of cross-sector collaboration. The partnership between NAFN and National Hunter brought together public sector investigators and private sector financial institutions in a way that had not been achieved before. This collaboration created a shared understanding of risk and a more coordinated response to fraud, demonstrating that private sector intelligence can be used safely and effectively to support public sector decision-making.

The initiative also highlighted the importance of adaptability. The rapid expansion of the model during the pandemic demonstrated that a well-designed service can be repurposed quickly to meet new challenges. This flexibility is now built into the approach, enabling the service to support emerging risks such as shared ownership and subletting abuse.

Sustainability has been another key learning point. The cost recovery model ensures the service is financially viable, while the NAFN Academy provides ongoing training and resources to embed the approach into everyday practice. Intelligence alerts and policy briefings help maintain consistency and support continuous improvement.

Finally, the initiative has shown that innovation does not always require new technology; sometimes it requires rethinking relationships, processes and access to information. By building a strong, trusted partnership and a simple but powerful mechanism for intelligence sharing, the service has delivered long-term benefits that can be replicated across other areas of fraud prevention.