Northgate Public Services UK Limited

NPS Risk Based Verification (RBV)

NPS Risk Based Verification (RBV) allows local authorities using NPS Benefits to check information supplied by claimants for new claim and change in circumstances against a risk model to determine the likelihood of its accuracy.

Features

  • Real-time risk scoring
  • NPS Benefits screens display risk score
  • Local policies are applied within the parameters
  • Change to local policies can be implemented at any time
  • Streamlined evidence requests if CA-B is in use
  • Automated increased risk scores as required under DWP guidelines
  • Fully compliant with HB/CTB S11/2011
  • Full training provided

Benefits

  • Reduces administrative burden, therefore reducing staff costs
  • Faster processing of claims, increasing efficiency
  • RBV details always available in claim context block
  • If CA-B available, makes public input faster and more accurate
  • The only RBV product fully integrated with NPS Benefits

Pricing

£11,500 to £37,000 a licence a year

Service documents

Framework

G-Cloud 12

Service ID

9 3 4 0 3 0 6 9 4 5 5 9 6 8 8

Contact

Northgate Public Services UK Limited Northgate Public Services Frameworks Team
Telephone: 08452 700353
Email: frameworks@northgateps.com

Service scope

Software add-on or extension
Yes
What software services is the service an extension to
NPS Revenues and Benefits
NPS Citizen Access - Benefits
Cloud deployment model
Private cloud
Service constraints
The service is available 24x7, except for planned and emergency maintenance and with 99.5% availability. We will provide at least 24 hours advance notice of any planned maintenance and schedule the work outside Normal Business Hours.
System requirements
  • NPS Benefits is a pre-requisite
  • NPS Benefits service packs must be applied within reasonable timescales
  • Internet connection from NPS Benefits to risk modelling engine infrastructure

User support

Email or online ticketing support
Email or online ticketing
Support response times
Upon receiving a Support Request, but in any event within four working hours during Normal Business Hours, the Service Desk will prioritise the call in accordance with the Service Levels process set out in the NPS Citizens Access - Benefits SaaS Service Description.
User can manage status and priority of support tickets
Yes
Online ticketing support accessibility
WCAG 2.1 A
Phone support
Yes
Phone support availability
9 to 5 (UK time), Monday to Friday
Web chat support
No
Onsite support
Yes, at extra cost
Support levels
Support is available 09.00 to 17:00 inclusive on Working Days, excluding the days between Christmas and New Year.
You will be provided with a login to the NPS Customer Portal where you will be able to raise incidents. All incidents reported will be responded to on-line, however telephone conversations and remote database access may also be required depending on the nature of the incident.
All support provided is undertaken by our staff remotely. All support staff are UK based.
Incidents reported are responded in the following timescales:
• High Priority – 60 minutes
• Normal Priority – 300 minutes
• Low Priority – None
All support is included in the annual SaaS charge.
Support available to third parties
Yes

Onboarding and offboarding

Getting started
NPS with our partner Xantura will provide full training on the use of NPS RBV and advise on implementing the local authority policy within the functionality.

Full documentation / training manuals are provided which are supplemented by on-line help facilities.

From time to time further guidance may be issued as part of new release documentation or Information / Software Release Bulletins
Service documentation
Yes
Documentation formats
PDF
End-of-contract data extraction
All risk based software is only held within the NPS Benefits system, therefore there is no requirement for NPS to extract any data at contract end.
End-of-contract process
There is no end of contract cost to the Local Authority. Once written notice is received from the Authority NPS will remove the ability to call the RBV web service from the contract end date.

Using the service

Web browser interface
Yes
Supported browsers
  • Internet Explorer 10
  • Internet Explorer 11
Application to install
Yes
Compatible operating systems
  • Linux or Unix
  • Windows
Designed for use on mobile devices
No
Service interface
No
API
No
Customisation available
Yes
Description of customisation
There are various system parameters to allow the authority to implement their own local policy for Risk Based Verification. These parameters are available online in the NPS Benefits system. It is the authority’s choice as to who can amend these parameters, but they are normally restricted to the System Administrator

Scaling

Independence of resources
The number of users is proportional to the size of the service. Each client instance is allocated its own computer resources (processing power, memory and storage) in accordance with the size of the organisation. This is sized to enable users to undertake normal operational activities without affecting other users.

Analytics

Service usage metrics
No

Resellers

Supplier type
Not a reseller

Staff security

Staff security clearance
Conforms to BS7858:2012
Government security clearance
Up to Security Clearance (SC)

Asset protection

Knowledge of data storage and processing locations
Yes
Data storage and processing locations
United Kingdom
User control over data storage and processing locations
No
Datacentre security standards
Managed by a third party
Penetration testing frequency
At least once a year
Penetration testing approach
‘IT Health Check’ performed by a CHECK service provider
Protecting data at rest
Other
Other data at rest protection approach
TBC
Data sanitisation process
No
Equipment disposal approach
Complying with a recognised standard, for example CSA CCM v.30, CAS (Sanitisation) or ISO/IEC 27001

Data importing and exporting

Data export approach
There are various batch process which export RBV related data, these are available from the NPS back office functionality. As required by the DWP, SHBE data files also include appropriate RBV details.

RBV data attributes are also available with Business Objects.
Data export formats
Other
Other data export formats
Not applicable
Data import formats
Other
Other data import formats
Not applicable

Data-in-transit protection

Data protection between buyer and supplier networks
IPsec or TLS VPN gateway
Data protection within supplier network
IPsec or TLS VPN gateway

Availability and resilience

Guaranteed availability
The service is available 24x7, except for planned and emergency maintenance, with support response available between 09:00 and 17:00 each Business Day.

NPS SaaS is typically provided at 99.5% availability. There are no service credits available.
Approach to resilience
Available upon request.
Outage reporting
Outages will be treated as a Major Incident (MI) and managed by the ISO20000:2018 certified process. A named user will receive an email and an SMS message notifying them of the status of the MI until resolution. The incident will also be logged on the Service Desk system where the status is also visible to the user.

Identity and authentication

User authentication needed
Yes
User authentication
Username or password
Access restrictions in management interfaces and support channels
We have a Secure Managed Environment which we use to manage all Secure Plus services. This environment has been independently accredited by a CESG-approved accreditor and is completely separated from the Service environment.
Support staff access this environment through devices that have been hardened and locked down according to CESG guidance. Support staff have additional security clearance to SC MOD/NPPV Level 3.
Access restriction testing frequency
At least once a year
Management access authentication
  • 2-factor authentication
  • Dedicated link (for example VPN)
  • Username or password

Audit information for users

Access to user activity audit information
Users have access to real-time audit information
How long user audit data is stored for
User-defined
Access to supplier activity audit information
Users receive audit information on a regular basis
How long supplier audit data is stored for
At least 12 months
How long system logs are stored for
At least 12 months

Standards and certifications

ISO/IEC 27001 certification
Yes
Who accredited the ISO/IEC 27001
BSI
ISO/IEC 27001 accreditation date
28/03/2018; valid until June 2021. Certificate IS 598449.
What the ISO/IEC 27001 doesn’t cover
Not applicable
ISO 28000:2007 certification
No
CSA STAR certification
No
PCI certification
No
Other security certifications
Yes
Any other security certifications
Cyber Essentials Plus

Security governance

Named board-level person responsible for service security
Yes
Security governance certified
Yes
Security governance standards
ISO/IEC 27001
Information security policies and processes
All of our services and processes are carried out in compliance with our ISO27001:2013 certified Information Security Management System (ISMS). The ISMS is supported by a comprehensive set of standards and policies. All staff undertake mandatory annual security and data protection awareness training to ensure they are familiar at all times of the importance of operating in a secure manner and of the policies in place.
The NPS Senior Information Risk Owner (SIRO) operates at board level and has overall responsibility and accountability for all aspect of security governance. The SIRO is supported by an Information Security Steering Group (ISSG) which is headed by the Security Director and has representatives from all areas within the organisation. The ISSG is responsible for agreeing policies with the SIRO and ensuring they are implemented across the business.
An operational Security Working Group (SWG) is responsible for managing any incidents that may occur and in an advisory capacity to provide advice and guidance to the organisation.

Operational security

Configuration and change management standard
Conforms to a recognised standard, for example CSA CCM v3.0 or SSAE-16 / ISAE 3402
Configuration and change management approach
We have an ISO20000:2018 certified service management system. The components of the service are created as Configuration Items and added to our Configuration Management Database when the Change Request has been completed. As part of the Change Management Process, when future Changes affect the components our CMDB is updated accordingly throughout the lifetime, up to and including decommissioning and disposal.
We hold a weekly Technical Change Advisory Board, which is attended by at least one member of the Security Team, who will assess any security implications.
Vulnerability management type
Supplier-defined controls
Vulnerability management approach
We have Symantec Endpoint Protection anti-virus software installed which assesses potential threats to our services. We deploy patches to our services in a timely manner. Critical security patches are applied as soon as possible, and all other patching is done on a quarterly cycle. Our Security Team has signed up to various security alert subscriptions, alerting us to potential threats that may affect our services.
Protective monitoring type
Supplier-defined controls
Protective monitoring approach
We use the protective monitoring tool LogRhythm to identify potential compromises. We have a team of Security Administrators who regularly review the audit logs and take relevant action.
When a potential compromise has been identified, it is reviewed by the Security Team and an investigation is carried out. This may result in a Major Incident or a Service Change being raised, and these are managed in accordance with the relevant process.
Speed of incident response is dependent on the severity, any critical incidents are prioritised and an emergency remedial plan will be put in place.
Incident management type
Conforms to a recognised standard, for example, CSA CCM v3.0 or ISO/IEC 27035:2011 or SSAE-16 / ISAE 3402
Incident management approach
Incident Management is part of our ISO20000:2018 certified Service Management system.
All incidents are handled within the same process. Users report incidents through the Service Desk, and a Security Incident document is then raised. This is reviewed by the Security Team and is managed in accordance with the Incident Management Process.
At regular times Incident Reports are provided to the user, and once the Incident is closed a full report is produced which is used to identify any lessons learnt.

Secure development

Approach to secure software development best practice
Conforms to a recognised standard, but self-assessed

Public sector networks

Connection to public sector networks
No

Pricing

Price
£11,500 to £37,000 a licence a year
Discount for educational organisations
No
Free trial available
No

Service documents