Welfare Reform Bill (HC Bill 197)

(9) An Order under this section may amend, repeal or revoke any primary or

secondary legislation.

(10) A statutory instrument containing an Order under this section is subject to

35annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.

(11) In this section references to tax credits are to child tax credit or working tax

credit or both.

(12) In this section references to primary or secondary legislation are to such

legislation whenever passed or made.

(13) 40In this section—

• “the Commissioners” means the Commissioners for Her Majesty’s
  
  Revenue and Customs;

• “primary legislation” means an Act (including this Act) or Northern
  
  Ireland legislation;

• 45“secondary legislation” means an instrument made under primary
  
  legislation (including an Order under this section);

Welfare Reform BillPage 90

• “tax credit functions” means functions so far as relating to tax credits
  
  conferred by or under any primary or secondary legislation.

(14) In section 5A(3) of the Ministers of the Crown Act 1975 for “section 5(1)” there

is substituted “section 5(1)(a) or (b)”.

5Information-sharing

123 Information-sharing between Secretary of State and HMRC

(1) This subsection applies to information which is held for the purposes of any

HMRC functions—

(a) by the Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, or

(b) 10by a person providing services to them.

(2) Information to which subsection (1) applies may be supplied—

(a) to the Secretary of State, or to a person providing services to the

Secretary of State, or

(b) to a Northern Ireland Department, or to a person providing services to

15a Northern Ireland Department,

for use for the purposes of departmental functions.

(3) This subsection applies to information which is held for the purposes of any

departmental functions—

(a) by the Secretary of State, or by a person providing services to the

20Secretary of State, or

(b) by a Northern Ireland Department, or by a person providing services to

a Northern Ireland Department.

(4) Information to which subsection (3) applies may be supplied—

(a) to the Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, or

(b) 25to a person providing services to them,

for use for the purposes of HMRC functions.

(5) Information supplied under this section must not be supplied by the recipient

of the information to any other person or body without—

(a) the authority of the Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue and

30Customs, in the case of information supplied under subsection (2);

(b) the authority of the Secretary of State, in the case of information held as

mentioned in subsection (3)(a) and supplied under subsection (4);

(c) the authority of the relevant Northern Ireland Department, in the case

of information held as mentioned in subsection (3)(b) and supplied

35under subsection (4).

(6) Where information supplied under this section has been used for the purposes

for which it was supplied, it is lawful for it to be used for any purposes for

which information held for those purposes could be used.

(7) In this section—

• 40“departmental functions” means functions relating to—

  (a)

  social security,

  (b)

  employment or training, or

  (c)

  the investigation or prosecution of offences relating to tax
  
  credits;

Welfare Reform BillPage 91

• “HMRC function” means any function—

  (a)

  for which the Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue and
  
  Customs are responsible by virtue of section 5 of the
  
  Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005, or

  (b)

  5which relates to a matter listed in Schedule 1 to that Act;

• “Northern Ireland Department” means any of the following—

  (a)

  the Department for Social Development;

  (b)

  the Department of Finance and Personnel;

  (c)

  the Department for Employment and Learning.

(8) 10For the purposes of this section any reference to functions relating to social

security includes a reference to functions relating to—

(a) statutory payments as defined in section 4C(11) of the Social Security

Contributions and Benefits Act 1992;

(b) maternity allowance under section 35 of that Act;

(c) 15statutory payments as defined in section 4C(11) of the Social Security

Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992;

(d) maternity allowance under section 35 of that Act.

(9) This section does not limit the circumstances in which information may be

supplied apart from this section.

(10) 20In section 3 of the Social Security Act 1998 (use of information), in subsection

(1A) after paragraph (d) there is inserted—

“(e) the investigation or prosecution of offences relating to tax

credits.”

124 Information-sharing in relation to provision of overnight care etc

(1) 25This section applies where a local authority holds information falling within

subsection (2) in relation to a person who is receiving or is likely to receive a

relevant service.

(2) The information referred to in subsection (1) is—

(a) information as to the fact of the provision or likely provision of the

30service;

(b) information about when the provision of the service begins or ends or

is likely to do so;

(c) other prescribed information relating to the service provided and how

it is funded (including the extent to which it is funded by the recipient).

(3) 35In this section “relevant service” means—

(a) a service consisting of overnight care in the individual’s own home

provided by or on behalf of a local authority;

(b) a residential care service provided by or on behalf of a local authority;

(c) a service consisting of overnight hospital accommodation.

(4) 40In subsection (3)(c) “hospital accommodation” means—

(a) in relation to England, hospital accommodation within the meaning of

the National Health Service Act 2006 which is provided by a Primary

Care Trust, an NHS trust or an NHS foundation trust;

(b) in relation to Wales, hospital accommodation within the meaning of the

45National Health Service (Wales) Act 2006 which is provided by a Local

Health Board or an NHS trust;

(c) in relation to Scotland, hospital accommodation within the meaning of

the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978 which is provided by a

Health Board or Special Health Board but excluding accommodation in

an institution for providing dental treatment maintained in connection

5with a dental school.

(5) The local authority may—

(a) itself use the information for purposes relating to the payment of a

relevant benefit to the individual, or

(b) supply the information to a person specified in subsection (6) for those

10purposes.

(6) The persons referred to in subsection (5) are—

(a) the Secretary of State;

(b) a person providing services to the Secretary of State;

(c) a local authority;

(d) 15a person authorised to exercise any function of a local authority relating

to a relevant benefit;

(e) a person providing services relating to a relevant benefit to a local

authority.

(7) In this section “relevant benefit” means—

(a) 20universal credit;

(b) housing benefit;

(c) council tax benefit;

(d) any prescribed benefit.

(8) Regulations under subsection (7) may not prescribe a benefit provision for

25which is within the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament.

125 Information-sharing in relation to welfare services etc

(1) The Secretary of State, or a person providing services to the Secretary of State,

may supply relevant information to a qualifying person for prescribed

purposes relating to welfare services.

(2) 30A qualifying person who holds relevant information for a prescribed purpose

relating to welfare services may supply that information to—

(a) the Secretary of State, or

(b) a person providing services to the Secretary of State,

for a prescribed purpose relating to a prescribed benefit.

(3) 35A qualifying person who holds relevant information for a prescribed purpose

relating to welfare services or housing benefit may—

(a) use the information for another prescribed purpose relating to welfare

services or housing benefit;

(b) supply it to another qualifying person for use in relation to the same or

40another prescribed purpose relating to welfare services or housing

benefit.

(4) Relevant information supplied under subsection (1) or (3) to a qualifying

person may be supplied by that person to a person who provides qualifying

welfare services for purposes connected with the provision of those services.

(5) 45In subsection (4) services are qualifying welfare services if—

(a) a local authority, or

(b) a person who is a qualifying person by virtue of subsection (11)(g),

contributes or will contribute to the expenditure incurred in their provision.

(6) The Secretary of State may not exercise the power under subsection (3) to

5prescribe purposes for which information may be supplied by a qualifying

person so as to prescribe an excepted purpose in relation to excepted

information held by a Welsh body.

(7) In subsection (6)—

(a) excepted information is information held by the Welsh body that—

(i) 10is not supplied by, or derived from information supplied to

another person by, the Secretary of State or a person providing

services to the Secretary of State or a person engaged in the

administration of housing benefit, and

(ii) is held only for an excepted purpose;

(b) 15an excepted purpose is a purpose relating to a matter provision for

which—

(i) is within the legislative competence of the National Assembly

for Wales, or

(ii) is made by the Welsh Ministers, the First Minister for Wales or

20the Counsel General to the Welsh Assembly Government.

(8) The Secretary of State may not exercise the power in subsection (3) to prescribe

purposes for which information may be supplied by a qualifying person so as

to prescribe an excepted purpose in relation to excepted information held by a

Scottish body.

(9) 25In subsection (8)—

(a) excepted information is information held by the Scottish body that—

(i) is not supplied by, or derived from information supplied to

another person by, the Secretary of State or a person providing

services to the Secretary of State or a person engaged in the

30administration of housing benefit, and

(ii) is held only for an excepted purpose;

(b) an excepted purpose is a purpose relating to a matter provision for

which is within the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament.

(10) Subsections (1) to (4) do not apply in a case where the supply or use of

35information is authorised by section 124.

(11) In this section “qualifying person” means—

(a) a local authority;

(b) a person authorised to exercise any function of such an authority

relating to welfare services;

(c) 40a person providing services to a local authority relating to welfare

services;

(d) an authority which administers housing benefit;

(e) a person authorised to exercise any function of such an authority

relating to housing benefit;

(f) 45a person providing to such an authority services relating to housing

benefit;

(g) a person prescribed or of a description prescribed by the Secretary of

State.

(12) In this section “relevant information” means information relating to—

(a) universal credit;

(b) state pension credit;

(c) income support;

(d) 5income-based jobseeker’s allowance;

(e) income-related employment and support allowance;

(f) housing benefit;

(g) any prescribed benefit;

(h) welfare services.

(13) 10In this section—

• “welfare services” includes services which provide accommodation,
  
  support, assistance, advice or counselling to individuals with particular
  
  needs, and for these purposes “assistance” includes assistance by
  
  means of a grant or loan or the provision of goods or services;

• 15“person engaged in the administration of housing benefit” means—

  (a)

  an authority which administers housing benefit,

  (b)

  a person authorised to exercise any function of such an
  
  authority relating to housing benefit, or

  (c)

  a person providing to such an authority services relating to
  
  20housing benefit;

• “Scottish body” means—

  (a)

  a local authority in Scotland,

  (b)

  a person authorised to exercise any function of such an
  
  authority relating to welfare services,

  (c)

  25a person providing to a local authority in Scotland services
  
  relating to welfare services, or

  (d)

  a person prescribed or of a description prescribed by the
  
  Secretary of State;

• “Welsh body” means—

  (a)

  30a local authority in Wales,

  (b)

  a person authorised to exercise any function of such an
  
  authority relating to welfare services,

  (c)

  a person providing to a local authority in Wales services
  
  relating to welfare services, or

  (d)

  35a person prescribed or of a description prescribed by the
  
  Secretary of State.

126 Unlawful disclosure of information

(1) A person to whom subsection (2) applies is guilty of an offence if the person

discloses without lawful authority any information—

(a) 40which comes to the person by virtue of section 125(1), (3) or (4), and

(b) which relates to a particular person.

(2) This subsection applies to—

(a) a person mentioned in section 125(11)(a) to (c);

(b) a person who provides qualifying welfare services (within the meaning

45of section 125);

(c) a person who is or has been a director, member of the committee of

management, manager, secretary or other similar officer of a person

mentioned in paragraph (a) or (b);

(d) a person who is or has been an employee of a person mentioned in

5paragraph (a) or (b).

(3) A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable—

(a) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding

2 years or a fine or both, or

(b) on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12

10months or a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum or both.

(4) It is not an offence under this section—

(a) to disclose information in the form of a summary or collection of

information so framed as not to enable information relating to any

particular person to be ascertained from it;

(b) 15to disclose information which has previously been disclosed to the

public with lawful authority.

(5) It is a defence for a person (“D”) charged with an offence under this section to

prove that at the time of the alleged offence—

(a) D believed that D was making the disclosure in question with lawful

20authority and had no reasonable cause to believe otherwise, or

(b) D believed that the information in question had previously been

disclosed to the public with lawful authority and had no reasonable

cause to believe otherwise.

(6) A disclosure is made with lawful authority if it is so made for the purposes of

25section 123 of the Social Security Administration Act 1992.

(7) This section does not affect that section.

(8) Regulations under section 125(11)(g) may include provision for applying the

provisions of this section to—

(a) a person who is a qualifying person within the meaning of section 125

30by virtue of the regulations, or

(b) a person associated with such a qualifying person by reason of the

person’s office or employment or otherwise.

(9) In relation to an offence under this section committed in England and Wales

before the commencement of section 154(1) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003

35(increase in maximum term that may be imposed on summary conviction of

offence triable either way) the reference in subsection (3)(b) to 12 months must

be taken to be a reference to 6 months.

127 Sections 124 to 126: supplementary

(1) In sections 124 and 125—

• 40“benefit” includes any allowance, payment, credit or loan;

• “income-based jobseeker’s allowance” has the same meaning as in the
  
  Jobseekers Act 1995;

• “income-related employment and support allowance” means an income-
  
  related allowance under Part 1 of the Welfare Reform Act 2007;

• 45“local authority” means—

  (a)

  a county or district council in England;

  Welfare Reform BillPage 96

  (b)

  an eligible parish council (within the meaning of Chapter 1 of
  
  Part 1 of the Localism Act 2011);

  (c)

  a London borough council;

  (d)

  the Common Council of the City of London in its capacity as a
  
  5local authority;

  (e)

  the Council of the Isles of Scilly;

  (f)

  a county or county borough council in Wales;

  (g)

  a council constituted under section 2 of the Local Government
  
  etc. (Scotland) Act 1994;

• 10“prescribed” means prescribed in regulations made by the Secretary of
  
  State.

(2) Any power to make regulations under sections 124 and 125 includes power—

(a) to make different provision for different purposes, cases and areas;

(b) to make such incidental, supplemental, consequential, transitional or

15saving provision as the Secretary of State thinks necessary or expedient.

(3) Regulations under sections 124 and 125 must be made by statutory instrument.

(4) A statutory instrument containing regulations under section 124 or 125 is

subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of

Parliament.

(5) 20Until the coming into force of provision for identifying eligible parish councils

within the meaning of Chapter 1 of Part 1 of the Localism Act 2011, the

reference in subsection (1) to an eligible parish council within the meaning of

that Chapter is to be read as a reference to an eligible parish council within the

meaning of Part 1 of the Local Government Act 2000.

(6) 25The following are repealed—

(a) sections 42 and 43 of the Welfare Reform Act 2007;

(b) section 69(2)(a) of that Act.

128 Information-sharing for social security or employment purposes etc

(1) Section 72 of the Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999 (supply of information

30for certain purposes) is amended as follows.

(2) In subsection (2)(b), after “designated” there is inserted “(specifically or by

description)”.

(3) The following are repealed—

(a) in subsection (6), the words “(subject to subsection (6A))”;

(b) 35subsection (6A).

(4) In Schedule 1 to the Education and Skills Act 2008, paragraph 74(3) and (4) is

repealed.

Part 6 Miscellaneous

Tell Us Once

129 Functions of registration service

5In the Registration Service Act 1953, after section 19 there is inserted—

“19A Functions relating to transmission of information to Secretary of State

(1) The functions of a registrar of births and deaths, a superintendent

registrar and the Registrar General include the power to—

(a) transmit information entered in a register of births to the

10Secretary of State, and

(b) verify such information for the Secretary of State,

for the purposes of the service in subsection (2).

(2) That service is a service operated by the Secretary of State by which—

(a) individuals may transmit information about births to the

15Secretary of State, and

(b) that information may be transmitted to other persons by the

Secretary of State.

(3) References in subsections (1) and (2) to the Secretary of State include

persons providing services to the Secretary of State for the purpose of

20the service referred in subsection (2).

(4) This section does not authorise any disclosure which is unlawful—

(a) by virtue of any enactment, or

(b) by reason of the law relating to confidentiality or privacy.”

Child support maintenance

130 25Supporting maintenance agreements

(1) In section 9 of the Child Support Act 1991 (maintenance agreements), after

subsection (2) there is inserted—

“(2A) The Commission may, with a view to reducing the need for

applications under sections 4 and 7—

(a) 30take such steps as it considers appropriate to encourage the

making and keeping of maintenance agreements, and

(b) before accepting an application under those sections, require

the applicant to take reasonable steps to establish whether it is

possible or appropriate to make such an agreement.”

(2) 35In Schedule 5 to the Child Maintenance and Other Payments Act 2008

(maintenance calculations: transfer of cases to new rules), in paragraph 3, after

sub-paragraph (2) there is inserted—

“(3) The Commission may before accepting an application required by

provision under sub-paragraph (2)(b) require the applicant to take

40reasonable steps to establish whether it is possible or appropriate to

make a maintenance agreement (within the meaning of section 9 of

the Child Support Act 1991).”

131 Collection of child support maintenance

(1) The Child Support Act 1991 is amended as follows.

(2) 5In section 4 (child support maintenance)—

(a) in subsection (2), the words from “or” to “made” are repealed;

(b) after subsection (2) there is inserted—

“(2A) The Commission may only make arrangements under

subsection (2)(a) if—

(a) 10the non-resident parent agrees to the arrangements, or

(b) the Commission is satisfied that without the

arrangements child support maintenance is unlikely to

be paid in accordance with the calculation.”

(3) In section 7 (right of child in Scotland to apply for calculation)—

(a) 15in subsection (3), for the words from “person with care” to “made or”

there is substituted “person with care or”;

(b) after subsection (3) there is inserted—

“(3A) The Commission may only make arrangements under

subsection (3)(a) if—

(a) 20the non-resident parent agrees to the arrangements, or