Welfare Reform Bill

House of Commons

Session 2006 - 07
Internet Publications
Other Bills before Parliament

Welfare Reform Bill

Welfare Reform Bill
Part 3 — Social security administration: general
33

(3)
A relevant purpose is any prescribed purpose which relates to a claim
which is made or which could be made for a specified benefit.
(4)
Social security information means—
(a)
information relating to social security, child support or war
pensions;
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(b)
evidence obtained in connection with a claim for or an award of
a specified benefit.
(5)
A specified benefit is a benefit which is specified in regulations for the
purposes of this section.
(6)
Expressions used in this section and in section 7A have the same
10
meaning in this section as in that section.
(7)
This section does not affect any power which exists apart from this
section to use for one purpose social security information obtained in
connection with another purpose.”
(2)
In section 7A of that Act—
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(a)
in subsection (1) after paragraph (b) insert—
“(c)
as regards any relevant benefit, for claims for that
benefit to be made to—
(i)
a county council in England,
(ii)
a person providing services to a county council
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in England, or
(iii)
a person authorised to exercise any function a
county council in England has under this
section.”;
(b)
in subsection (2) after paragraph (d) insert—
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“(e)
the verification by a relevant authority of information or
evidence supplied to or obtained by the authority in
connection with a claim for or an award of a relevant
benefit.”;
(c)
in subsection (3) for “and (d)” substitute “, (d) and (e)”;
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(d)
in subsection (3)(a) for “(1)(a) or (b)” substitute “(1)(a), (b) or (c)”;
(e)
in subsection (6) for paragraph (c) substitute—
“(c)
“relevant authority” means—
(i)
a Minister of the Crown;
(ii)
a local authority;
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(iii)
a county council in England;
(iv)
a person providing services to a person
mentioned in sub-paragraphs (i) to (iii);
(v)
a person authorised to exercise any function of a
local authority relating to housing benefit or
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council tax benefit;
(vi)
a person authorised to exercise any function a
county council in England has under this
section;”.
(3)
In Part 1 of Schedule 4 to that Act (persons employed in social security
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administration or adjudication), under the heading “Local authorities etc” after
the entry relating to a person authorised under section 139A(1) of that Act

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Part 3 — Social security administration: general
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insert—
     “A member, officer or employee of a county council in England who
exercises—
(a)
any function conferred on the county council by regulations
made under section 7A of this Act;
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(b)
any function in connection with a purpose specified in
regulations made under section 7B of this Act.
A person authorised to exercise any such function of such a county
council or an employee of such a person.”
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Information relating to certain benefits
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(1)
Information falling within subsection (3) may be supplied by the person who
holds it to a person falling within subsection (4) for purposes connected with
the application of grant paid under a relevant enactment towards expenditure
incurred by the recipient of the grant—
(a)
in providing, or contributing to the provision of, welfare services, or
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(b)
in connection with such welfare services.
(2)
Information falling within subsection (3) which is held for a prescribed
purpose by a person falling within any of paragraphs (c) to (h) of subsection (4)
may be—
(a)
used by that person for another prescribed purpose;
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(b)
provided to another such person for use in relation to the same or
another prescribed purpose.
(3)
The information is any information which is held by a person falling within
subsection (4) relating to—
(a)
income support;
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(b)
income-based jobseeker’s allowance;
(c)
income-related employment and support allowance;
(d)
state pension credit;
(e)
housing benefit;
(f)
welfare services.
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(4)
The persons are—
(a)
the Secretary of State;
(b)
a person providing services to the Secretary of State;
(c)
an authority administering housing benefit;
(d)
a person authorised to exercise any function of such an authority
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relating to housing benefit;
(e)
a person providing to such an authority services relating to housing
benefit;
(f)
a local authority to which any grant is or will be paid as mentioned in
subsection (1);
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(g)
a person authorised to exercise any function of such an authority
relating to the grant;
(h)
a person providing to such an authority services relating to any such
function.
(5)
Information which is supplied under subsection (1) to an authority or other
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person falling within subsection (4)(f), (g) or (h) may be supplied by the

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Part 3 — Social security administration: general
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authority or person to a person who provides qualifying welfare services for
purposes connected with the provision of those services.
(6)
A person provides qualifying welfare services if—
(a)
he provides welfare services,
(b)
a local authority contribute or will contribute to the expenditure
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incurred by him in providing those services, and
(c)
that contribution is or will be derived (in whole or in part) from any
grant which is or will be paid to the authority as mentioned in
subsection (1).
(7)
A relevant enactment is an enactment specified by order made by the Secretary
10
of State; and the power to make an order under this subsection is exercisable
by statutory instrument subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of
either House of Parliament.
(8)
In subsection (2) a prescribed purpose is a purpose relating to housing benefit
or welfare services which is prescribed by regulations made by the Secretary of
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State by statutory instrument subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution
of either House of Parliament.
(9)
The power to make an order or regulations under this section includes
power—
(a)
to make different provision for different purposes;
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(b)
to make such incidental, supplementary, consequential, transitional or
saving provision as the Secretary of State thinks necessary or expedient.
(10)
In this section—
“income-based jobseeker’s allowance” has the same meaning as in the
Jobseekers Act 1995 (c. 18);
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“income-related employment and support allowance” means an income-
related allowance under Part 1;
“local authority” means—
(a)
in relation to England, a county council, a district council, a
London borough council, the Common Council of the City of
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London or the Council of the Isles of Scilly;
(b)
in relation to Wales, a county council or a county borough
council;
“welfare services” includes services which provide support, assistance,
advice or counselling to individuals with particular needs.
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(11)
In the Local Government Act 2000 (c. 22), sections 94 (disclosure of
information) and 95 (unauthorised disclosure of information) are omitted.
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Unlawful disclosure of certain information
(1)
A person to whom subsection (2) applies is guilty of an offence if he discloses
without lawful authority any information—
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(a)
which comes to him by virtue of section 41(1), (2) or (5), and
(b)
which relates to a particular person.
(2)
This subsection applies to—
(a)
a person mentioned in section 41(4)(f) to (h);
(b)
a person who provides qualifying welfare services (within the meaning
45
of section 41(6));

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(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
paragraph (a) or (b).
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(3)
A person guilty of an offence under this section shall be 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
months or a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum or both.
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(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)
to disclose information which has previously been disclosed to the
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public with lawful authority.
(5)
It is a defence for a person charged with an offence under this section to prove
that at the time of the alleged offence—
(a)
he believed that he was making the disclosure in question with lawful
authority and had no reasonable cause to believe otherwise, or
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(b)
he 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
section 123 of the Administration Act.
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(7)
This section does not affect that section.
(8)
Until the commencement of section 282 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 (c. 44)
(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 six months.
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Overpayment recovery
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Recovery of overpaid benefit: Great Britain
(1)
Section 71 of the Administration Act (overpayments) is amended as follows.
(2)
Subsection (5) (recovery of overpayments paid into account not recoverable
under regulations under subsection (4) unless determination of amount is
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reversed on appeal etc. and overpayment is determined on the appeal etc. to be
so recoverable) ceases to have effect.
(3)
In subsection (5A) (recovery of overpayments paid in consequence of
misrepresentation etc. not recoverable under subsection (1) unless
determination of amount is reversed on appeal etc.) for “under subsection (1)
40
above” substitute “under subsection (1) or under regulations under subsection
(4)”.