Welfare Reform Bill

Session 2010 - 11
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Other Bills before Parliament

Welfare Reform Bill

Welfare Reform Bill
Part 5 — Social security: general
92

(2)
A 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.
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(3)
A 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
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another 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.
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(5)
In 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
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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 Welsh body.
(7)
In subsection (6)—
(a)
excepted information is information held by the Welsh body that—
25
(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
administration of housing benefit, and
(ii)
is held only for an excepted purpose;
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(b)
an 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
35
the 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.
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(9)
In 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
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administration of housing benefit, and
(ii)
is held only for an excepted purpose;

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(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
information is authorised by section 122.
(11)
In this section “qualifying person” means—
5
(a)
a local authority;
(b)
a person authorised to exercise any function of such an authority
relating to welfare services;
(c)
a person providing services to a local authority relating to welfare
services;
10
(d)
an authority which administers housing benefit;
(e)
a person authorised to exercise any function of such an authority
relating to housing benefit;
(f)
a person providing to such an authority services relating to housing
benefit;
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(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;
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(c)
income support;
(d)
income-based jobseeker’s allowance;
(e)
income-related employment and support allowance;
(f)
housing benefit;
(g)
any prescribed benefit;
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(h)
welfare services.
(13)
In this section—
“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
30
authority relating to housing benefit, or
(c)
a person providing to such an authority services relating to
housing benefit;
“Scottish body” means—
(a)
a local authority in Scotland,
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(b)
a person authorised to exercise any function of such an
authority relating to welfare services,
(c)
a person providing services to a local authority in Scotland
relating to welfare services, or
(d)
a person prescribed or of a description prescribed by the
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Secretary of State;
“Welsh body” means—
(a)
a local authority in Wales,
(b)
a person authorised to exercise any function of such an
authority relating to welfare services,
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(c)
a person providing services to a local authority in Wales
relating to welfare services, or

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(d)
a person prescribed or of a description prescribed by the
Secretary of State;
“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
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means of a grant or loan or the provision of goods or services.
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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)
which comes to the person by virtue of section 123(1), (3) or (4), and
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(b)
which relates to a particular person.
(2)
This subsection applies to—
(a)
a person mentioned in section 123(11)(a) to (c);
(b)
a person who provides qualifying welfare services (within the meaning
of section 123);
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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 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
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 (“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
authority and had no reasonable cause to believe otherwise, or
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(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
section 123 of the Social Security Administration Act 1992.
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(7)
This section does not affect that section.
(8)
Regulations under section 123(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 123
by virtue of the regulations, or
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(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
(increase in maximum term that may be imposed on summary conviction of
5
offence triable either way) the reference in subsection (3)(b) to 12 months must
be taken to be a reference to 6 months.
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Sections 122 to 124: supplementary
(1)
In sections 122 and 123—
“benefit” includes any allowance, payment, credit or loan;
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“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;
“local authority” means—
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(a)
a county or district council in England;
(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
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local 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;
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“prescribed” means prescribed in regulations made by the Secretary of
State.
(2)
Any power to make regulations under sections 122 and 123 includes power—
(a)
to make different provision for different purposes, cases and areas;
(b)
to make such incidental, supplemental, consequential, transitional or
30
saving provision as the Secretary of State thinks necessary or expedient.
(3)
Regulations under sections 122 and 123 must be made by statutory instrument.
(4)
A statutory instrument containing regulations under section 122 or 123 is
subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of
Parliament.
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(5)
Until 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.
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(6)
The following are repealed—
(a)
sections 42 and 43 of the Welfare Reform Act 2007;
(b)
section 69(2)(a) of that Act.