Clause 48 - Entry to premises under warrant
Consumer Credit Bill
12:00 pm

Gerry Sutcliffe (Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Employment Relations and Consumer Affairs), Department of Trade and Industry; Bradford South, Labour)

The clause covers the circumstances and procedures that allow an enforcement officer to enter premises under a warrant obtained by the OFT. In certain circumstances, the OFT can apply to a justice of the peace for a warrant to search premises; in Scotland, it can apply to the sheriff. It must have reasonable grounds to believe that information on those premises might be required under new section 36B and that, if a requirement to provide information were imposed, it would not be complied with or that the documents or information in question would be tampered with.

The officer responsible for carrying out the warrant would be able to enter and search the premises. They could seize and detain the information or documents of the description specified in the warrant and take steps to secure the protection of the information or   documents in question and prevent interference with them, including the use of reasonable force. The officer may be accompanied by any person he thinks necessary and take any equipment that he thinks necessary.