Clause 42
Welfare Reform Bill
5:45 pm
Adam Afriyie (Windsor, Conservative)
I want to make two or three brief points. The clause appears to bar the unlawful disclosure of certain information by people involved in the use of the information. Essentially, it aims to stop the unlawful disclosure of information when disclosure is probably enabled by the previous two clauses. The third party organisations and private companies that may be employed in the use of information and the delivery of welfare services will clearly have access to the information. I seek some reassurance on the controls on the employees of those third party organisations. Will criminal record checks be compulsory? I should like some information on the vetting of employees in third party organisations to which services may be contracted out.
This is a “techy” point, but I am curious to know the difference between clause 42 and section 123 of the Social Security Administration Act 1992, which it clearly seeks to reflect. If there are any differences, what is the reason for them?
My final question is on budgets. It is intended to promote take-up, but the clause says that it will be unlawful to disclose information. Inquiries and monitoring will incur costs, so from which budget will those costs be paid? I appreciate that the costs will not be significant or enormous, but will they be paid by local authorities, third party suppliers, or the DWP?