461.This section enables the Secretary of State to make regulations to supply social security information about state pension credit recipients to energy suppliers, or persons providing services to the energy suppliers or Secretary of State.
462.The regulations may authorise energy suppliers to share their customer information with the Secretary of State or a service provider. This is intended to enable either the Secretary of State or a third-party to match DWP and energy supplier data to identify the relevant state pension credit recipients.
463.The regulations may also set out a number of matters including the purposes for which information may be supplied and used, and provide for a criminal offence to penalise the unauthorised disclosure of this information.
464.The regulations will be subject to the draft affirmative resolution procedure.