Welfare Reform Act 2012

128 Information-sharing between Secretary of State and DPP

(1) The Secretary of State may supply social security information to a person specified in subsection (2) for use for a purpose specified in subsection (3).

(2) The persons referred to in subsection (1) are—

(a) the Director of Public Prosecutions;

(b) a person appointed under section 5 of the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985 (conduct of prosecutions on behalf of Crown Prosecution Service).

(3) The purposes referred to in subsection (1) are—

(a) the institution or conduct of criminal proceedings which relate wholly or partly to social security matters;

(b) the giving of advice to any person on any matter relating to criminal proceedings, or criminal offences, which relate wholly or partly to social security matters;

(c) the exercise in relation to social security matters of functions assigned to the Director of Public Prosecutions under section 3(2)(g) of the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985;

(d) the exercise of functions of the Director of Public Prosecutions under Part 2, 5 or 8 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.

(4) The reference in subsection (1) to the Secretary of State includes a person providing services to the Secretary of State.

(5) This section does not limit the circumstances in which information may be supplied apart from this section.

(6) In this section—

• “social security information” means information held for the purposes of any of the Secretary of State’s functions relating to social security matters;

• “social security matters” means—

  (a)

  social security (including the payments and allowances referred to in section 127(8)),

  (b)

  tax credits, and

  (c)

  schemes and arrangements under section 2 of the Employment and Training Act 1973.