Provision of information by Secretary of State
3(1)The Secretary of State must, at the request of a local housing authority, provide the authority with such information as it may require—
(a)as to whether a person is a person to whom section 115 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 (exclusion from benefits) applies, and
(b)to enable it to determine whether such a person is eligible for help under Chapter 2 of Part 2.
(2)Where that information is given otherwise than in writing, the Secretary of State must confirm it in writing if a written request is made to the Secretary of State by the authority.
(3)If it appears to the Secretary of State that any application, decision or other change of circumstances has affected the status of a person about whom information was previously provided to a local housing authority under this paragraph, the Secretary of State must inform the authority in writing of that fact, the reason for it and the date on which the previous information became inaccurate.