This section enables the Department 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 the Department.
The regulations may authorise energy suppliers to share their customer information with the Department or a service provider. This is intended to enable either the Department or a third-party to match departmental and energy supplier data to identify the relevant State Pension Credit recipients.
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.
The regulations will be subject to the confirmatory procedure.