Dear Mrs Dale

RE: FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT - FOI1007037

I refer to your request dated 15 July 2010 asking to be supplied with the following:

Excerpt one:

In Bradford, and at local authorities across the UK, the process is generally triggered by referrals, whether tip-offs from the public or from other departments.

“It could be a telephone call, e-mail, or letter, and could be made anonymously,” says counter-fraud manager Harry Singh. “If the benefit service is assessing a claim and something does not add up, they will contact us. They may ask the claimant for a bank statement, see an income coming in and ask us to look into it. Or if a claim is being reassessed due to a change of circumstances, it may be passed to us.”

The Council's response to the above:

Information with regard to bank accounts can be sought where there may be discrepancies in a benefit claim. The Social Security Fraud Act 2001 allows local authority investigators to obtain information from private and public sector organisations including banks, building societies, and credit agencies where individuals are suspected of benefit fraud.

These powers were inserted into the Social Security Administration Act 1992 (referred to as the Administration Act) as amendments to existing provisions at Section 109B and 110A of that Act, and as new Sections 109B and 110A.

The Administration Act lists the organisations from which information may be required at Section 109B (2A). These are:

A. Any bank. This includes: banks, credit unions, friendly societies, industrial and provident societies and the Director of National Savings

B. Any person carrying on a business the whole or a significant part of which consists in the provision of credit (whether secured or unsecured) to members of the public

For example, credit card companies and building societies

C. Any insurer

D. Any credit reference agency (within the meaning given by Section 145(8) of the Consumer Credit Act 1974(c.39))

E. Any body the principal activity of which is to facilitate the exchange of information for the purpose of preventing or detecting fraud

For example, CIFAS the UK fraud avoidance system

F. Any person carrying on a business the whole or a significant part of which consists in the provision to members of the public of a service for transferring money from place to place

For example, money transmission companies

G. Any water undertaker or sewerage undertaker, any water and sewerage authority constituted under Section 62 of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994(c.39) or any authority which is a collecting authority for the purposes of Section 79 of that Act

H. Any person who -

(i) Is the holder of a licence under Section 7 of the Gas Act 1986 (c.44) to convey gas through pipes, or

(ii) Is the holder of a licence under Section 7A(1) of that Act to supply gas through pipes

I. Any person who (within the meaning of the Electricity Act 1989(c.29)) distributes or supplies electricity

J. Any person who provides a telecommunications service

K. any person conducting any educational establishment or institution

L. Any body the principal activity of which is to provide services in connection with admissions to educational establishments or institutions

M. The Student Loans Company

N. Any servant or agent of any person mentioned in any of the preceding paragraphs.

Any organisation covered by the description in the above list may be required to provide information to Authorised Officers.

Authorised Officers will obtain any relevant information that is necessary to the prevention and detection of benefit fraud. For example, they may request such information as:

A. Bank statements;

B. Building society statements;

C. Details of income from an insurance policy;

D. Address records from a credit reference agency;

E. Customer details from a utility company;

F. Student status from the Student Loan Company.

Excerpt two:

`Adds Alice Percival, section leader in revenue and benefit support: “People in the community are around at times when we can't be there, and gather information which helps us to build up a bigger picture.” After initial reports, follow-up investigations can include checking the address on credit cards and other documents such as Sky subscriptions, driving licence details, NHS registers and loan applications.'

The Council's response to the above:

Information of this type can be withheld under Section 29 (1 and 2) of the Data Protection Act 1998 as the disclosure would be likely to prejudice any matters mentioned in this subsection.  I have inserted the section below, for your convenience.

S29.  Crime and taxation

(1)  Personal data processed for any of the following purposes -

(a)  The prevention and detection of crime,

(b)  The apprehension or prosecution of offenders, or

(c)  The assessment or collection of any tax or duty or of any imposition of a similar nature, are exempt from the first data protection principle (except to the extent to which it requires compliance with the conditions in Schedules 2 and 3) and section 7 in any case to the extent to which the application of those provisions to the data would be likely to prejudice any of the matters mentioned in this subsection.

(2)  Personal data which -

(a)  Are processed for the purpose of discharging statutory functions, and

(b)  consist of information obtained for such a purpose from a person who had it in his possession for any of the purposes mentioned in subsection (1), are exempt from the subject information provisions to the same extent as personal data processed for any of the purposes mention in that subsection.

As regards sharing information with other organisations, such as government departments, local authorities and private sector companies such as banks and other organisations that may lend clients money, we may cross check this information provided by the client, or information about the client that someone else has provided, with other information held by us. We may also get information about clients from certain third parties, or give them information to:

These third parties I refer to are government departments, local authorities and private-sector companies such as banks and organisations that may lend money.

Please note we do not give information about clients to anyone else, or use information about clients for other purposes, unless the law allows us to.

I trust that this answers your query and I will be pleased to assist with any further information that you may require

If you are not satisfied with this reply you may ask for a review of this decision by contacting [Bradford City Council request email] or by writing to Freedom of Information, Bradford Metropolitan District Council, 7^th Floor, City Exchange, 61 Hall Ings, Bradford, BD1 5SG.

If you are still not satisfied with the outcome of the internal review you have the right of appeal to the Information Commissioner who can be contacted at:

Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF

Tel: 01625 545700URL: http://www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk

Yours sincerely

D Mistry

Miss Dani Mistry[Author ID2: at Wed Aug 4 16:13:00 2010 ][Author ID2: at Wed Aug 4 16:13:00 2010 ]

Freedom of Information & Strategic Support Officer [Author ID2: at Wed Aug 4 16:13:00 2010 ]