Summary
A consultation on revised guidance on the way the Department for Communities gets information to deal with benefit fraud.
Documents
Consultation description
The Social Security Fraud Act 2001 allows the Department for Communities to get information from certain organisations about their customers, to help deal with fraud against the benefit system. The Department has to issue a code of practice and consult on any revised version.
Comments from anyone are welcome but this consultation is primarily aimed at those required to provide information under the Social Security Administration Act 1992 – for example:
- banks
- insurers
- credit reference agencies
- gas and electricity suppliers
- water companies
- educational establishments
- the student loans company
We published the current version of the code of practice in 2002.
The Department published a response to the consultation on 30 April 2025.
Ways to respond
Consultation closed — responses are no longer being accepted.