Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has any (a) formal and (b) informal sharing agreements with police forces in relation to referrals relating to suspected benefit fraud.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) National Disclosure Unit provides a service for the whole of the UK, handling all requests to disclose information to police forces and other law enforcement agencies. This service is provided under the Data Protection Act, Section 29 (3) for the purposes of preventing and detecting crime, and is done to a standard set out in a Memorandum of Understanding agreed with the Association of Chief Police Officers.

If, during the course of a Police investigation there is a suggestion of a DWP related offence, as with any third party, there is an established gateway in place for the Police to refer this information to DWP.

Evidence received from a 3^rd party can be used as a starting point for an investigation. However, DWP takes great care to corroborate any information received to substantiate (or otherwise) any allegation to ensure DWP is directing its resources appropriately.