Contributions
592 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDPublic Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill (Ninth sitting)I will briefly answer those questions. The period of six months is the same as set out in the Police (Property) Act 1897. We want to ensure alignment where we can to make the…11 Mar 2025HANSARDPublic Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill (Ninth sitting)Clause 81 applies only to Scotland and amends the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 to enable DWP-authorised investigators to seize an item from a premises and scrutinise it…11 Mar 2025HANSARDPublic Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill (Ninth sitting)I am grateful to the hon. Member for South West Devon for her support and to the hon. Member for Torbay for his questions. By way of reassurance, the DWP cannot just seize…11 Mar 2025HANSARDPublic Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill (Ninth sitting)On the question of funding for the IOPC and the PIRC, we are in ongoing discussions with them about what the exact costs will be. We clearly do not expect the costs to be…11 Mar 2025HANSARDPublic Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill (Ninth sitting)The clause creates a new definition of “DWP offence”, expanding on the existing definition of “benefit offence” set out in the Social Security Administration Act 1992. The DWP…11 Mar 2025HANSARDPublic Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill (Ninth sitting)I thank the hon. Lady for her support and her questions. I would not want to put a specific number on the prosecutions—as I said, we have not had the powers to investigate these…11 Mar 2025HANSARDPublic Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill (Ninth sitting)The clause is an important safeguard for the DWP’s information-gathering powers. It sets out the kinds of information that a DWP-authorised officer cannot compel from an…11 Mar 2025HANSARDPublic Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill (Ninth sitting)First, I am not of the view that the protections overly constrain our ability to gather the information we need and execute fraud operations as effectively as possible. The…11 Mar 2025HANSARDPublic Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill (Ninth sitting)The information-gathering powers set out under clause 72 will be amended to ensure that information can be compelled from third parties digitally. That is an important step…11 Mar 2025HANSARDPublic Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill (Eighth sitting)It is incredibly important to reiterate for anybody who may be watching our proceedings that the Government will not be going through anybody’s bank accounts. We will be asking…06 Mar 2025HANSARDPublic Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill (Eighth sitting)They would be, were the powers entirely unique. However, as we heard in the evidence of the representative from HMRC, there is a long-standing power—introduced, I believe, in the…06 Mar 2025HANSARDPublic Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill (Eighth sitting)Before I address this group, may I make a brief correction? I confused my information notices earlier: it is 10 days to comply, with no right of appeal, but we are happy to have…06 Mar 2025HANSARDPublic Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill (Eighth sitting)That brings me to amendment 25, which seeks to include housing benefit, and to later amendments on the affirmative procedure regulations that we propose for being able to bring…06 Mar 2025HANSARDPublic Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill (Eighth sitting)I am happy to confirm that the situation is as the hon. Lady articulated. Only someone in receipt of one of the three benefits initially in scope would face use of the eligibility…06 Mar 2025HANSARDPublic Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill (Eighth sitting)I will make a few general comments on the thrust of hon. Members’ contributions, beyond the comments that they made about their amendments, and then I will speak to the amendments…06 Mar 2025HANSARDPublic Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill (Eighth sitting)I welcome the broad support from the Opposition spokesperson, the hon. Member for South West Devon, for the overall intent of the Bill. She asked a number of questions about the…06 Mar 2025HANSARDPublic Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill (Eighth sitting)With permission, before turning to clause 73, I will take the opportunity to make a few general points about the approach to codes of practice for this Bill more generally, as…06 Mar 2025HANSARDPublic Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill (Eighth sitting)I am not sure that I agree with the assertion of the hon. Member for South West Devon that the time it takes to pass the code will significantly slow down the Bill. As she is…06 Mar 2025HANSARDPublic Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill (Eighth sitting)I am grateful beyond belief to the hon. Gentleman, because he highlights why this provision is so important. More than 50% of the fraud and error that we see in pension credit…06 Mar 2025HANSARDPublic Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill (Eighth sitting)It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Jeremy. In commencing debate on clause 72, my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office, passes the baton to me,…06 Mar 2025