Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill 2024-26

Clause 1, page 1, line 13, at end insert—<br> “(e) creating a whistleblowing reporting channel for cases of fraud against public authorities which—<br> (i) guarantees confidentiality and anonymity if requested,<br> (ii) includes clear definitions of who is a whistleblower in cases of fraud against public authorities,<br> (iii) provides a process to update whistleblowers in cases of fraud against public authorities, and<br> (iv) protects whistleblowers in cases of fraud against public authorities from retaliation and detriment.”

After Clause 64, insert the following new Clause—<br> <b>“The Office of the Whistleblower for public sector fraud</b><br> (1) The Secretary of State must by regulations made by statutory instrument within one year after the passing of this Act establish a body corporate called the Office of the Whistleblower for public sector fraud (in this Act referred to as “the Office”).<br> (2) The principal duty of the Office is to protect whistleblowers and have oversight of the process of whistleblowing in relation to public sector fraud.<br> (3) The Office must carry out all its work in accordance with the principal duty.<br> (4) The objectives of the Office are—<br> (a) to encourage and support whistleblowers to refer concerns to the appropriate authorities,<br> (b) to support an effective and fair whistleblowing process,<br> (c) to protect the public purse and ensure that wrongdoers bear the cost of wrongdoing revealed by whistleblowing,<br> (d) to promote good governance through the normalisation of whistleblowing,<br> (e) to ensure that concerns raised by whistleblowers are acted upon, and<br> (f) to monitor and review the operation of this Act.<br> (5) The Office must seek to achieve those objectives consistently with its principal duty.<br> (6) Regulations made under this section are subject to the affirmative procedure.”

<p>This amendment establishes the office of the whistleblower which has the duty to oversee the process of whistleblowing in relation to public sector fraud.</p>

Leave out Clause 74

<p>This amendment removes the requirement for banks to look into relevant claimants’ bank accounts.</p>

After Clause 96, insert the following new Clause—<br> <b>“Recovery of overpayments of Carer’s Allowance</b><br> The Secretary of State may not exercise any of the powers of recovery under this Act in relation to a person who has received an overpayment of Carer’s Allowance until such time as—<br> (a) the Secretary of State has commissioned an independent review of the overpayment of Carer’s Allowance,<br> (b) the review has concluded its inquiry and submitted a report containing recommendations to the Secretary of State,<br> (c) the Secretary of State has laid the report of the independent review before Parliament, and<br> (d) the Secretary of State has implemented the recommendations of the independent review.”

<p>This amendment would delay any payments being taken from people who the Government may think owe repayments of Carer’s Allowance until the independent review into Carer’s Allowance overpayments has been published and fully implemented.</p>

Clause 106, page 67, line 12, leave out subsections (1) to (3) and insert—<br> “(1) This section and section (<i>Recovery of overpayments of Carer’s Allowance</i>) come into force on the day on which this Act is passed.<br> (2) All other sections of this Act come into force on such a day as the Secretary of State or the Minister for the Cabinet Office may by regulations appoint, but they must not come into force until the recommendations of a report commissioned under section (<i>Recovery of overpayments of Carer’s Allowance</i>) have been implemented.”

<p>This amendment would delay the implementation of the whole Act until the findings of the independent review into Carer’s Allowance overpayments has been published and fully implemented.</p>

Leave out Schedule 3

<p>This amendment is related to another in the name of Baroness Kramer and removes the requirement for banks to look into relevant claimants’ bank accounts.</p>

Schedule 5, page 105, line 18, leave out from beginning to end of line 32 on page 106

<p>This amendment will prevent the Department for Work and Pensions from being able to compel banks to disclose the bank statements of benefits recipients to decide whether to issue a direct deduction.</p>

129

Clause 105, page 66, line 26, leave out subsections (1) to (3) and insert—<br> “(1) This section and section 93 come into force on the day on which this Act is passed.<br> (2) All other sections of this Act come into force on such day as the Secretary of State or the Minister for the Cabinet Office may by regulations appoint, but they must not come into force until the code of practice under section 93 has been laid before Parliament.”

<p>This amendment and another to clause 93 in the name of Viscount Younger would compel final codes of practice to be laid before Parliament, before the provisions in the Act could come into force.</p>

129A

Clause 105, page 66, line 26, leave out subsections (1) to (3) and insert—<br> “(1) This section comes into force on the day on which this Act is passed.<br> (2) All other sections of this Act come into force when the Secretary of State publishes a review assessing the operational, financial, and material impact on the Department for Work and Pensions of individuals, who, by any means including electronic communication or publication on the internet, intentionally publish or otherwise make available information, advice, or instructions that are reasonably likely to be used by another person to—<br> (a) mislead or deceive public authorities for the purpose of obtaining welfare or social security benefits to which they are not lawfully entitled, or<br> (b) circumvent eligibility checks, income or capital assessments, or other lawful mechanisms designed to verify entitlement under any enactment relating to the provision of social security or welfare benefits in the United Kingdom.<br> (3) The Secretary of State must lay the review under subsection (2) before Parliament.”

131

After Clause 105, insert the following new Clause—<br> <b>“Repeal of this Act</b><br> (1) Subject to the following provisions of this section, this Act is repealed five years after the day on which it is passed.<br> (2) The provisions of this Act are not repealed in accordance with this section but shall continue in force if in each of those five years the total amount recovered through the provisions in this Act exceeds the amount expended in exercising these powers by a margin of £500 million per annum.”

<p>This is a sunset clause requiring that the net benefit of provisions in the Act must exceed £500 million per annum at the end of a period of five years, else the Act will cease to be in force.</p>

122D

Clause 95, page 61, lines 9, leave out “reasonably incurs” and insert “or banks as defined in this Act incur”

<p>This would permit costs incurred by banks, as they are defined in the Bill, to be recovered.</p>

125A

After Clause 99, insert the following new Clause—<br> <b>“Offence of facilitating fraud through dissemination of information</b><br> (1) It shall be an offence for any person, by any means including electronic communication or publication on the internet, to intentionally publish, communicate, or otherwise make available information, advice, or instructions that are reasonably likely to be used by another person to—<br> (a) mislead or deceive public authorities for the purpose of obtaining welfare or social security benefits to which they are not lawfully entitled; <br> (b) circumvent eligibility checks, income or capital assessments, or other lawful mechanisms designed to verify entitlement under any enactment relating to the provision of social security or welfare benefits in the United Kingdom.<br> (2) A person commits an offence under this section if they know, or ought reasonably to know, that the information or guidance provided—<br> (a) is intended to facilitate dishonest conduct under the Social Security Administration Act 1992, the Welfare Reform Act 2012, or any associated regulations, or <br> (b) will likely be used to enable or encourage another person to obtain, or attempt to obtain, benefits through deception or misrepresentation. <br> (3) It shall be a defence for a person charged under this section to show that—<br> (a) the information was provided for a legitimate public interest purpose, such as journalistic reporting or academic research, and not with the intention of facilitating unlawful conduct; <br> (b) they took reasonable steps to prevent the information from being used for unlawful purposes. <br> (4) A person found guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable—<br> (a) on summary conviction, to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 12 months or a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum, or both; <br> (b) On conviction on indictment, to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 5 years or an unlimited fine, or both. <br> (5) For the purposes of this section “information” includes written, audio, visual, or digital content, including content distributed via social media platforms, websites and forums.”

<p>This new amendment would make it an explicit offence to facilitate fraud through the dissemination of relevant information online.</p>

99A

Clause 88, page 54, leave out lines 5 to 7

<p>This amendment would ensure that the Secretary of State did not have the power to direct the independent person to review only certain timeframes.</p>

99B

Clause 88, page 54, line 10, leave out “may” and insert “must”

<p>This would compel the Secretary of State to provide information to the independent person for the purposes of a review.</p>

99C

Clause 88, page 54, line 15, leave out “may” and insert “must”

<p>This would compel the Secretary of State to appoint independent reviewers in England, Wales and Scotland.</p>

130

Clause 105, page 66, line 35, at end insert—<br> “(3A) Sections 72, 73 and 74 may not come into force until the Secretary of State has published, and laid before Parliament, a report outlining the specific process through which information will be collected in order to fulfil the obligations made out in Chapter 1, Part 2, and in Schedule 3, and their anticipated costs.”

<p>This amendment seeks to ensure that, before coming into force, Parliament had sight of the mechanisms through which information would be gathered and shared, and the projected costs associated with this.</p>

99D

After Clause 88, insert the following new Clause—<br> <b>“Consideration of vulnerabilities</b><br> (1) The Secretary of State must have due regard for the external circumstances pertaining to a person under investigation in respect of the mental capacity, economic circumstances, and physical and mental health of the claimant, particularly where the claimant is or may reasonably be considered a vulnerable person.<br> (2) For the purposes of this section, a "vulnerable person" includes, but is not limited to, individuals who—<br> (a) lacks mental capacity within the meaning of the Mental Capacity Act 2005; <br> (b) are in receipt of, or have been assessed as eligible for, support relating to mental or physical health conditions; <br> (c) could be reasonably regarded as vulnerable to domestic abuse or coercion.<br> (3) The Secretary of State shall ensure that a fair and reasonable assessment of the claimant's circumstances is conducted before any deduction is applied. <br> (4) The assessment under subsection (3) may consider evidence provided on behalf of the claimant, including medical reports, financial information, and input from authorised support workers or representatives.<br> (5) All decisions to deduct welfare payments shall be documented, with explicit reference to how the claimant’s vulnerability was considered.<br> (6) The records under subsection (5) shall be made available to the claimant upon request and subject to audit by an independent body.”

<p>This new clause would ensure that, before a deduction was applied, due regard was given to the wider circumstances and vulnerabilities of the liable person, which they would have to document, to be made available upon request by the claimant.</p>

109ZA

Schedule 5, page 108, line 12, at end insert—<br> “5A <span class="sub-para subparagraph"><span class="sub-para-num">(1)</span><span class="sub-para-text">Before any direct deduction order under this Schedule is made, the Secretary of State has a duty to consider its effect on any person who is living with a disability.</span></span><br> <span class="sub-para subparagraph sub-para-indented"><span class="sub-para-num">(2)</span><span class="sub-para-text">For the purposes of sub-paragraph (1), a person is living with a disability if they have a disability under section 6 of the Equality Act 2010.”</span></span>

<p>This amendment seeks to ensure the Minister considers the additional costs of living with a disability before making a direct deduction order.</p>

122A

Clause 93, page 60, line 9, after “a” insert “final”

<p>This amendment and another to clause 105 in the name of Viscount Younger would compel final codes of practice to be laid before Parliament, before the provisions in the Act could come into force.</p>

122B

Clause 93, page 60, line 21, leave out “may” and insert “must”

<p>This would compel the Minister to carry out a public consultation on the draft of the code of practice before it was issued for the first time.</p>

122C

Clause 93, page 60, line 24, at end insert “subject to parliamentary review”

<p>This amendment would ensure that any changes to the code were subject to parliamentary review, in addition to being laid before Parliament, as is set out in subsection (6).</p>

60A

Clause 35, page 21, line 6, leave out subsection (5).

<p>This would permit the applicant to request a review into the existence/value of the payable amount.</p>

61A

Clause 37, page 22, line 29, at end insert—<br> “(2A) Any regulations made under subsections (1) and (2) must be accompanied by an impact assessment covering the projected cost and impact on the operational capacity of banks, to be laid before Parliament.”

<p>This amendment would ensure that any changes made to the means through which direct deduction orders are processed and applied would be accompanied by an impact assessment, showing the projected cost and impact on the operational capacity of banks.</p>

61B

Clause 37, page 23, line 6, at end insert—<br> “(6A) Prior to any regulations under this section coming into force, the outcome of consultations under subsection (6) must be laid before Parliament.”

<p>This amendment would ensure that the outcome of the consultations provided for in subsection (6) were laid before Parliament, prior to the implementation of the consulted-upon changes.</p>

61C

Clause 40, page 24, line 27, at end insert—<br> “(4A) The decision reached by the Minister under subsection (4) must be communicated to the liable person, with the reason given by the Minister provided in writing, as soon as is practicable.”

<p>This would ensure that the liable person is provided with the outcome of the review of their representations by the Minister in writing.</p>

61D

Clause 41, page 25, line 1, at end insert—<br> “(1A) The Minister must provide, in writing, the outcome of their assessment under subsection (1) to the liable person upon request.”

<p>This amendment would ensure that the Minister has a duty to demonstrate their regard for wider circumstances in writing to the liable person if requested.</p>

61E

Clause 41, page 25, line 20, leave out “, among other things,”

<p>This amendment would limit the scope of these regulations to what is set out in the text of the subsection.</p>

61F

Clause 42, page 25, line 39, at end insert “, following consultation with groups whom the Minister considers to be representative of affected employers.”

<p>This amendment would ensure that the costs regarded by the Minister as ‘reasonably incurred’ by employers was determined in conference with those employers.</p>

128

Clause 105, page 66, line 26, leave out subsections (1) to (3) and insert—<br> “(1) This section and section 62 (code of practice) come into force on the day on which this Act is passed.<br> (2) All other sections of this Act come into force on such day as the Secretary of State or the Minister for the Cabinet Office may by regulations appoint, but they must not come into force until the Minister has issued a code of practice under section 62.”

62A

Clause 43, page 26, line 4, leave out “at any time”

62B

Clause 43, page 26, line 7, at end insert—<br> “(3) The Minister may not re-start a suspended requirement to make deductions and payments under subsection (1) if a period of 24 months has elapsed after the employer has been notified of the suspension of the requirement.”

<p>These amendments would prevent suspended requirements to make deductions from being re-started after a period of 24 months has elapsed since the liable person was notified of the suspension of the requirement.</p>

62C

Clause 47, page 27, line 16, at end insert—<br> “(4) If the revocation of an earnings deduction order is undertaken, the reason for this must be set out to both the liable person, and the liable person’s employer, in writing.”

<p>This amendment would ensure that the reason for a revocation to a deduction order was set out in writing for the benefit of the liable person and their employer.</p>

63A

Clause 50, page 29, line 5, at end insert—<br> “(2) “Help” is defined in this section as the provision of any information, advice or support which could reasonably be assumed to be intended to acquire payments which are, or, if the payment was not made, would have been, a recoverable amount, or with the result that a public authority is entitled to claim any other recoverable amount.”

<p>This amendment would ensure that those seeking to aid fraud through the provision of any information, advice or support could be subject to a penalty.</p>

63B

Clause 52, page 29, line 33, leave out “Minister” and insert “the first tier tribunal”

<p>This amendment would ensure that the penalty imposed on a person who did not receive a payment could not be unilaterally determined by the Minister.</p>

63C

Clause 58, page 32, line 9, leave out “(c)”

63D

Clause 58, page 32, line 10, at end insert “including an explanation as to how the conclusion was reached.”

<p>These amendments would ensure that the person was given a reason in writing for any decision following a review.</p>

64A

Clause 60, page 33, line 7, leave out subsection (6) and insert—<br> “(6) Further provision about appeals against a penalty notice may only be made by the Minister following an independent review, and approval from a Parliamentary Committee of any recommendations.”

<p>This amendment would remove the power of the Minister to make changes to the appeals process through regulations alone, and would instead only allow this following an independent review with the approval and oversight of a parliamentary committee.</p>

67

After Clause 65, insert the following new Clause—<br> <b>“Annual reporting: use of powers</b><br> (1) The Minister must prepare and publish a report on the use of powers conferred on them under this Part within 12 months of the day on which sections 1 and 2 come into force, and annually thereafter.<br> (2) Any report published under subsection (1) must be laid before both Houses of Parliament within seven days of its publication.”

<p>This amendment requires the Minister to publish an annual report on the use of powers conferred on them by Part 1 of the Bill, which must then be laid before Parliament within seven days of publication.</p>

68

After Clause 65, insert the following new Clause—<br> <b>“Annual reporting: extent of public sector fraud</b><br> (1) The Minister must prepare and publish a report on the extent of fraud against public authorities based on the Government’s internal estimates.<br> (2) Any report published under subsection (1) must be laid before both Houses of Parliament within seven days of its publication.”

<p>This amendment requires the Minister to publish an annual report on the estimated scale of fraud against public authorities, which must then be laid before Parliament within seven days of publication.</p>

68A

Clause 66, page 35, line 9, at end insert—<br> “(A1) Investigatory and enforcement powers under sections 3 (information notices), 7 (entry, search and seizure powers), 17 (direct deduction orders), and 38 (deduction from earnings orders) of this Act shall not be exercised except as provided for in this section.”

<p>This amendment, together with others to this Clause in the name of Baroness Finn, would ensure greater ministerial and parliamentary oversight when the powers provided for in this Bill are exercised by authorised officers on behalf of the Minister for the Cabinet Office.</p>

68B

Clause 66, page 35, line 21, at end insert—<br> “(1A) The exercise of the following powers by an authorised officer requires explicit authorisation by a Minister of the Crown—<br> (a) issuing information notices under section 3 requiring disclosure of personal financial records;<br> (b) applications for warrants under section 7 involving entry to premises and seizure of evidence;<br> (c) orders under sections 17 and 38 where the amount involved exceeds £10,000.<br> (1B) All other investigatory and enforcement powers under this Act must be authorised by an official at Senior Civil Service grade or above.<br> (1C) The Public Sector Fraud Authority must maintain a register recording—<br> (a) the nature and date of each exercise of these powers;<br> (b) the name and position of the official or Minister authorising the exercise;<br> (c) the justification provided for exercising the powers.<br> (1D) The Minister must lay before Parliament a copy of this register annually within three months of the conclusion of the financial year to which it relates.”

<p>This amendment, together with others to this Clause in the name of Baroness Finn, would ensure greater ministerial and parliamentary oversight when the powers provided for in this Bill are exercised by authorised officers on behalf of the Minister for the Cabinet Office.</p>

68C

Clause 66, page 35, line 31, at end insert—<br> “(5) An individual may only be an authorised officer if the individual holds a counter-fraud qualification including but not limited to—<br> (a) the Professionalism in Security (PINS) Fraud Investigation Award;<br> (b) the Accredited Counter Fraud Specialist (ACFS) qualification;<br> (c) any other counter-fraud qualification formally approved or recognised by the DWP for the purposes of professional fraud investigation.<br> (6) The Minister may by regulations—<br> (a) update the list of recognised qualifications for the purposes of subsection (5),<br> (b) define or clarify the standards and accrediting bodies associated with such qualifications, and<br> (c) specify any transitional arrangements for investigators undergoing qualification at the time of designation.<br> (7) Regulations under subsection (6) are subject to the negative procedure.”

<p>This amendment would ensure that investigators exercising these powers held professional qualifications in line with officers at the DWP’s Fraud Investigation Service.</p>

68D

After Clause 68, insert the following new Clause—<br> <b>“Fraud risk management duties for public authorities</b><br> (1) This section applies to public authorities responsible for spending schemes or programmes involving total annual payments or disbursements exceeding £100 million (“relevant spending schemes or programmes”).<br> (2) A public authority to which this section applies shall—<br> (a) register each relevant spending scheme or programme with the Minister for the Cabinet Office via the Public Sector Fraud Authority before the start of each financial year;<br> (b) conduct and submit to the Authority a fraud risk assessment for each registered scheme, detailing identified fraud risks and planned mitigations;<br> (c) prepare an annual fraud measurement plan specifying the methods by which fraud rates will be determined, including representative sampling or comparable statistically valid methods, to ensure robust estimation of fraud and error rates.<br> (3) The Authority shall—<br> (a) independently verify each public authority’s reported fraud rates annually, employing rigorous audit, sampling, or comparable statistically robust methods;<br> (b) publish annually, in a dedicated report laid before Parliament—<br> (i) the fraud rates reported by each public authority;<br> (ii) the independently verified fraud rates determined by the Authority;<br> (iii) an assessment of the accuracy and effectiveness of each public authority’s fraud risk management measures.<br> (4) Each public authority shall publish in its annual accounts—<br> (a) its submitted fraud risk assessment;<br> (b) the fraud rates as determined independently by the Authority;<br> (c) an evaluation rating (Red-Amber-Green) assigned by the Authority reflecting the public authority’s compliance with and effectiveness of its fraud risk management duties.<br> (5) The evaluation rating assigned by the Authority under subsection (4)(c) shall assess—<br> (a) adequacy and accuracy of fraud rate measurement methodologies;<br> (b) effectiveness of implemented fraud risk mitigations;<br> (c) compliance with statutory duties set out in this section.<br> (6) Where the Authority finds significant discrepancies between reported fraud rates and independently verified fraud rates, or otherwise finds significant inadequacies in the public authority’s fraud management practices, it shall issue a notice requiring the public authority to—<br> (a) submit within 30 days a detailed action plan specifying corrective measures;<br> (b) implement corrective measures as directed by the Authority within a timeframe specified in the notice.<br> (7) Compliance by public authorities with their obligations under this section shall be subject to audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General, and the findings shall form part of their reports to Parliament.”

<p>This new Clause seeks to impose stricter fraud risk management duties on public authorities that oversee spending schemes exceeding £100 million annually, by requiring these authorities to register schemes, conduct fraud risk assessments, measure fraud using robust methods, and publish findings. The Public Sector Fraud Authority would verify reported fraud rates, publish comparisons, assign performance ratings, and enforce corrective actions for poor performance. Compliance would be subject to independent audit and parliamentary scrutiny.</p>

68E

Schedule 2, page 70, line 28, leave out first “a” and insert “an independent”

<p>This amendment seeks to probe the Government’s openness to specifying that the chair of the Public Sector Fraud Authority should be independent.</p>

68F

Schedule 2, page 70, line 29, after “other” insert “independent”

<p>This amendment seeks to probe the Government’s openness to specifying that the non-executive members of the Public Sector Fraud Authority should be independent.</p>

69A

Schedule 2, page 71, line 6, leave out “chair” and insert “Minister”

<p>This amendment seeks to probe the process by which the chief executive and other executive members of the Public Sector Fraud Authority will be appointed.</p>

69B

Schedule 2, page 71, line 6, leave out “chair is” and insert “independent chair and other independent non-executive members are”

<p>This amendment seeks to probe the process by which the chief executive and other executive members of the Public Sector Fraud Authority will be appointed.</p>

71A

Schedule 2, page 71, leave out lines 19 to 24

<p>This amendment would remove the minister’s power to make regulations on the eligibility of individuals to be members of the Public Sector Fraud Authority.</p>

74A

Schedule 2, page 73, line 22, leave out “As soon as reasonably practicable” and insert “Within 3 months”

<p>This amendment would require the Public Sector Fraud Authority to publish their annual report within 3 months of the end of the financial year.</p>

74B

Schedule 2, page 73, line 35, leave out sub-sub-paragraph (b)

<p>This amendment would prevent the Public Sector Fraud Authority from authorising a person who is not a member of the Authority to authenticate the seal of the Authority.</p>

74C

Schedule 2, page 76, line 7, leave out “transferred” and insert “extended”

<p>This amendment and others in the name of Baroness Finn would ensure the Minister retains responsibility for the exercise of his or her functions conferred by Chapters 1 to 5 of Part 1 of this Act after they have been extended to the Public Sector Fraud Authority.</p>

74D

Schedule 2, page 76, line 8, leave out “transferred” and insert “extended”

<p>This amendment and others in the name of Baroness Finn would ensure the Minister retains responsibility for the exercise of his or her functions conferred by Chapters 1 to 5 of Part 1 of this Act after they have been extended to the Public Sector Fraud Authority.</p>

39

Clause 24, page 15, line 24, leave out “may” and insert “must”

<p>This amendment would ensure provision for banks to recover the costs incurred as part of a direct deduction order is always included in the order.</p>

40

Clause 24, page 15, line 27, at end insert “, as determined through mutual agreement by the Minister and the bank”

<p>This amendment would ensure that the relevant bank is involved in determining the amount of money they could recover to cover their costs.</p>

50

Clause 28, page 17, line 31, at end insert “and set out the reasons why this decision was reached, in writing.”

<p>This amendment would compel the Minister to set out in writing the reasons for their decision on the application to vary a direct deduction order.</p>

53

Clause 30, page 19, line 8, at end insert—<br> “(d) in the event that the liable person has died, the liable person’s next of kin or the executor of their estate.”

<p>This amendment would ensure that the next of kin/executor of their estate was informed that a notice had been revoked, in the event that the liable person had died.</p>

54

Clause 31, page 19, line 27, at end insert—<br> “(5) The Minister must have due regard to the costs imposed on banks as a result of the exercise of the provisions in this section.”

<p>This amendment would require the Minister to have due regard to the costs imposed on banks as a result of the exercise of powers under this section.</p>

55

Clause 32, page 19, line 34, at end insert—<br> “(3) The Minister may not re-start a suspended requirement to make deductions under subsection (1) if a period of 24 months has elapsed after the liable person has been notified of the suspension of the requirement.”

<p>This amendment would prevent suspended requirements to make deductions from being re-started after a period of 24 months has elapsed since the liable person was notified of the suspension of the requirement.</p>

56

Clause 34, page 20, line 20, after “must” insert “appoint an independent person to”

<p>This amendment would ensure reviews of decisions to make a direct deduction order are undertaken by an independent person.</p>

57

Clause 34, page 20, line 21, leave out “Minister” and insert “independent person”

<p>This amendment would ensure decisions following reviews under this section are undertaken by an independent person.</p>

58

Clause 34, page 20, line 25, after “out” insert “and the independent person has formally notified the Minister of their decision”

<p>This amendment would ensure the Minister receives formal notification of the independent person’s decision before the Minister is required to notify the applicant of the outcome of the review.</p>

59

After Clause 34, insert the following new Clause—<br> <b>“Independent reviewer</b><br> (1) The Minister may by regulations establish a body to serve as an independent reviewer for the purpose of undertaking reviews under section 34.<br> (2) Regulations made under subsection (1) must provide that any person appointed as the Chair of the body must attend any pre-appointment scrutiny hearing held by the Public Accounts Committee of the House of Commons or any successor committee.<br> (3) Regulations under this section are subject to the affirmative procedure.”

<p>This amendment would allow the Minister to establish an independent review body to undertake the reviews under clause 34.</p>

82

Schedule 3, page 79, line 22, at end insert—<br> <span class="sub-para subparagraph sub-para-indented"><span class="sub-para-num">(4)</span><span class="sub-para-text">The Secretary of State must publish the eligibility indicators.”</span></span>

<p>This amendment requires the Secretary of State to make public the eligibility indicators against which the banks are required to check their customers’ accounts.</p>

88

Schedule 3, page 87, line 17, at end insert—<br> “(f) the mechanisms allowing for scrutiny of algorithms used by a person in receipt of an eligibility verification notice;<br> (g) the measures used for allowing scrutiny of the effectiveness of the powers conferred under this Schedule.”

<p>This amendment requires the code of practice to include scrutiny provisions about the algorithms used by banks and the effectiveness of the eligibility verification measure.</p>

89ZA

Schedule 3, page 88, line 13, at end insert—<br> <span class="sub-para subparagraph sub-para-indented"><span class="sub-para-num">(4)</span><span class="sub-para-text">All applicants for a relevant benefit must be informed in writing at the time of application of the possibility that information relating to any relevant accounts that they hold may be provided to the Secretary of State in accordance with this Schedule.</span></span><br> <span class="sub-para subparagraph sub-para-indented"><span class="sub-para-num">(5)</span><span class="sub-para-text">All existing recipients of relevant benefits must be informed in writing within three months of the commencement of the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Act 2025 of the possibility that information relating to any relevant accounts that they hold may be provided to the Secretary of State in accordance with this Schedule.”</span></span>

<p>This amendment would ensure that applicants and recipients of relevant benefits are informed that information relating to their bank accounts may be provided to the Secretary of State.</p>

89C

Schedule 3, page 91, line 10, leave out lines 10 to 19 and insert—<br> “(7E) The first condition in subsection (2) is not satisfied solely as a result of information that was obtained by, or provided to, the person by virtue of an eligibility verification notice under paragraph 1(1) of Schedule 3B to the Social Security Administration Act 1992.”

<p>This amendment is designed to remove the risk that the existence of an eligibility indicator could by itself cause a bank to have to take action against the relevant account holder under the Proceeds of Crime Act.</p>

124A

After Clause 96, insert the following new Clause—<br> <b>“Fair process and human intervention</b><br> When any automated system has been involved in decision making which will affect will affect overpayments recovered from an individual, no final decision shall be considered valid or acted upon unless—<br> (a) the outcome of any process involving an automated system has been subject to meaningful and documented human oversight, such that a human decision-maker has reviewed, understood, and taken responsibility for the final determination,<br> (b) the recipient has been provided with an individual explanation of the relevant decision in their case, including a clear explanation of how an automated system has impacted the decision,<br> (c) the recipient has had the opportunity to make representations, and<br> (d) the recipient is been given information about how they can challenge the decision.”

<p>This amendment seeks to secure fair administrative processes and meaningful human oversight for benefits recipients when they are subject to decision-making processes which include automated systems.</p>

109A

Schedule 5, page 108, line 14, at end insert "following an affordability assessment in relation to the liable person and"

<p>This amendment requires the Secretary of State to undertake an affordability assessment before making a direct deduction order.</p>

109B

Schedule 5, page 108, line 25, at end insert—<br> <span class="sub-para subparagraph sub-para-indented"><span class="sub-para-num">(2A)</span><span class="sub-para-text">The amount of the direct deduction order must not reduce the amounts held in the bank account or bank accounts of the liable person to less than £1,000.”</span></span>

<p>This amendment sets a safeguarded amount of £1,000 that must be left in one or more of the liable person's bank accounts.</p>

75A

Clause 70, page 37, line 32, at end insert—<br> ““reasonable grounds” do not include generalisations or stereotypes of certain categories of people, for example that members of a particular social group are more likely to be involved in fraudulent activity than others, irrespective of whether they are made through entirely automated, partially automated, or non-automated processes;”

<p>This amendment, and another in the name of Lord Vaux of Harrowden, clarifies that people cannot be investigated for fraud based on stereotypes and generalisations, be this through the use of algorithms, human assessment, or a combination.</p>

33A

Clause 20, page 13, line 1, at beginning insert “If the Minister is unable to determine the share of beneficial interest pertaining to the liable person accurately, then”

<p>This amendment seeks to assign a duty to the Minister to attempt to determine the share of beneficial interest before using the formula defined in the Bill.</p>

79A

Clause 72, page 42, line 10, at end insert—<br> “(6) In section 191 (interpretation) after the definition of “prescribe” insert-<br> “reasonable grounds” do not include generalisations or stereotypes of certain categories of people, for example that members of a particular social group who are more likely to be involved in fraudulent activity than others, irrespective of whether they are made through entirely automated, partially automated, or non-automated processes;”

<p>This amendment, and another in the name of Lord Vaux of Harrowden, clarifies that people cannot be investigated for fraud based on stereotypes and generalisations, be this through the use of algorithms, human assessment, or a combination.</p>

91A

Clause 75, page 44, line 11, at end insert—<br> “(d) the exercise of the Secretary of State's powers under Schedule 3B has had an impact on vulnerable persons.”

<p>This amendment would ensure that the independent review looks into the impact of the eligibility verification on vulnerable persons.</p>

91B

Clause 75, page 44, leave out lines 15 to 18 and insert—<br> “(1) The independent person appointed under section 121DC(1) may require, and the Secretary of State must disclose to the independent person or to a person acting on behalf of the independent person, any information that the independent person considers necessary for the purpose of carrying out the reviews under section 121DC.”

<p>This amendment introduces a requirement for the Secretary of State to disclose all information reasonably requested by the independent reviewer, rather than it being at the discretion of the Secretary of State as to what may be disclosed.</p>

79B

Schedule 3, page 77, line 16, at end insert—<br> “(1A) The Secretary of State may issue an eligibility verification notice only if reasonably satisfied that doing so is necessary and proportionate for the purposes of identifying, or assisting in identifying, incorrect payments of a relevant benefit.”

<p>This amendment would align the safeguards that apply for the use of the eligibility verification powers with the safeguards that exist in other sections of the Bill, such as the power to require information about suspected fraud.</p>

89A

Schedule 3, page 88, line 23, leave out “by one or more individuals” and insert “solely by the recipient of one of the benefits referred in paragraph 19(1)”

<p>This amendment and another in the name of Lord Sikka seeks to restrict the DWP’s powers in relation to eligibility verification solely to bank accounts held in the name of the benefit claimant only.</p>

89B

Schedule 3, page 88, line 39, leave out from “account” to “and” in line 40 and insert “in their name”

<p>This amendment and another in the name of Lord Sikka seeks to restrict the DWP’s powers in relation to eligibility verification solely to bank accounts held in the name of the benefit claimant only.</p>

1

Before Clause 1, insert the following new Clause—<br> <b>“Purpose</b><br> The purpose of this Act is to enable public authorities to identify and prevent fraud and error and recover monies lost through fraud or error, and to strengthen mechanisms for reducing fraudulent activity across public services.”

<p>This amendment sets out the purpose of the Bill - to identify, prevent and recover public funds lost through fraud and error, and to strengthen mechanisms used to reduce fraud across public services.</p>

2

Clause 1, page 1, line 12, after “preventing” insert “, investigating”

<p>This amendment probes the Government’s plans for the extent of the role of the Public Sector Fraud Authority in supporting other public authorities in tackling fraud against them.</p>

3

Clause 1, page 1, line 13, at end insert—<br> “(e) creating a whistleblowing reporting channel for cases of fraud against public authorities which—<br> (i) guarantees confidentiality and anonymity if requested,<br> (ii) includes clear definitions of who is a whistleblower in cases of fraud against public authorities,<br> (iii) provides a process to update whistleblowers in cases of fraud against public authorities, and<br> (iv) protects whistleblowers in cases of fraud against public authorities from retaliation and detriment.”

4

Clause 1, page 1, line 15, leave out “or error”

<p>This amendment seeks to probe the circumstances in which a public authority would recover an amount paid in error.</p>

5

Clause 2, page 2, leave out line 10

<p>This amendment removes the requirement that public bodies must first request an investigation into suspected fraud before the Minister of the Cabinet Office may undertake an investigation.</p>

6

Clause 2, page 2, line 11, leave out subsection (2)

<p>This amendment would empower the Minister for the Cabinet Office to undertake investigations of suspected fraud against the Department for Work and Pensions and His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs.</p>

7

Clause 2, page 2, line 13, at end insert—<br> “(2A) The Minister for the Cabinet Office may only initiate an investigation into suspected fraud under this Part where the Minister is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds to suspect that fraud or attempted fraud against a public authority has occurred.”

<p>This amendment would limit the use of the powers granted under Part 1 by requiring the Minister to be satisfied that there are reasonable grounds to suspect that fraud or attempted fraud has occurred.</p>

8

Clause 2, page 2, line 16, at end insert—<br> “(3A) The fee charged under subsection (3) may not exceed the amount recovered through the exercise of functions under this Part on behalf of, or in relation to, the public authority.”

<p>This amendment would ensure that any fee charged to a relevant public authority may not exceed the actual amount recovered.</p>

9

Clause 3, page 2, line 32, after “and” insert “reasonably”

<p>This amendment seeks to ensure the Minister is required to have a reasonable belief that an information notice would be proportionate in each case.</p>

10

Clause 3, page 3, line 4, at end insert—<br> “(3A) Where an information notice names or describes a person in accordance with subsection (3), the information notice must include a clear statement that the person specified is not necessarily guilty of the suspected fraud.”

<p>This amendment would ensure information notices issued to banks and financial institutions include a clear statement that the person to whom the information relates is not necessarily guilty of a suspected fraud.</p>

11

Clause 3, page 3, line 10, leave out “10” and insert “20”

<p>This amendment seeks to probe the Government’s reasons for placing the lower limit of time at 10 working days.</p>

12

Clause 4, page 3, line 32, after “apply” insert “in writing”

<p>This probing amendment seeks to clarify the process the Government intends to put in place for applications for a review.</p>

13

Clause 4, page 3, line 34, leave out “7” and insert “28”

<p>This amendment would increase the period of time a person to whom an information notice is given has to apply for a review of the decision to give the notice.</p>

14

Clause 4, page 4, line 6, at end insert—<br> “(c) set out in writing their reasoning for the decision reached.”

<p>This amendment would compel the reasoning behind a decision taken after a review to be set out to the person in question, in addition to the outcome of the review.</p>

15

Clause 5, page 4, line 16, leave out “another” and insert “a specified”

<p>This amendment and another in the name of Baroness Finn would limit the persons to whom this information may be disclosed.</p>

16

Clause 5, page 4, line 23, at end insert—<br> “(5) For the purpose of subsection (3) the Secretary of State must by regulations specify the persons or types of person that may have this information disclosed to them.<br> (6) Regulations under subsection (5) are subject to the negative procedure.”

<p>This amendment and another in the name of Baroness Finn would limit the persons to whom this information may be disclosed.</p>

17

Clause 7, page 5, line 22, at end insert—<br> “(5) Within six months of the day on which this section comes into force, the Minister must prepare and publish guidance on the process by which authorised investigators are appointed in accordance with subsection (3).”

<p>This amendment would require the Minister to set out the process by which authorised investigators are appointed in statutory guidance.</p>

<i>The above-named Lords give notice of their intention to oppose the Question that Clause 7 stand part of the Bill.</i>

<p>This is probing and seeks to establish why the Government considers it necessary to grant these powers to authorised investigators.</p>

18

Clause 8, page 5, line 30, leave out subsection (2)

<p>This amendment probes the Government’s expectations of what types of changes to seized property may be deemed necessary by the courts.</p>

19

Clause 8, page 5, line 35, leave out “6” and insert “12”

<p>This amendment and another in the name of Baroness Finn seeks to extend the period during which an order may not provide for the disposal or destruction of the relevant property.</p>

20

Clause 8, page 6, line 2, leave out “6” and insert “12”

<p>This amendment and another in the name of Baroness Finn seeks to extend the period during which an order may not provide for the disposal or destruction of the relevant property.</p>

21

Clause 9, page 6, line 31, leave out “may” and insert “must”

<p>This amendment seeks to probe why the Government is seeking a discretionary power for the conferring of new functions to the Director General of the IOPC.</p>

22

Clause 9, page 7, line 13, at end insert—<br> “(4A) An individual may not act on the Director General’s behalf unless they are employed in the Independent Office for Police Conduct.”

<p>This amendment seeks to limit the type of person who can receive a disclosure from the Secretary of State to the Director General to a person who is employed by the IOPC acting on the Director General’s behalf.</p>

<i>The above-named Lords give notice of their intention to oppose the Question that Schedule 1 be the First Schedule to the Bill.</i>

<p>By opposing the Question that Schedule 1 be the First Schedule to the Bill, the above-named Lords seek to probe the Government’s reasons for amending the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984.</p>

23

Clause 10, page 8, line 19, leave out from second “authority” to end of line 21

<p>This amendment seeks to probe where the Government expects it would be appropriate for the Cabinet Office to retain a recoverable amount which has been recovered on behalf of another public authority.</p>

24

Clause 10, page 8, line 21, at end insert—<br> “(3) Where the amount recovered under this section is greater than £50,000, the public authority on whose behalf the amount was recovered must conduct an internal review to establish the circumstances in which the recovery of the amount became necessary.<br> (4) Any review conducted under subsection (3) must be provided to the Minister within three months of the completion of the review.”

<p>This amendment would require public authorities to conduct an internal review if they lost £50,000 or more through overpayment or fraud, and provide that report to the Minister for the Cabinet Office.</p>

25

Clause 13, page 9, line 29, at end insert “and are awarded by a court or tribunal in relation to costs”

<p>This amendment would require a court or tribunal to award the reasonable costs incurred by the Minister, thus preventing the Minister from charging reasonable costs without appropriate oversight.</p>

28

Clause 18, page 11, line 17, leave out “a reasonable period of time” and insert “5 years”

<p>This amendment seeks to specify a reasonable period of time for the recovery of an amount from a personal bank account, so as to protect the partners of liable persons from having an amount deducted from their joint account after five years.</p>

32

Clause 19, page 12, line 35, at end insert—<br> “(11) In performing their functions under this section the Minister must have due regard to the operational and opportunity cost burden placed on the bank.”

<p>This amendment would require the Minister to have due regard to the cost burden placed on the bank as a result of the use of powers granted to the Minister under Clause 19.</p>

33

Clause 19, page 12, line 35, at end insert—<br> “(11) Within 12 months of the day on which this section comes into force, the Minister must undertake a review of the compliance cost to banks of responding to information requests under this section.”

<p>This amendment would require the Minister to undertake a review of the costs banks are having imposed upon them by this section within 12 months of the coming into effect of Clause 19.</p>

34

Clause 21, page 14, line 6, leave out “as soon as reasonably practicable after” and insert “within 7 working days of”

<p>This amendment would require the Minister to provide the notice to the liable person and the other account holders within seven working days of the day when the notice was provided to the bank.</p>

38

Clause 23, page 15, line 22, at and insert—<br> “(7) The Minister must have due regard to the costs imposed on banks as a result of the exercise of the powers under this section.”

<p>This amendment would require the Minister to have due regard to the costs imposed on banks as a result of the exercise of powers under this section.</p>

92

Clause 76, page 45, line 7, at end insert—<br> “(2A) The functions are exercisable only when accompanied by an authorised person from the police force.”

<p>This amendment seeks to restrict investigators’ powers of entry, search and seizure to situations when they are accompanied by an authorised person from the police force.</p>

93

Clause 76, page 45, line 30, after “State” insert “and authorised by the court”

<p>This amendment seeks to curb powers of the Secretary of State to appoint authorised investigators through requiring court authorisation.</p>

69

Schedule 2, page 71, line 2, at end insert “, subject to a review by the Treasury Committee in the House of Commons if that Committee so wishes.”

<p>This amendment, in combination with other amendments in Lord Sikka’s name, seeks to ensure that the Treasury Committee can review appointments to the PSFA.</p>

70

Schedule 2, page 71, line 7, at end insert “, and subject to a review by the Treasury Committee in the House of Commons if that Committee so wishes.”

<p>This amendment, in combination with other amendments in Lord Sikka’s name, seeks to ensure that the Treasury Committee can review appointments to the PSFA.</p>

71

Schedule 2, page 71, line 12, at end insert “, subject to a review by the Treasury Committee in the House of Commons if that Committee so wishes.”

<p>This amendment, in combination with other amendments in Lord Sikka’s name, seeks to ensure that the Treasury Committee can review appointments to the PSFA.</p>

72

Schedule 2, page 71, line 30, at end insert “in writing and accompanied with a statement stating either—<br> (a) that there are circumstances in connection with their resignation that the public needs to be aware of, or<br> (b) that there are no circumstances that the public needs to be aware of.”

<p>This amendment seeks to enhance transparency when a member of the PSFA resigns from office.</p>

73

Schedule 2, page 71, line 36, at end insert—<br> “(3A) A member removed under sub-paragraph (3) has the right to issue a public statement on the reasons for removal.”

<p>This amendment seeks to enhance transparency when a member of the PSFA is removed from office.</p>

74

Schedule 2, page 73, line 20, at end insert—<br> <span class="sub-para subparagraph sub-para-indented"><span class="sub-para-num">(3)</span><span class="sub-para-text">Meetings of the PSFA must be open to all and the minutes and background papers for PSFA meetings must be made publicly available.”</span></span>

<p>This amendment seeks to ensure openness and public accountability for the PSFA meetings and procedures.</p>

76

Clause 72, page 40, line 12, at end insert—<br> “(6) P is liable for all errors arising from the information provided.”

<p>This amendment seeks to clarify which party is liable for the consequences of providing incorrect information.</p>

78

Clause 72, page 40, line 39, at end insert—<br> “(d) information about who would be liable for any misstatement, errors and omissions which may occur in complying with the information notice.”

<p>This amendment seeks to clarify who is liable for the consequences of providing incorrect information.</p>

79

Clause 72, page 41, line 9, at end insert—<br> “(6A) A copy of the information notice must be sent to the parties affected by the notice.”

<p>This amendment seeks to ensure that affected parties are informed of the information requests.</p>

90

Clause 75, page 43, line 22, leave out “person” and insert “panel, at least 50% of which is made up of persons elected by recipients of the benefits in question,”

<p>This amendment seeks to clarify whether the Government will take account of the views of recipients of the benefits in question in any independent review of eligibility verification measures.</p>

104

[<i>Withdrawn</i>]<br>Schedule 5, page 106, line 22, at beginning insert “Subject to sub-paragraphs (9A) and (9B),”

<p>See the explanatory statement for my amendment to Schedule 5, page 106, line 29.</p>

111

Schedule 5, page 109, line 5, leave out “, or different methods for calculating the amounts,”

<p>This amendment is consequential on my amendment to Schedule 5, page 108, line 39.</p>

118

Schedule 5, page 113, line 8, leave out “(6), (7)” and insert “(6) to (8)”

<p>This amendment ensures that a bank must comply with a further information notice.</p>

61

After Clause 36, insert the following new Clause—<br> <b>“Deputies</b><br> (1) This section applies where a person (a “deputy”) acts on behalf of an account holder (including a liable person) in relation to their account by virtue of—<br> (a) a power of attorney, or<br> (b) an appointment by, or an order of, a court.<br> (2) The following provisions apply in relation to the deputy of the account holder as they apply in relation to the account holder—<br> (a) section 17(7);<br> (b) section 19(5)(b) and (c);<br> (c) section 19(9);<br> (d) section 19(9A);<br> (e) section 21;<br> (f) section 26(1);<br> (g) section 28;<br> (h) section 29(3), (6) and (8)(b);<br> (i) section 30(3);<br> (j) section 31(3);<br> (k) section 32(2);<br> (l) section 34;<br> (m) section 35.<br> (3) Section 29(7)(a) and (b) applies in relation to the deputy of the account holder instead of the account holder.”

<p>This new clause, together with my amendment to clause 27, page 17, line 12, ensures that the provisions about direct deduction orders in Part 1 of the Bill operate effectively where a person acts on behalf of an account holder by virtue of a power of attorney or an appointment by, or an order of, a court.</p>

94

Schedule 4, page 95, line 8, leave out “items subject to legal privilege,”

<p>See the explanatory statement for my amendment to Schedule 4, page 101, line 15.</p>

95

Schedule 4, page 96, line 18, leave out “an item subject to legal privilege,”

<p>See the explanatory statement for my amendment to Schedule 4, page 101, line 15.</p>

125

Clause 98, page 63, leave out lines 23 to 25 and insert—<br> “(i) the period mentioned in section 71ZK(6)(a) for P to appeal against the outcome of the review has passed without P bringing an appeal, or”

<p>This amendment is consequential on my amendment to clause 89, page 56, line 31.</p>

96

Schedule 4, page 101, line 15, leave out from beginning to end of line 24 and insert—<br> <i class="text-centre">“Material subject to legal privilege</i><br> 10 Nothing in this Schedule confers power to—<br> (a) require any person to provide information, or<br> (b) seize, remove, take a copy of or otherwise record anything,<br> <span class="wrapped">in respect of which a claim to confidentiality of communications could be maintained in legal proceedings.”</span>

<p>This amendment, together with my other amendments to Schedule 4, simplifies the drafting of new Schedule 3ZD to the Social Security Administration Act 1992 by creating a single prohibition on the seizure etc of information subject to legal privilege.</p>

97

Schedule 4, page 103, line 4, leave out “items subject to legal privilege and”

<p>See the explanatory statement for my amendment to Schedule 4, page 101, line 15.</p>

98

Clause 85, page 51, line 27, leave out “, payment, credit”

<p>This amendment and my other amendment to clause 85 remove unnecessary references to a payment or credit, both of which are within the relevant definition of “benefit” already as a result of section 121DA(5) of the Social Security Administration Act 1992.</p>

30

[<i>Withdrawn</i>]<br>Clause 19, page 12, line 25, at beginning insert “Subject to subsections (9A) and (9B),”

<p>See the explanatory statement for my amendment to clause 19, page 12, line 32.</p>

127

Clause 105, page 66, line 26, leave out subsections (1) to (3) and insert—<br> “(1) This section and section <i>(Recovery of overpayments of Carer's Allowance)</i> come into force on the day on which this Act is passed.<br> (2) All other sections of this Act come into force on such day as the Secretary of State or the Minister for the Cabinet Office may by regulations appoint, but they must not come into force until the recommendations of a report commissioned under section <i>(Recovery of overpayments of Carer's Allowance)</i> have been implemented.”

<p>This amendment which would delay the implementation of the whole Act until the findings of the independent review into Carer’s Allowance overpayments has been published and fully implemented.</p>

99

Clause 85, page 51, line 30, leave out “, payment, credit”

<p>See the explanatory statement for my other amendment to clause 85.</p>

31

[<i>Withdrawn</i>]<br>Clause 19, page 12, line 32, at end insert—<br> “(9A) Where a person within any paragraph of subsection (9) makes a request to a bank under section 45(1) of the Data Protection Act 2018 (right of access by data subject), the prohibition in subsection (9) does not prevent the bank notifying the person that an account information notice, or a general information notice, that is within the scope of the request has been given to the bank.<br> (9B) The prohibition in subsection (9) ceases to apply—<br> (a) at the end of the period of three months beginning with the day on which the account information notice or general information notice is given to the bank, or<br> (b) if earlier, when the bank is given a notice under section 21(1).”

<p>This amendment, together with my amendment to clause 19, page 12, line 25, would ensure that there is no conflict between the prohibition on a bank telling an account holder that it had received an information notice in respect of the holder’s account and any possible subject access requests, and would limit how long the prohibition has effect.</p>

62

Clause 43, page 26, line 3, leave out “and re-start”

<p>This amendment removes the power to re-start a deduction from earnings order where they have been suspended.</p>

63

Clause 49, page 28, line 18, leave out from “appeal” to end of line 20 and insert “may not be brought after the end of—<br> (a) the period of 28 days beginning with the day after the day on which the liable person was notified of the outcome of the review, or<br> (b) such longer period (if any) as the Tribunal considers reasonable in all the circumstances.”

<p>This amendment means that the tribunal can extend the time limit for bringing an appeal in relation to a deduction from earnings order.</p>

100

Clause 89, page 56, leave out lines 6 and 7 and insert—<br> “(i) the period mentioned in section 71ZK(6)(a) for P to appeal against the outcome of the review has passed without P bringing an appeal, or”

<p>This amendment is consequential on my amendment to clause 89, page 56, line 31.</p>

101

Clause 89, page 56, line 31, leave out from “(5)” to end of line 33 and insert “may not be brought after the end of—<br> (a) the period of one month beginning with the day after the day on which P is notified of the outcome of the review, or<br> (b) such longer period (if any) as the Tribunal considers reasonable in all the circumstances.”

<p>This amendment means that the tribunal can extend the time limit for bringing an appeal in relation to an overpayment notice.</p>

102

Schedule 5, page 104, line 19, leave out “make” and insert “apply to the appropriate court for”

<p>This amendment removes the power of the Secretary of State to make direct deduction orders and instead provides for direct deduction orders to be made only by a court following an application by the Secretary of State to the court.</p>

64

Clause 60, page 32, line 25, leave out from “appeal” to end of line 26 and insert “may not be brought after the end of—<br> (a) the period of 28 days beginning with the day after the day on which the person is given the penalty notice, or<br> (b) such longer period (if any) as the appropriate court considers reasonable in all the circumstances.”

<p>This amendment means that the tribunal or court hearing an appeal against a penalty imposed by the Minister for the Cabinet Office under Chapter 5 of the Bill (penalty relating to fraud or penalty for failing to comply with requirements) can extend the time limit for the bringing of that appeal.</p>

105

[<i>Withdrawn</i>]<br>Schedule 5, page 106, line 29, at end insert—<br> <span class="sub-para subparagraph sub-para-indented"><span class="sub-para-num">(9A)</span><span class="sub-para-text">Where a person within any paragraph of sub-paragraph (9) makes a request to a bank under section 45(1) of the Data Protection Act 2018 (right of access by data subject), the prohibition in sub-paragraph (9) does not prevent the bank notifying the person that an account information notice, or a general information notice, that is within the scope of the request has been given to the bank.</span></span><br> <span class="sub-para subparagraph sub-para-indented"><span class="sub-para-num">(9B)</span><span class="sub-para-text">The prohibition in sub-paragraph (9) ceases to apply—</span></span><br> <span class="sub-para subparagraph sub-para-indented"><span class="sub-para-num">(a)</span><span class="sub-para-text">at the end of the period of 3 months beginning with the day on which the account information notice or general information notice is given to the bank, or</span></span><br> <span class="sub-para subparagraph sub-para-indented"><span class="sub-para-num">(b)</span><span class="sub-para-text">if earlier, when the bank is given a notice under paragraph 5(1).”</span></span>

<p>This amendment, together with my amendment to Schedule 5, page 106, line 22, would ensure that there is no conflict between the prohibition on a bank telling an account holder that it had received an information notice in respect of the holder’s account and any possible subject access requests, and would limit how long the prohibition has effect.</p>

106

Schedule 5, page 107, line 12, at end insert “the bank where the account in question is held,”

<p>This amendment, together with my amendments to Schedule 5, page 108, line 1 and Schedule 5, page 108, line 5, requires a notice under paragraph 5(1) of new Schedule 3ZA to be given to the bank in question.</p>

107

Schedule 5, page 108, line 1, leave out “, including before it is given to the” and insert “before it is given to the other”

<p>See the explanatory statement for my amendment to Schedule 5, page 107, line 12.</p>

66

After Clause 63, insert the following new Clause—<br> <b>“The Office of the Whistleblower for public sector fraud</b><br> (1) The Secretary of State must by regulations made by statutory instrument within one year after the passing of this Act establish a body corporate called the Office of the Whistleblower for public sector fraud (in this Act referred to as “the Office”).<br> (2) The principal duty of the Office is to protect whistleblowers and have oversight of the process of whistleblowing in relation to public sector fraud.<br> (3) The Office must carry out all its work in accordance with the principal duty.<br> (4) The objectives of the Office are—<br> (a) to encourage and support whistleblowers to refer concerns to the appropriate authorities;<br> (b) to support an effective and fair whistleblowing process;<br> (c) to protect the public purse and ensure that wrongdoers bear the cost of wrongdoing revealed by whistleblowing;<br> (d) to promote good governance through the normalisation of whistleblowing;<br> (e) to ensure that concerns raised by whistleblowers are acted upon; and,<br> (f) to monitor and review the operation of this Act.<br> (5) The Office must seek to achieve those objectives consistently with its principal duty.<br> (6) Regulations made under this section are subject to the affirmative procedure.”

<p>This amendment establishes the office of the whistleblower which has the duty to oversee the process of whistleblowing in relation to public and private sector fraud.</p>

108

Schedule 5, page 108, line 5, leave out “before it is given to the persons to whom it is required to be given,”

<p>See the explanatory statement for my amendment to Schedule 5, page 107, line 12.</p>

110

Schedule 5, page 108, line 39, leave out “, or a method for calculating the amounts,”

<p>This amendment means that a regular direct deduction order given by the Secretary of State must specify the amounts to be deducted.</p>

112

Schedule 5, page 109, line 8, leave out “, or method for calculating the amount,”

<p>This amendment means that a lump sum direct deduction order given by the Secretary of State must specify the amount to be deducted.</p>

113

Schedule 5, page 110, line 19, leave out “first notice” and insert “pre-deduction notice”

<p>This amendment, together with my amendments to Schedule 5, page 111, line 7, and Schedule 5, page 111, line 15, would replace the tag “first notice” with “pre-deduction notice”. This has no substantive effect but is intended to be easier to understand.</p>

114

Schedule 5, page 111, line 7, leave out “first notice” and insert “pre-deduction notice”

<p>See the explanatory statement for my amendment to Schedule 5, page 110, line 19.</p>

115

Schedule 5, page 111, line 14, leave out “, or calculated in accordance with,”

<p>This amendment is consequential on my amendments to Schedule 5, page 108, line 39 and Schedule 5, page 109, line 8.</p>

116

Schedule 5, page 111, line 15, leave out “first notice” and insert “pre-deduction notice”

<p>See the explanatory statement for my amendment to Schedule 5, page 110, line 19.</p>

117

Schedule 5, page 112, leave out lines 14 and 15

<p>This amendment removes a provision that is redundant (because paragraph 7(5) applies in relation to every direct deduction order).</p>

119

Schedule 5, page 114, line 31, leave out from “(1)” to end of line 37 and insert “may not be brought after the end of—<br> (a) the period of one month beginning with the day after the day on which the appellant was—<br> (i) given a copy of the direct deduction order, or the varied direct deduction order, in a case within sub-paragraph (1)(a) or (b), or<br> (ii) notified under paragraph 12(3) or, where a review was sought, paragraph 18(6), in a case within sub-paragraph (1)(c), or<br> (b) such longer period (if any) as the Tribunal considers reasonable in all the circumstances.”

<p>This amendment means that the Tribunal can extend the time limit for bringing an appeal in relation to a direct deduction order of the Secretary of State.</p>

120

Schedule 5, page 116, line 8, at end insert “, or<br> (b) such longer period (if any) as the Tribunal considers reasonable in all the circumstances.”

<p>This amendment means that the Tribunal can extend the time limit for appealing against a penalty under Part 2 of Schedule 5.</p>

121

Schedule 5, page 116, line 15, at end insert—<br> <i class="text-centre">“Deputies</i><br> 22A <span class="sub-para subparagraph"><span class="sub-para-num">(1)</span><span class="sub-para-text">This paragraph applies where a person (a “deputy”) acts on behalf of an account holder (including a liable person) in relation to their account by virtue of—</span></span><br> <span class="sub-para subparagraph sub-para-indented"><span class="sub-para-num">(a)</span><span class="sub-para-text">a power of attorney, or</span></span><br> <span class="sub-para subparagraph sub-para-indented"><span class="sub-para-num">(b)</span><span class="sub-para-text">an appointment by, or an order of, a court.</span></span><br> <span class="sub-para subparagraph sub-para-indented"><span class="sub-para-num">(2)</span><span class="sub-para-text">The following provisions apply in relation to the deputy of the account holder as they apply in relation to the account holder—</span></span><br> <span class="sub-para subparagraph sub-para-indented"><span class="sub-para-num">(a)</span><span class="sub-para-text">paragraph 1(7);</span></span><br> <span class="sub-para subparagraph sub-para-indented"><span class="sub-para-num">(b)</span><span class="sub-para-text">paragraph 3(5)(b) and (c);</span></span><br> <span class="sub-para subparagraph sub-para-indented"><span class="sub-para-num">(c)</span><span class="sub-para-text">paragraph 3(9);</span></span><br> <span class="sub-para subparagraph sub-para-indented"><span class="sub-para-num">(d)</span><span class="sub-para-text">paragraph 3(9A);</span></span><br> <span class="sub-para subparagraph sub-para-indented"><span class="sub-para-num">(e)</span><span class="sub-para-text">paragraph 5;</span></span><br> <span class="sub-para subparagraph sub-para-indented"><span class="sub-para-num">(f)</span><span class="sub-para-text">paragraph 11(1);</span></span><br> <span class="sub-para subparagraph sub-para-indented"><span class="sub-para-num">(g)</span><span class="sub-para-text">paragraph 12;</span></span><br> <span class="sub-para subparagraph sub-para-indented"><span class="sub-para-num">(h)</span><span class="sub-para-text">paragraph 13(3), (6) and (8)(b);</span></span><br> <span class="sub-para subparagraph sub-para-indented"><span class="sub-para-num">(i)</span><span class="sub-para-text">paragraph 14(3);</span></span><br> <span class="sub-para subparagraph sub-para-indented"><span class="sub-para-num">(j)</span><span class="sub-para-text">paragraph 15(3);</span></span><br> <span class="sub-para subparagraph sub-para-indented"><span class="sub-para-num">(k)</span><span class="sub-para-text">paragraph 16(2);</span></span><br> <span class="sub-para subparagraph sub-para-indented"><span class="sub-para-num">(l)</span><span class="sub-para-text">paragraph 18;</span></span><br> <span class="sub-para subparagraph sub-para-indented"><span class="sub-para-num">(m)</span><span class="sub-para-text">paragraph 19.</span></span><br> <span class="sub-para subparagraph sub-para-indented"><span class="sub-para-num">(3)</span><span class="sub-para-text">Paragraph 13(7)(a) and (b) applies in relation to the deputy of the account holder instead of the account holder.”</span></span>

<p>This new paragraph ensures that new Schedule 3ZA to Social Security Administration Act 1992 operates effectively where a person acts on behalf of an account holder by virtue of a power of attorney or an appointment by, or an order of, a court.</p>

122

Schedule 5, page 116, line 17, at the end insert—<br> ““appropriate court” means—<br> (a) in England and Wales, the county court;<br> (b) in Scotland, the sheriff;”

<p>This amendment is consequential on the amendment in the name of Baroness Fox of Buckley to Clause 17, page 10, line 19.</p>

75

Clause 70, page 37, line 5, at end insert—<br> ““appropriate court” means—<br> (a) in England and Wales, the county court;<br> (b) in Scotland, the sheriff;”

<p>This amendment is consequential on the amendment in the name of Baroness Fox of Buckley to Clause 17, page 10, line 19.</p>

26

Clause 14, page 9, line 33, leave out paragraph (a) and insert—<br> “(a) the period for appealing mentioned in section 60(2)(a) has passed without an appeal being brought, or”

<p>This amendment is consequential on my amendment to clause 60, page 32, line 25.</p>

27

Clause 17, page 10, line 19, leave out “make” and insert “apply to the appropriate court for”

<p>This amendment removes the power of the Minister to make direct deduction orders and instead provides for direct deduction orders to be made only by a court following an application by the Minister to the court.</p>

29

Clause 19, page 11, line 25, after “Minister” insert “reasonably”

<p>This amendment requires the Minister to “reasonably believe” rather than just “believe” a liable person holds the bank account in question to set an objective, rather than subjective, belief test.</p>

35

Clause 23, page 15, line 3, leave out “, or a method for calculating the amounts,”

<p>This amendment means that a regular direct deduction order given by the Minister for the Cabinet Office must specify the amounts to be deducted.</p>

36

Clause 23, page 15, line 8, leave out “, or different methods for calculating the amounts,”

<p>This amendment is consequential on my amendment to clause 23, page 15, line 3.</p>

37

Clause 23, page 15, line 11, leave out “, or method for calculating the amount,”

<p>This amendment means that a lump sum direct deduction order given by the Minister for the Cabinet Office must specify the amount to be deducted.</p>

41

Clause 26, page 16, line 14, leave out “first notice” and insert “pre-deduction notice”

<p>This amendment, together with my other amendments to clauses 26 and 27 to the same effect, would replace the tag “first notice” with “pre-deduction notice”. This has no substantive effect but is intended to be easier to understand.</p>

42

Clause 26, page 17, line 2, leave out “first notice” and insert “pre-deduction notice”

<p>See the explanatory statement for my amendment to clause 26, page 16, line 14.</p>

43

Clause 26, page 17, line 8, leave out “, or calculated in accordance with,”

<p>This amendment is consequential on my amendments to clause 23, page 15, line 3 and clause 23, page 15, line 11.</p>

44

Clause 26, page 17, line 9, leave out “first notice” and insert “pre-deduction notice”

<p>See the explanatory statement for my amendment to clause 26, page 16, line 14.</p>

45

Clause 27, page 17, line 11, leave out “first notice” and insert “pre-deduction notice”

<p>See the explanatory statement for my amendment to clause 26, page 16, line 14.</p>

46

Clause 27, page 17, line 12, leave out “in relation to an account that they hold” and insert “(other than a bank) in relation to an account”

<p>See the explanatory statement for my amendment inserting a new clause after clause 36.</p>

47

Clause 27, page 17, line 13, leave out “first notice” and insert “pre-deduction notice”

<p>See the explanatory statement for my amendment to clause 26, page 16, line 14.</p>

48

Clause 27, page 17, line 16, leave out “first notice” and insert “pre-deduction notice”

<p>See the explanatory statement for my amendment to clause 26, page 16, line 14.</p>

49

Clause 27, page 17, line 22, leave out “first notice” and insert “pre-deduction notice”

<p>See the explanatory statement for my amendment to clause 26, page 16, line 14.</p>

51

Clause 29, page 18, line 1, after “order” insert “other than under subsection (7)”

<p>This amendment removes an unnecessary requirement to seek representations from account holders before a direct deduction order is varied in circumstances where their consent is required in any event.</p>

52

Clause 29, page 18, line 24, leave out sub-paragraph (ii)

<p>This amendment removes a provision that is redundant (because section 23(5) applies in relation to every direct deduction order).</p>

60

Clause 35, page 21, line 3, leave out from “person” to end of line 5 and insert “may not bring an appeal under subsection (1) after the end of—<br> (a) the period of 28 days beginning with the day after the day on which the person was notified of the outcome of the review, or<br> (b) such longer period (if any) as the Tribunal considers reasonable in all the circumstances.”

<p>This amendment means that the tribunal can extend the time limit for bringing an appeal in relation to a direct deduction order of the Minister for the Cabinet Office.</p>

86

Schedule 3, page 85, line 27, leave out from “(1)” to end of line 33 and insert “may not be brought after the end of—<br> (a) the period of 14 days beginning with—<br> (i) the day on which the eligibility verification notice was given, or<br> (ii) if the person seeks a review of the notice under paragraph 13, the day on which the person is notified of the outcome of the review, or<br> (b) such longer period (if any) as the Tribunal considers reasonable in all the circumstances.”

<p>This amendment means that the tribunal can extend the time limit for appealing against an eligibility verification notice.</p>

87

Schedule 3, page 86, line 13, at end insert “, or<br> (b) such longer period (if any) as the Tribunal considers reasonable in all the circumstances.”

<p>This amendment means that the tribunal can extend the time limit for appealing against a penalty imposed for a failure to comply with an eligibility verification notice.</p>

None

After Clause 91, insert the following new Clause- "Duty to consider domestic abuse risk to account holders (1) Before any direct deduction order under Schedule 5 is made, the Secretary of State has a duty to consider its effect on any person who- (a) is a victim of domestic abuse, or (b) the Minister reasonably believes to be at risk of domestic abuse. (2) In this section “domestic abuse” has the meaning given by section 1 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021."

124

After Clause 96, insert the following new Clause—<br> <b>“Recovery of overpayments of Carer’s Allowance</b><br> The Secretary of State may not exercise any of the powers of recovery under this Act in relation to a person who has received an overpayment of Carer’s Allowance until such time as—<br> (a) the Secretary of State has commissioned an independent review of the overpayment of Carer's Allowance;<br> (b) the review has concluded its inquiry and submitted a report containing recommendations to the Secretary of State;<br> (c) the Secretary of State has laid the report of the independent review before Parliament;<br> (d) the Secretary of State has implemented the recommendations of the independent review.”

<p>This new clause would delay any payments being taken from people who the Government may think owe repayments on Carer’s Allowance until the independent review into Carer’s Allowance overpayments has been published and fully implemented.</p>

126

After Clause 100, insert the following new Clause—<br> <b>“Impact of Act on people facing financial exclusion</b><br> (1) The independent person appointed under section 64(1) of this Act (independent review) must carry out an assessment of the impact of this Act on the number of people facing financial exclusion.<br> (2) The independent person must, 12 months after the passing of the Act—<br> (a) prepare a report on the review, and<br> (b) submit the report to the Minister.<br> (3) On receiving a report the Minister must—<br> (a) publish it, and<br> (b) lay a copy before Parliament.”

<p>This new Clause would look into the impact of the Act on people facing financial exclusion.</p>

103

Schedule 5, page 105, line 18, leave out from beginning to end of line 33 on page 106.

<p>This will prevent the DWP from being able to compel banks to disclose the bank statements of benefits recipients to decide whether to issue a direct deduction powers.</p>

65

After Clause 63, insert the following new Clause—<br> <b>“Report on public sector fraud during COVID-19 pandemic</b><br> (1) The Minister for the Cabinet Office must, within six months of the passing of this Act, lay before Parliament a report evaluating the extent of public sector fraud that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic.<br> (2) The report must include—<br> (a) an account of fraudulent or erroneous payments made by or on behalf of public authorities, including but not limited to the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England,<br> (b) a review of how public procurement practices in place between March 2020 and December 2021, including—<br> (i) the use of high priority and expedited contracting for suppliers, and<br> (ii) the role of political appointments and personal connections in procurement decisions, may have contributed to fraud against public authorities,<br> (c) the cost to the public purse of fraud against public authorities during the COVID-19 pandemic, and<br> (d) an assessment of the adequacy of Government oversight and other measures then in place to prevent fraud against public authorities.<br> (3) Where the report finds or concludes that there were—<br> (a) failings in Government oversight and other measures then in place to prevent fraud against public authorities, or<br> (b) any action or inaction by the Government which enabled fraud against public authorities,<br> <span class="wrapped">the Minister must make a statement to the House of Commons acknowledging these findings and setting out actions planned to ensure any failings are not repeated.”</span>

109

Schedule 5, page 108, line 12, at end insert—<br> “5A <span class="sub-para subparagraph"><span class="sub-para-num">(1)</span><span class="sub-para-text">Before any direct deduction order under this Schedule is made, the Secretary of State has a duty to consider its effect on any person who—</span></span><br> <span class="sub-para subparagraph sub-para-indented"><span class="sub-para-num">(a)</span><span class="sub-para-text">is a victim of domestic abuse, or</span></span><br> <span class="sub-para subparagraph sub-para-indented"><span class="sub-para-num">(b)</span><span class="sub-para-text">the Secretary of State reasonably believes to be at risk of domestic abuse.</span></span><br> <span class="sub-para subparagraph sub-para-indented"><span class="sub-para-num">(2)</span><span class="sub-para-text">For the purposes of this paragraph, “domestic abuse” has the meaning given by section 1 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021.”</span></span>

77

Clause 72, page 40, line 20, at beginning insert “reasonably”

<p>This amendment would insert a reasonableness test for the authorised officer to consider it to be necessary and proportionate to require the specified information.</p>

<i>Baroness Kramer gives notice of her intention to oppose the Question that Clause 74 stand part of the Bill.</i>

<p>This removes the requirement for banks to look into relevant claimants’ bank accounts.</p>

91

Clause 75, page 44, line 11, at end insert—<br> “(d) the exercise of the Secretary of State’s powers under Schedule 3B has been proportionate to the costs incurred both by the Secretary of State and by persons required to respond to eligibility verification notices.”

<p>This amendment would widen the scope of the independent review of the use of the eligibility verification powers to ensure that the costs incurred both by the Department and by the banks and other institutions in complying with notices are proportionate to the results.</p>

81

Schedule 3, page 78, line 19, at end insert—<br> “(9) Before giving a person an eligibility verification notice, the Secretary of State must be satisfied that the costs that will be incurred by the person in responding to the eligibility verification notice will be proportionate and reasonable for that person to incur, or the Secretary of State must agree in advance to repay all or some of the costs to the person.”

<p>This amendment is intended to probe how the Secretary of State will ensure that they do not impose undue costs on the banks and to what extent the banks will be able to recoup these costs.</p>

84

Schedule 3, page 80, line 26, at end insert—<br> <i class="text-centre">“Reasonable grounds for suspicion</i><br> 5A The existence of an eligibility indicator alone does not constitute reasonable grounds for suspicion for the purpose of section 109BZB (1)(a) of the Social Security Administration Act 1992.”

<p>This amendment would ensure that an authorised person would need more evidence than the existence of an eligibility indicator alone before exercising more intrusive investigations.</p>

85

Schedule 3, page 80, line 26, at end insert—<br> <i class="text-centre">“Appropriate review of EVM information</i><br> 5A Before taking any action to amend or suspend any benefit payments, or exercising the powers in Clause 109BZB of the Social Security Administration Act 1992, the EVM information must first have been reviewed by a person with appropriate seniority and experience authorised by the Secretary of State.”

<p>This amendment would require information received following an eligibility verification notice to be reviewed by an appropriately senior person before a person’s benefits can be amended or intrusive investigations commenced.</p>

89

Schedule 3, page 88, leave out lines 9 to 13

<p>This amendment ensures that the Bill can only be used in relation to benefits listed in the Bill.</p>

<i>Baroness Kramer gives notice of her intention to oppose the Question that Schedule 3 be the Third Schedule to the Bill.</i>

<p>This notice is related to another in the name of Baroness Kramer and removes the requirement for banks to look into relevant claimants’ bank accounts.</p>

123

After Clause 96, insert the following new Clause—<br> <b>“Overpayments made as a result of official error</b><br> (1) Section 71ZB of the Social Security Administration Act 1992 (recovery of benefit payments) is amended as follows.<br> (2) In subsection (1), for “The” substitute “Subject to subsection (1A), the”.<br> (3) After subsection (1) insert—<br> “(1A) The amount referred to in subsection (1) must not include any overpayment that arose in consequence of an official error where the claimant or a person acting on the claimant’s behalf or any other person to whom the payment is made could not, at the time of receipt of the payment or of any notice relating to that payment, reasonably have been expected to realise that it was an overpayment.””

<p>This new Clause would bring the test for recovery of Universal Credit overpayments caused by official error into line with Regulation 100(2) of the Housing Benefit Regulations 2006 by providing that they can only be recovered where the claimant could reasonably have been expected to realise that there was an overpayment.</p>

<i>The above-named Lords give notice of their intention to oppose the Question that Clause 92 stand part of the Bill.</i>

<p>This together with the associated amendment to Schedule 6 removes the provisions which provide for disqualification from driving.</p>

<i>Lord Davies of Brixton gives notice of his intention to oppose the Question that Schedule 6 be the Sixth Schedule to the Bill.</i>

<p>This together with the associated amendment to Clause 92 removes the provisions which provide for disqualification from driving.</p>

80

Schedule 3, page 77, leave out lines 21 to 26 and insert “which belong to a person who the authorised officer has reasonable grounds to suspect has committed, is committing or intends to commit a DWP offence.”

<p>This amendment would limit the exercise of an eligibility verification notice to cases where the welfare recipient is suspected of wrongdoing.</p>

83

Schedule 3, page 80, line 17, at end insert—<br> <span class="sub-para subparagraph sub-para-indented"><span class="sub-para-num">(10A)</span><span class="sub-para-text">An eligibility verification notice may not require a person to provide data if that person reasonably considers that in doing so it would conflict with the reasonable duty of care that they should exercise towards their customer.”</span></span>

<p>This amendment would require financial services providers, when asked to provide data to the DWP under these provisions, not to provide that data if this conflicts with their duty of care towards their customers.</p>

None

Schedule 3, page 77, leave out lines 21 to 26 and insert “which belong to a person who the authorised officer has reasonable grounds to suspect has committed, is committing or intends to commit a DWP offence."

None

Lord Davies of Brixton gives notice of his intention to oppose the Question that Clause 92 stand part of the Bill.

None

Lord Davies of Brixton gives notice of his intention to oppose the Question that Schedule 6 be the Sixth Schedule to the Bill.

NC14

To move the following Clause— "Impact of Act on vulnerable customers (1) The Secretary of State must, within six months of the passing of this Act, lay before Parliament an assessment of the expected impact of the Act on vulnerable customers. (2) For the purposes of this section, “vulnerable customers” means someone who, due to their personal circumstances, is especially susceptible to harm, particularly when a firm is not acting with appropriate levels of care.”

NC21

To move the following Clause- "Offence of encouraging or assisting others to commit fraud (1) The Social Security Administration Act 1992 is amended as follows. (2) In section 111A (dishonest representation for obtaining benefit etc), after subsection (1G) insert— "(1H) A person commits an offence if they- (a) encourage or assist another person to commit an offence under this section, or (b) provide guidance on how to commit an offence under this section. (1I) An offence under this section can be committed where the encouragement, assistance or guidance happens online. (1J) A person who commits an offence under this section is liable on conviction on indictment to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years or an unlimited fine." (3) In section 112 (false representations for obtaining benefit etc), after subsection (1F) insert- "(1G) A person commits an offence if they- (a) encourage or assist another person to commit an offence under this section, or (b) provide guidance on how to commit an offence under this section. (1H) An offence under this section can be committed where the encouragement, assistance or guidance happens online. (1I) A person who commits an offence under this section is liable on conviction on indictment to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years or an unlimited fine."

NC22

To move the following Clause— "Impact of Act on people with protected characteristics The Secretary of State must, prior to making regulations under section 103 to bring into force any provision of this Act, lay before Parliament an assessment of the expected impact of the Act on people with protected characteristics who are in receipt of social security benefits."

NC23

To move the following Clause- "Report on public sector fraud during COVID-19 pandemic (1) The Minister for the Cabinet Office must, within six months of the passing of this Act, lay before Parliament a report evaluating the extent of public sector fraud that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. (2) The report must include— (a) an account of fraudulent or erroneous payments made by or on behalf of public authorities, including but not limited to the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England, (b) a review of how public procurement practices in place between March 2020 and December 2021, including- (i) the use of high priority and expedited contracting for suppliers, and (ii) the role of political appointments and personal connections in procurement decisions, (c) the cost to the public purse of fraud against public authorities during the COVID-19 pandemic, and (d) an assessment of the adequacy of Government oversight and other measures then in place to prevent fraud against public authorities. (3) Where the report finds or concludes that there were- (a) failings in Government oversight and other measures then in place to prevent fraud against public authorities, or (b) any action or inaction by the Government which enabled fraud against public authorities, the Minister must make a statement to the House of Commons acknowledging these findings and setting out actions planned to ensure any failings are not repeated."

80

Clause 4, page 3, line 34, leave out “7” and insert "8"

81

Clause 4, page 4, line 10, at end insert- "(7) Where a person has applied for a review of an information notice, the period mentioned in section 3(4)(a) is to be treated as beginning on the day after which the outcome of the review is notified to the person to whom the information notice was given."

20

Clause 103, page 64, line 1, at end insert— "(3A) Before bringing into force any of the provisions of Part 1 of this Act, the Secretary of State must consult with banks as to the costs which will be incurred by banks upon application of the provisions of Part 1. (3B) Where consultation finds that the expected costs to banks are at a disproportionate level, the Secretary of State may not bring into force the provisions which are expected to result in such disproportionate costs."

Gov 32

Page 38, line 24, leave out Clause 72

Gov 33

Page 40, line 29, leave out Clause 73

Gov 34

Clause 81, page 46, line 10, after “2” insert "(1)(e) and (f)"

Gov 35

Clause 85, page 49, line 21, at end insert "so far as the provision applies in connection with the exercise of powers by or on behalf of the Secretary of State"

Gov 36

Clause 85, page 50, line 9, leave out “on a not for profit basis” and insert “free of charge"

Gov 37

Clause 85, page 50, line 10, leave out "the provision of temporary accommodation" and insert "services that involve the provision of accommodation”

Gov 38

Clause 85, page 50, line 12, leave out "the recipients of the services” and insert "persons receiving such a service free of charge"

Gov 39

Clause 85, page 50, leave out lines 14 and 15 and insert- "(a) journalistic material, or (b) excluded material,"

Gov 40

Clause 85, page 50, line 17, leave out "14" and insert “13”

Gov 41

Clause 85, page 50, leave out lines 18 to 22 and insert— "(10) But subsections (5) to (9) do not apply in relation to— (a) the provisions of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 as applied by section 109D, and (b) Schedule 3ZD."

Gov 42

Clause 87, page 50, line 37, at end insert “by or on behalf of the Secretary of State"

Gov 43

Clause 89, page 54, line 31, at end insert- "other than an amount or a penalty relating to a devolved benefit. (2A) For the purposes of this Part- (a) a benefit is a devolved benefit if functions under this Part are exercisable in relation to the benefit by the Scottish Ministers by virtue of section 53 of the Scotland Act 1998, read with section 32 of the Scotland Act 2016, but (b) powers of the Secretary of State under section 80B (and Schedule 3ZA) and section 80C (and Schedule 3ZB) are exercisable in relation to the recovery of an amount or a penalty relating to a devolved benefit where arrangements made under section 93(1) of the Scotland Act 1998 (agency arrangements) have the effect that the Secretary of State is to exercise any functions of the Scottish Ministers under this Part on behalf of the Scottish Ministers in relation to the benefit. (See also section (Powers of Scottish Ministers) of the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Act 2025.)”

Gov 79

Clause 99, page 62, line 10, leave out "an England and Wales" and insert "a relevant"

Gov 78

Clause 99, page 62, line 18, leave out "England and Wales” and insert "relevant"

Gov 77

Clause 99, page 62, line 22, leave out "an "England and Wales" and insert "a "relevant"

Gov 74

Clause 99, page 62, line 24, leave out “or a devolved Welsh authority”

Gov 73

Clause 99, page 62, line 30, leave out paragraph (c)

Gov 44

Clause 99, page 62, line 40, at end insert- "( ) In the Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973, in Schedule 1 (obligations affected by prescriptive periods of 5 years under section 6), in paragraph 2(fb)(i), at the end insert ", including as amended by the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Act 2025”.”

Gov 72

Clause 103, page 64, line 1, at end insert— "(3A) Before bringing into force any of the provisions of Part 1 of this Act, the Secretary of State must consult with banks as to the costs which will be incurred by banks upon application of the provisions of Part 1. (3B) Where consultation finds that the expected costs to banks are at a disproportionate level, the Secretary of State may not bring into force the provisions which are expected to result in such disproportionate costs.”

Gov 45

Schedule 1, page 66, leave out lines 20 to 22 and insert— ""(2A) Subsection (2B) applies where an authorised investigator- (a) has seized something or taken something away following a requirement made by virtue of section 19 or 20 on the basis that it is evidence of an offence, and (b) considers that the thing may be evidence that is relevant to an investigation of an offence (whether or not the offence mentioned in paragraph (a)) in relation to which another person has functions. (2B) Where this subsection applies— (a) an authorised investigator may transfer the thing to that person, (b) where that person considers that the thing may be evidence that is relevant to an investigation in relation to which that person has functions, that person may accept and retain the thing, and (c) any provision of an enactment that applies to anything seized or taken away by that person applies to the thing as if it had been seized or taken away by that person for the purposes of the investigation of the relevant offence. (2C) In subsection (2B)(c), “enactment" includes an enactment contained in subordinate legislation within the meaning of the Interpretation Act 1978.";"

Gov NC17

To move the following Clause- "Information notices (1) The Social Security Administration Act 1992 is amended as follows. (2) In section 109A (authorisations for investigators)— (a) before subsection (1) insert- "(A1) An individual who for the time being has the Secretary of State's authorisation for the purposes of this Part is entitled- (a) for any one or more of the purposes mentioned in paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (2), to exercise any of the powers which are conferred on an authorised officer by section 109BZA; (b) for any one or more of the purposes mentioned in paragraphs (c) and (d) of subsection (2), to exercise any of the powers which are conferred on an authorised officer by section 109BZB; (c) for any one or more of the purposes mentioned in subsection (2), to exercise any of the powers which are conferred on an authorised officer by section 109C.”; (b) in subsection (1) for "Secretary of State's" substitute ""Scottish Ministers'"; (c) in subsection (2)(d), after "offences” insert "or, for the purposes of subsection (A1), other DWP offences"; (d) in subsection (8), for "109B and 109C below" substitute "109B to 109C". (3) In section 109B (power to require information), in the heading, after "information” insert ": officers authorised by Scottish Ministers". (4) After section 109B insert- "109BZA Power to require information about entitlement etc: officers authorised by Secretary of State (1) An authorised officer may give a person ("P") a written notice (an "information notice”) requiring P to give an authorised officer the information described in the notice where the officer has reasonable grounds for suspecting that P- (a) is a person falling within subsection (2) of section 109B, and (b) has or may have possession of or access to any information about any matter that is relevant for any one or more of the purposes mentioned in section 109A(2)(a) or (b) (entitlement to benefits etc). (2) Information may be specified in an information notice only if it is reasonable for the authorised officer to require the information for one or more of the purposes mentioned in section 109A(2)(a) or (b). (3) An authorised officer may require P to give specified information only if the officer has reasonable grounds to suspect that P has or is able to access the information. (4) Subsections (2E) to (4) of section 109B apply to an information notice under this section as they apply to a notice under that section. (5) Nothing in this section limits the powers conferred on the Secretary of State by Schedule 3B. 109BZB Power to require information about suspected fraud etc: officers authorised by Secretary of State (1) An authorised officer may give a person ("P") a written notice (an "information notice”) requiring P to give an authorised officer specified information where the officer- (a) has reasonable grounds to suspect that a person has committed, is committing or intends to commit a DWP offence, and (b) considers that it is necessary and proportionate to require the specified information for a purpose mentioned in section 109A(2)(c) or (d) (investigating compliance with the relevant social security legislation etc). (2) Information may be specified in an information notice only if it relates to a person who is identified (by name or description) in the information notice as- (a) the person suspected as mentioned in subsection (1)(a), or (b) a member of that person's family (within the meaning of Part 7 of the Contributions and Benefits Act). (3) An authorised officer may require P to give specified information only if the officer has reasonable grounds to suspect that P has or is able to access the information. (4) An information notice must set out- (a) the identity (by name or description) of the person to whom the information requested relates; (b) how, where and the period within which the information must be given; (c) information about the consequences of not complying with the notice. (5) The power under this section to require P to give information includes power to- (a) take copies of or extracts from information; (b) require P to provide information in a specified form; (c) if any specified information is not given to an authorised officer, require P to state, to the best of P's knowledge and belief, both where that information is and why it has not been given to the authorised officer. (6) Subsection (2E) of section 109B (communications data) applies to an information notice under this section as it applies to a notice under that section. (7) In this section— "information" means information in the form of a document or in any other form; "specified" means- (a) specified, or described, in the information notice, or (b) falling within a category that is specified or described in the information notice. (8) Nothing in this section limits the powers conferred on the Secretary of State by Schedule 3B." (5) In section 109BA (power of Secretary of State to require electronic access to information)— (a) in the heading, omit "of Secretary of State"; (b) before subsection (1) insert- "(A1) Subject to subsection (2) below, where it appears to the Secretary of State- (a) that a person keeps any electronic records, (b) that the records contain or are likely, from time to time, to contain information about a matter that is relevant for one or more of the purposes mentioned in section 109A(2)(c) or (d), and (c) that facilities exist under which electronic access to those records is being provided, or is capable of being provided, by that person to other persons, the Secretary of State may require that person to enter into arrangements under which authorised officers are allowed such access to those records."; (c) in subsection (1), for “Secretary of State", in both places it occurs, substitute "Scottish Ministers"; (d) in subsection (2)— (i) in paragraph (a), after "subsection”, in the first place it occurs, insert "(A1) or", and (ii) in paragraph (b), for "section 109B above” substitute "— (i) in the case of arrangements entered into under subsection (A1), section 109BZB; (ii) in the case of arrangements entered into under subsection (1), section 109B."; (e) in subsection (3), after "subsection" insert "(A1) or"; (f) in subsection (4)— (i) after "subsection” insert "(A1) or", and (ii) for "section 109B" substitute "- (a) in the case of arrangements entered into under subsection (A1), section 109BZB; (b) in the case of arrangements entered into under subsection (1), section 109B.""

Gov NC18

To move the following Clause- "Consequential amendments to the Social Security Fraud Act 2001 (1) The Social Security Fraud Act 2001 is amended as follows. (2) Section 3 (code of practice about use of information powers) is amended in accordance with subsections (3) and (4). (3) Before subsection (1) insert- "(A1) The Secretary of State must issue a code of practice relating to the exercise of the powers that are exercisable by an authorised officer under section 109BZB of the Administration Act." (4) In subsection (1), for "Secretary of State” substitute "Scottish Ministers". (5) Section 4 (arrangements for payments in respect of information) is amended as follows. (6) Before subsection (1) insert- "(A1) The Secretary of State must ensure that such arrangements (if any) are in force as the Secretary of State thinks appropriate for requiring or authorising, in such cases as the Secretary of State thinks fit, the making of such payments as the Secretary of State considers appropriate in respect of compliance with relevant obligations by any person. (A2) In subsection (A1), “relevant obligation” means an obligation to provide information, or access to information, under section 109BZB or 109BA of the Administration Act." (7) In subsection (1)— (a) for "Secretary of State” substitute “Scottish Ministers"; (b) for "he thinks", in both places it occurs, substitute "they think"; (c) for "he considers” substitute "they consider". (8) Omit subsection (4)."

Gov NC19

To move the following Clause- "Devolved benefits In the Social Security Administration Act 1992, after section 121D, insert- "121DZA Devolved Benefits (1) Subject to subsection (3), powers of the Secretary of State under this Part (including powers of an individual who has the Secretary of State's authorisation for the purposes of this Part as mentioned in section 109A) are not exercisable in relation to a devolved benefit. (2) A benefit is a devolved benefit if functions under this Part are exercisable in relation to the benefit by the Scottish Ministers by virtue of section 53 of the Scotland Act 1998, read with section 32 of the Scotland Act 2016. (3) The powers referred to in subsection (1) are exercisable in relation to a devolved benefit where arrangements made under section 93(1) of the Scotland Act 1998 (agency arrangements) have the effect that the Secretary of State is to exercise any functions of the Scottish Ministers under this Part on behalf of the Scottish Ministers in relation to the benefit. (4) See also section (Powers of Scottish Ministers) of the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Act 2025.""

Gov NC20

To move the following Clause- "Powers of Scottish Ministers (1) Nothing in this Part is to be taken as adding or removing functions of the Scottish Ministers under the Social Security Administration Act 1992. (2) Accordingly, those functions continue to be the functions that are exercisable under that Act by the Scottish Ministers by virtue of section 53 of the Scotland Act 1998, read with section 32 of the Scotland Act 2016 (including where an amendment made by this Part has the effect that a provision of the Social Security Administration Act 1992 refers to the Scottish Ministers expressly)."

NC8

To move the following Clause- "Offence of fraud against a public authority (1) A person who- (a) commits, (b) assists or conspires in the committal of, or (c) encourages the committal of, fraud against a public authority commits an offence. (2) A person who commits an offence under subsection (1) is liable- (a) on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding the general limit in a magistrates' court or a fine (or both); (b) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years."

NC9

To move the following Clause- "Application of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 to investigations conducted by the Department for Work and Pensions (1) The Secretary of State must, within six months of the passing of this Act, introduce regulations for the purpose of applying certain powers of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, subject to such modifications as the order may specify, to investigations of offences conducted by the Department for Work and Pensions. (2) The powers to be applied must include- (a) the power of arrest; (b) any other such powers that the Secretary of State considers appropriate. (3) Regulations made under this section shall be made by statutory instrument."

NC10

To move the following Clause- "Liability orders (1) Where a person- (a) has been found guilty of an offence under section 1 or section 11 of the Fraud Act 2006, or the offence at common law of conspiracy to defraud, (b) that offence relates to fraud committed against a public authority, and (c) has not paid the required penalties or not made the required repayments, the Secretary of State must apply to a magistrates' court or, in Scotland, to the sheriff for an order (“a liability order”) against the liable person. (2) Where the Secretary of State applies for a liability order, the magistrates' court or (as the case may be) sheriff shall make the order if satisfied that the payments in question have become payable by the liable person and have not been paid. (3) The Secretary of State may make regulations in relation to England and Wales— (a) prescribing the procedure to be followed in dealing with an application by the Secretary of State for a liability order; (b) prescribing the form and contents of a liability order; and (c) providing that where a magistrates' court has made a liability order, the person against whom it is made shall, during such time as the amount in respect of which the order was made remains wholly or partly unpaid, be under a duty to supply relevant information to the Secretary of State. (4) Where a liability order has been made against a person ("the liable person"), the Secretary of State may use the procedure in Schedule 12 to the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 (taking control of goods) to recover the amount in respect of which the order was made, to the extent that it remains unpaid."

NC11

To move the following Clause- "Publication of results of pilot schemes Within three months of the passing of this Act, the Secretary of State must publish the results of any pilot schemes run with banks to test the provisions in Chapter 1 of Part 2."

NC12

To move the following Clause- "Report on cost implications for banks The Secretary of State must, within three months of the passing of this Act, publish a report on the expected cost implications of the provisions of this Act for banks."

NC13

To move the following Clause- "Annual reporting of amounts recovered (1) The Secretary of State must publish an annual report detailing the amount of money which has been recovered under the provisions of this Act. (2) A first report must be published no later than 12 months after the passing of this Act with subsequent reports published at intervals of no more than 12 months."

NC15

To move the following Clause- "Impact of Act on vulnerable customers (1) The Secretary of State must, within six months of the passing of this Act, lay before Parliament an assessment of the expected impact of the Act on vulnerable customers. (2) For the purposes of this section, “vulnerable customers” means someone who, due to their personal circumstances, is especially susceptible to harm, particularly when a firm is not acting with appropriate levels of care."

NC16

To move the following Clause- "Publication of an Anti-Fraud and Error Technology Strategy (1) The Secretary of State must, within six months of the passing of this Act, publish an Anti-Fraud and Error Technology Strategy. (2) An Anti-Fraud and Error Technology Strategy published under this section must set out- (a) how the Government intends to use automated technologies or artificial intelligence to tackle fraud against public authorities and the making of erroneous payments by public authorities, and (b) a series of safeguards to provide for human oversight of decision making that meet the aims set out in subsection (3); (c) how rights of appeal will be protected; (d) a framework for privacy and data sharing. (3) The aims of the safeguards in subsection (2)(b) are— (a) to ensure that grounds for decision making can only be reasonable if they are the result of a process in which there has been meaningful human involvement by a human of adequate expertise to scrutinise any insights or recommendations made by automated systems, (b) to make clear that grounds cannot be reasonable if they are the result of an entirely automated process, and (c) to ensure that any information notice issued is accompanied by a statement- (i) setting out the reasonable grounds for suspicion that have been relied on, and (ii) confirming that the conclusion has been formed on the basis of human involvement."

15

Clause 3, page 3, line 10, leave out "10" and insert "28."

Gov 23

Clause 3, page 3, line 22, leave out paragraphs (a) and (b) and insert— "(a) journalistic material, or (b) excluded material,"

Gov 24

Clause 3, page 3, line 25, leave out "14" and insert "and 13"

16

Clause 4, page 3, line 33, leave out "Minister" and insert "First Tier Tribunal"

13

Clause 4, page 3, line 33, after "notice" insert "or of the duration of the period mentioned in section 3(4)(a)"

17

Clause 4, page 3, line 36, leave out “Minister” and insert “First Tier Tribunal"

18

Clause 4, page 3, line 38, leave out "Minister" and insert "First Tier Tribunal"

14

Clause 4, page 4, line 2, after "notice” insert ", including by extending the duration of the period mentioned in section 3(4)(a) where satisfied that the person is reasonably unable to comply with the requirement to provide the information within the time required by the notice"

19

Clause 4, page 4, line 3, leave out "Minister” and insert "First Tier Tribunal"

Gov 25

Clause 9, page 6, line 11, leave out "Part 2 of"

Gov 26

Clause 9, page 8, line 2, at end insert- "(4) In section 105 (powers of Secretary of State to make orders and regulations), after subsection (5) insert— "(6) In this section, references to the Secretary of State include references to the Minister for the Cabinet Office for the purposes of section 26G (power to make regulations about public sector fraud investigators).""

Gov 27

Clause 22, page 14, line 27, leave out from "the" to "and" on line 28 and insert "relevant amount,"

Gov 28

Clause 22, page 14, line 29, leave out from first "the" to end of line 30 and insert "relevant amount."

Gov 29

Clause 22, page 14, line 35, leave out subsection (5) and insert- "(5) For the purposes of subsection (3), the "relevant amount” is the amount that the Minister reasonably expects to be credited to the account in question in (or in respect of) a typical month during the period for which the order will have effect, having regard to all statements given to the Minister in relation to the account (see sections 19(2) and 31(1))."

Gov 30

Clause 67, page 36, line 14, at end insert- "(5A) Subsection (5) does not apply in relation to the provisions of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 as applied by section 7."

Gov 31

Clause 67, page 36, line 15, leave out subsection (6)

Gov 76

Clause 70, page 37, line 14, at end insert— "(aa) the offences in sections 6 and 7 of that Act (possessing, making or supplying articles for use in frauds), and"

Gov 75

Clause 70, page 37, line 34, at end insert— “() For the purposes of applying this Part in relation to the offences in sections 6 and 7 of the Fraud Act 2006 (possessing, making or supplying articles for use in frauds), references in this Part to fraud against a public authority are to be read as including the commission of those offences by- (a) in relation to section 6 of the Fraud Act 2006, possessing or having control of an article for use in the course of or in connection with a fraud against a public authority, and (b) in relation to section 7 of that Act, making, adapting, supplying or offering to supply an article- (i) knowing that it is designed or adapted for use in the course of or in connection with fraud against a public authority, or (ii) intending it to be used to commit, or assist in the commission of, fraud against a public authority."

22

★ Schedule 3, page 84, line 12, at end insert "(d) housing benefit."

71

★ Schedule 3, page 84, line 13, leave out from "to" to end of line 17 and insert— "remove types of benefit from the definition of "relevant benefit""

21

★ Schedule 3, page 84, line 25, after "money” insert "or such an account which is held by a person appointed to receive benefits on behalf of another person."

Gov 46

★ Schedule 3, page 87, line 3, for "109B and 109BZA" substitute "109BZA and 109BZB"

Gov 47

★ Schedule 4, page 88, line 16, after "for" insert "— (a) the reference to any other offence in section 19(3)(a), and (b)"

Gov 48

★ Schedule 4, page 89, leave out lines 18 to 20 and insert- ""(2A) Subsection (2B) applies where an authorised investigator- (a) has seized something or taken something away following a requirement made by virtue of section 19 or 20 on the basis that it is evidence of an offence, and (b) considers that the thing may be evidence that is relevant to an investigation of an offence (whether or not the offence mentioned in paragraph (a)) in relation to which which another person has functions. (2B) Where this subsection applies- (a) an authorised investigator may transfer the thing to that person, (b) where that person considers that the thing may be evidence that is relevant to an investigation in relation to which that person has functions, that person may accept and retain the thing, and (c) any provision of an enactment that applies to anything seized or taken away by that person applies to the thing as if it had been seized or taken away by that person for the purposes of the investigation of the relevant offence. (2C) In subsection (2B)(c), "enactment" includes- (a) an enactment contained in subordinate legislation within the meaning of the Interpretation Act 1978, and (b) an enactment contained in, or in an instrument made under, an Act of the Scottish Parliament.";"

Gov 49

★ Schedule 4, page 91, line 24, at beginning insert "Subject to paragraph (2A),"

Gov 50

★ Schedule 4, page 91, line 26, at end insert- ""(2A) The power to seize and remove a document, equipment or other item or material on the premises may be exercised if the person has reasonable grounds for believing- (a) that it is evidence in relation to any offence, and (b) it is necessary to seize it in order to prevent the evidence being concealed, lost, altered or destroyed."

Gov 51

★ Schedule 4, page 91, line 31, leave out "or material"

Gov 52

★ Schedule 4, page 92, line 10, leave out "three months" and insert "one month"

Gov 53

★ Schedule 4, page 92, line 30, leave out "of items” and insert "under paragraph 2(1)(d)"

Gov 54

★ Schedule 4, page 93, line 6, leave out "an item” and insert "something"

Gov 55

★ Schedule 4, page 93, line 7, leave out “item” and insert "thing”

Gov 56

★ Schedule 4, page 93, line 11, leave out “item” and insert "thing"

Gov 57

★ Schedule 4, page 93, line 14, leave out "a DWP" and insert "an"

Gov 59

★ Schedule 4, page 93, line 15, at end insert- ""(7) Sub-paragraph (8) applies where- (a) the power in paragraph 2(1)(d) has been exercised to seize and remove something on the basis that it is evidence of an offence, and (b) an authorised investigator considers that the thing may be evidence that is relevant to an investigation of an offence (whether or not the offence mentioned in paragraph (a)) in relation to which another person has functions.

Gov 58

★ Schedule 4, page 93, line 15, leave out "a DWP" and insert "an"

Gov 60

★ Schedule 4, page 94, line 13, leave out "7" and insert "10 working"

Gov 61

★ Schedule 4, page 94, line 24, after "records” insert "within paragraph 9B(1)(a)"

Gov 62

★ Schedule 4, page 95, line 42, after “records” insert “within paragraph 9B(1)(a)"

Gov 63

★ Schedule 4, page 96, line 7, at end insert- “Meaning of “items subject to legal privilege” 9A In this Schedule, "items subject to legal privilege" are- (a) communications between a professional legal adviser and their client, or (b) communications made in connection with or in contemplation of legal proceedings and for the purposes of those proceedings, which would be protected in legal proceedings from disclosure by virtue of any rule of law relating to the confidentiality of communications. Meaning of "excluded material" 9B (1) In this Schedule, "excluded material” means— (a) personal records which a person has acquired or created in the course of any trade, business, profession or other occupation or for the purposes of any paid or unpaid office and which the person holds in confidence; (b) human tissue or tissue fluid which has been taken for the purposes of diagnosis or medical treatment and which a person holds in confidence; (c) journalistic material which a person holds in confidence and which consists- (i) of documents, or (ii) of records other than documents. (2) A person holds material other than journalistic material in confidence for the purposes of this paragraph if the person holds it subject- (a) to an express or implied undertaking to hold it in confidence, or (b) to a restriction on disclosure or an obligation of secrecy contained in any enactment, whenever passed. (3) A person holds journalistic material in confidence for the purposes of this paragraph if— (a) the person holds it subject to such an undertaking, restriction or obligation, and (b) it has been continuously held (by one or more persons) subject to such an undertaking, restriction or obligation since it was first acquired or created for the purposes of journalism.

Gov 64

★ Schedule 4, page 96, line 8, at the beginning insert "Other"

Gov 65

★ Schedule 4, page 96, leave out lines 12 to 21

Gov 66

★ Schedule 4, page 96, leave out lines 29 and 30

Gov 67

★ Schedule 4, page 96, line 30, at end insert- ""working day” means a day other than— (a) a Saturday or a Sunday, or (b) a day which is a bank holiday in Scotland under the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971."

Gov 68

★ Schedule 5, page 101, leave out line 18 and insert "relevant amount."

Gov 69

★ Schedule 5, page 101, leave out lines 19 to 22 and insert— ""(4) For the purposes of sub-paragraph (3), the "relevant amount” is the amount that the Secretary of State reasonably expects to be credited to the account in question in (or in respect of) a typical month during the period for which the order will have effect, having regard to all statements given to the Secretary of State in relation to the account (see paragraphs 3(2) and 15(1)).”

Gov 70

★ Schedule 6, page 114, line 26, at end insert- ""() For the purposes of this paragraph, “driving licence” includes any document by virtue of which a person is authorised under Part 3 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 to drive a motor vehicle in Great Britain."

NC7

To move the following Clause— "Overpayments made as a result of official error (1) Section 71ZB of the Social Security Administration Act 1992 is amended as follows. (2) In subsection (1), for “The” substitute “Subject to subsection (1A), the”. (3) After subsection (1) insert— "(1A) The amount referred to in subsection (1) shall not include any overpayment that arose in consequence of an official error where the claimant or a person acting on the claimant's behalf or any other person to whom the payment is made could not, at the time of receipt of the payment or of any notice relating to that payment, reasonably have been expected to realise that it was an overpayment.””

10

Page 56, line 16, leave out Clause 91

11

Schedule 3, page 73, line 25, leave out from "accounts" to the end of line 31 and insert- "which belong to a person who the authorised officer has reasonable grounds to suspect has committed, is committing or intends to commit a DWP offence."

12

Page 111, line 18, leave out Schedule 6

8

Clause 89, page 55, line 6, leave out from "unless” to the end of line 14 and insert- "(a) the liable person agrees, or (b) there has been a final determination by a court or tribunal that it is necessary and proportionate to exercise a power under Schedule 3ZA.”

9

Schedule 5, page 98, line 10, leave out from beginning to end of line 24 on page 99

NC1

To move the following Clause— “Recovery of overpayments of Carer's Allowance The Secretary of State may not exercise any of the powers of recovery under this Act in relation to a person who has received an overpayment of Carer's Allowance until such time as- (1) the Secretary of State has commissioned an independent review of the overpayment of Carer's Allowance; (2) the review has concluded its inquiry and submitted a report containing recommendations to the Secretary of State; (3) the Secretary of State has laid the report of the independent review before Parliament; and (4) the Secretary of State has implemented the recommendations of the independent review.”

NC2

To move the following Clause— "Impact of Act on people facing financial exclusion (1) The independent person appointed under section 64(1) of this Act must carry out an assessment of the impact of this Act on the number of people facing financial exclusion. (2) The independent person must, after 12 months of the passing of the Act— (a) prepare a report on the review, and (b) submit the report to the Minister. (3) On receiving a report the Minister must— (a) publish it, and (b) lay a copy before Parliament.”

NC3

To move the following Clause— "Audit of algorithmic systems used in relation to Carer's Allowance overpayments (1) An independent audit of algorithmic systems used in the assessment, detection or recovery of Carer's Allowance overpayments must be conducted at least once every six months. (2) Any audit under subsection (1) must be conducted by persons with relevant expertise in data science, ethics and social policy who have no direct affiliation with— (a) the Department for Work and Pensions, or (b) any person or body involved in the development or operation of the algorithmic systems under review. (3) An audit conducted under this section must consider— (a) the accuracy of the algorithmic systems in identifying overpayments, and (b) the fairness of the systems' design, application and operation, including any disproportionate impact on particular groups. (4) After every audit a report on its findings must be— (a) published; (b) laid before both Houses of Parliament within 14 days of publication; and (c) made publicly available in an accessible format. (5) If any audit identifies significant inaccuracies, unfairness or biases in any algorithmic systems, the Secretary of State must, within 30 days of the publication of the report outlining these findings, present an action plan to Parliament which outlines the steps which the Government intends to take to address the identified issues."

NC4

To move the following Clause— "Inclusion of systems within the Algorithmic Transparency Reporting Standard (1) For the purposes of this section, “system” means— (a) algorithms, algorithmic tools, and systems; and (b) artificial intelligence, including machine learning; provided that they are used in fulfilling the purposes of this Act. (2) Where at any time after the passage of this Act, the use of any system is— (a) commenced; (b) amended; or (c) discontinued; the Minister must, as soon as reasonably practicable, accordingly include information about the system in the Algorithmic Transparency Reporting Standard."

NC5

To move the following Clause— "Duty to consider domestic abuse risk to account holders (1) Before any direct deduction order under Schedule 5 is made, the Secretary of State has a duty to consider its effect on any person who— (a) is a victim of domestic abuse, or (b) the Minister reasonably believes to be at risk of domestic abuse. (2) In this section “domestic abuse” has the meaning given by section 1 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021."

NC6

To move the following Clause— "Review of whistle blowing processes in relation to public sector fraud (1) Secretary of State must, within one year of the passing of this Act, conduct a review of whistle blowing processes in relation to fraud in the public sector. (2) A review conducted under this section must consider— (a) the appropriateness and efficacy of existing whistle blowing processes; (b) barriers to reporting fraud and reasons for under reporting of fraud; and (c) recommendations for change. (3) The Secretary of State must publish a report containing— (a) the findings and conclusions of the review, and (b) a timetable for the delivery of any recommendations for change within six months of the completion of the review.”

1

Clause 64, page 34, line 15, at end insert— "(1A) Prior to appointing an independent person, the Minister must consult the relevant committee of the House of Commons. (1B) For the purposes of subsection (1A), “the relevant committee” means a committee determined by the Speaker of the House of Commons."

2

Page 40, line 36, leave out Clause 74

3

Clause 75, page 41, line 21, at end insert— "(1A) Prior to appointing an independent person, the Minister must consult the relevant committee of the House of Commons. (1B) For the purposes of subsection (1A), “the relevant committee” means a committee determined by the Speaker of the House of Commons.”

4

Clause 103, page 63, line 29, leave out from start to "following" in line 32 and insert— "Subject to subsections (1A) and (2), this Act comes into force on such day as the Secretary of State or the Minister for the Cabinet Office may by regulations appoint. (1A) No part of this Act may come into force until the recommendations of a report commissioned under section [Recovery of overpayments of Carer's Allowance] have been implemented. (2A) Subject to subsection (1A), the”

5

Page 73, line 6, leave out Schedule 3

6

Schedule 3, page 84, leave out line 12

7

Schedule 3, page 84, leave out lines 13 to 17

NC17

To move the following Clause—<br> <b>“Duty to consider domestic abuse risk to holders of joint accounts</b><br> (1) Before any direct deduction order under Schedule 5 is made, the Secretary of State has a duty to consider its effect on any person (“P”) who—<br> (a) is a victim of domestic abuse, or<br> (b) the Secretary of State reasonably believes to be at risk of domestic abuse,<br> where P shares a joint account with a liable person believed to be the perpetrator or potential perpetrator of domestic abuse.<br> (2) In this section “domestic abuse” has the meaning given by section 1 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021.”

NC14

To move the following Clause—<br> <b>“Inclusion of systems within the Algorithmic Transparency Reporting Standard</b><br> (1) For the purposes of this section, “system” means—<br> (a) algorithms, algorithmic tools, and systems; and<br> (b) artificial intelligence, including machine learning<br> <span class="wrapped">provided that they are used in fulfilling the purposes of this Act.</span><br> (2) Where at any time after the passage of this Act, the use of any system is—<br> (a) commenced;<br> (b) amended; or<br> (c) discontinued<br> <span class="wrapped">the Minister must, as soon as reasonably practicable, accordingly include information about the system in the Algorithmic Transparency Reporting Standard.”</span>

<p>This new clause would require the use of algorithms, algorithmic tools, and systems, and artificial intelligence, including machine learning, to be included within the Algorithmic Transparency Reporting Standard.</p>

NC15

To move the following Clause—<br> <b>“Offence of encouraging or assisting others to commit fraud</b><br> (1) The Social Security Administration Act 1992 is amended as follows.<br> (2) In section 111A (Dishonest representation for obtaining benefit etc), after subsection (1G) insert—<br> “(1H) A person commits an offence if they—<br> (a) encourage or assist another person to commit an offence under this section, or<br> (b) provide guidance on how to commit an offence under this section.”<br> (3) In section 112 (False representations for obtaining benefit etc), after subsection (1F) insert—<br> “(1G) A person commits an offence if they—<br> (a) encourage or assist another person to commit an offence under this section, or<br> (b) provide guidance on how to commit an offence under this section.””

NC16

To move the following Clause—<br> <b>“Review of whistleblowing processes in relation to public sector fraud</b><br> (1) The Secretary of State must, within one year of the passing of this Act, conduct a review of whistleblowing processes in relation to fraud in the public sector.<br> (2) A review conducted under this section must consider—<br> (a) the appropriateness and efficacy of existing whistleblowing processes;<br> (b) barriers to reporting fraud and reasons for underreporting of fraud; and<br> (c) recommendations for change.<br> (3) The Secretary of State must publish a report containing—<br> (a) the findings and conclusions of the review, and<br> (b) a timetable for the delivery of any recommendations for change<br> <span class="wrapped">within six months of the completion of the review.”</span>

37

Clause 75, page 41, line 25, at end insert—<br> “(1A) Prior to appointing an independent person, the Minister must consult the relevant committee of the House of Commons.<br> (1B) For the purposes of subsection (1A), “the relevant committee” means a committee determined by the Speaker of the House of Commons.”

<p>This amendment would ensure further oversight into the appointment of the “Independent person”.</p>

38

Clause 75, page 41, line 29, leave out “person” and insert “board”

<p>This amendment would replace the “independent person” with an independent board.</p>

39

Clause 75, page 41, line 32, leave out “person” and insert “board”

<p>This amendment is consequential on Amendment 38.</p>

40

Clause 75, page 42, line 19, leave out subsection (7) and insert—<br> <span class="wrapped">“The Secretary of State may by regulations appoint persons to, and confer functions upon, an independent board for the purposes of securing compliance with subsections (1) to (6).”</span>

<p>This amendment is related to Amendment 38.</p>

41

Clause 75, page 42, line 23, leave out first “person” and insert “board”

<p>This amendment is consequential on Amendment 38.</p>

42

Clause 75, page 42, line 24, leave out “person” and insert “board”

<p>This amendment is consequential on Amendment 38.</p>

45

Clause 89, page 54, line 35, at end insert “except where such amounts have been paid to a person as a result of error on the part of the paying party.”

<p>This amendment would mean that overpayments made as a result of error by the Department of Work and Pensions do not count as recoverable amounts.</p>

43

Schedule 5, page 100, line 3, at end insert—<br> <i class="text-centre">“Investigation of direct deduction orders</i><br> 4A <span class="sub-para subparagraph"><span class="sub-para-num">(1)</span><span class="sub-para-text">Before making a direct deduction order, the Secretary of State must give the liable person the opportunity to request mandatory reconsideration of the decision to make such an order.</span></span><br> <span class="sub-para subparagraph sub-para-indented"><span class="sub-para-num">(2)</span><span class="sub-para-text">The mandatory reconsideration process must review whether it is appropriate that the order be made.</span></span><br> <span class="sub-para subparagraph sub-para-indented"><span class="sub-para-num">(3)</span><span class="sub-para-text">Where the mandatory reconsideration process concludes that the order should be made, the liable person is able, within two months of the completion of the mandatory reconsideration process, to appeal to the First Tier Tribunal.</span></span><br> <span class="sub-para subparagraph sub-para-indented"><span class="sub-para-num">(4)</span><span class="sub-para-text">On appeal by the liable person, the tribunal must review whether it is appropriate that the order be made.</span></span><br> <span class="sub-para subparagraph sub-para-indented"><span class="sub-para-num">(5)</span><span class="sub-para-text">The Secretary of State may not make a direct deduction order where—</span></span><br> <span class="sub-para subparagraph sub-para-indented"><span class="sub-para-num">(a)</span><span class="sub-para-text">the mandatory reconsideration process has not concluded;</span></span><br> <span class="sub-para subparagraph sub-para-indented"><span class="sub-para-num">(b)</span><span class="sub-para-text">the period within which the liable person can appeal has not concluded;</span></span><br> <span class="sub-para subparagraph sub-para-indented"><span class="sub-para-num">(c)</span><span class="sub-para-text">an appeal against the decision of the mandatory reconsideration process has not been concluded; or</span></span><br> <span class="sub-para subparagraph sub-para-indented"><span class="sub-para-num">(d)</span><span class="sub-para-text">a decision that the order should not be made has been determined by either the mandatory reconsideration process or the tribunal.”</span></span>

<p>This amendment would enable a liable person to request mandatory reconsideration of a decision to make a direct deduction order, and to appeal any further decision.</p>

48

Schedule 5, page 101, line 17, leave out from “exceed” to the end of line 18 and insert—<br> “(a) in a case to which sub-paragraph (3A) applies, the amounts credited to the account in the relevant period, or<br> (b) in any other case, 20% of the amounts credited to the account in the relevant period.<br> (3A) This subsection applies in a case where the Minister is satisfied, on the balance of probabilities, that the payable amount to which the regular direct deduction order related is recoverable from the liable person because the liable person committed fraud.”

47

Schedule 5, page 102, line 11, leave out from “may” to the end of line 13 and insert “only deduct the costs to which they are entitled under a direct deduction order once—<br> (a) the ability of the liable person to meet these costs has been verified, and<br> (b) a final decision as to whether to make the order has been reached, by virtue of—<br> (i) the liable person not requesting mandatory reconsideration of the decision to make the order;<br> (ii) the elapsing of any period within which the liable person can appeal a decision to make the order; or<br> (iii) an appeal against a decision to make the order has been concluded with a decision that the order should be made.”

<p>This amendment would mean that a bank can only recover its administrative costs after the ability of the liable person to meet such costs has been verified.</p>

46

Schedule 5, page 102, line 16, at end insert—<br> “(4) Where recoverable amounts have been paid to a person as a result of error on the part of the paying party, the bank’s administrative costs—<br> (a) may not be recovered from the account of the liable person; and<br> (b) must only be recovered by the bank from the paying party.”

44

Schedule 3, page 81, line 38, leave out "14 days” and insert “two months"

36

Clause 98, page 61, line 21, leave out from “(a)” to end of line and insert “—<br> (i) omit the words from “section 115A” to “or”, and<br> (ii) for the words “the corresponding provision for Northern Ireland” substitute “penalty as alternative to prosecution in Northern Ireland”, and”

<p>This amendment updates a parenthetical description in section 6B(2)(a) of the Social Security Fraud Act 2001.</p>

35

Schedule 3, page 84, line 13, leave out from “to” to end of line 17 and insert “remove types of benefit from the definition of “relevant benefit””.

<p>This amendment would mean that benefits could not be added to the list of “relevant benefits” by regulations.</p>

NC13

To move the following Clause—<br> <b>“Liability orders</b><br> (1) Where—<br> (a) a person has been found guilty of an offence under section 1 or section 11 of the Fraud Act 2006, or the offence at common law of conspiracy to defraud,<br> (b) that offence relates to fraud committed against a public authority, and<br> (c) the person has not paid the required penalties or not made the required repayments,<br> <span class="wrapped">the Secretary of State may apply to a magistrates’ court or, in Scotland, to the sheriff, for an order (“a liability order”) against the liable person.</span><br> (2) Where the Secretary of State applies for a liability order, the magistrates’ court or (as the case may be) sheriff shall make the order if satisfied that the payments in question have become payable by the liable person and have not been paid.<br> (3) The Secretary of State may make regulations in relation to England and Wales—<br> (a) prescribing the procedure to be followed in dealing with an application by the Secretary of State for a liability order;<br> (b) prescribing the form and contents of a liability order; and<br> (c) providing that where a magistrates’ court has made a liability order, the person against whom it is made shall, during such time as the amount in respect of which the order was made remains wholly or partly unpaid, be under a duty to supply relevant information to the Secretary of State.<br> (4) Where a liability order has been made against a person (“the liable person”), the Secretary of State may use the procedure in Schedule 12 to the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 (taking control of goods) to recover the amount in respect of which the order was made, to the extent that it remains unpaid.”

34

Clause 76, page 43, line 38, leave out from “the individual” to end of line 1 on page 44 and insert “is an official of a government department and—”

<p>This amendment clarifies that to be an authorised investigator an individual must be an official of a government department and be of the specified grade.</p>

33

Schedule 4, page 93, line 32, leave out from “individual” to end of line 33 and insert “is an official of a government department and—”

<p>This amendment clarifies that to be an authorised investigator an individual must be an official of a government department and be of the specified grade.</p>

NC12

To move the following Clause—<br> <b>“Impact of Act on people facing financial exclusion</b><br> (1) The independent person appointed under section 64(1) of this Act must carry out an assessment of the impact of this Act on the number of people facing financial exclusion.<br> (2) The independent person must, after 12 months of the passing of the Act—<br> (a) prepare a report on the review, and<br> (b) submit the report to the Minister.<br> (3) On receiving a report the Minister must—<br> (a) publish it, and<br> (b) lay a copy before Parliament.”

<p>This new clause would look into the impact of the Act on people facing financial exclusion.</p>

14

Clause 3, page 3, line 10, delete “10” and insert “28”

NC1

To move the following Clause—<br> <b>“Overpayments made as a result of official error</b><br> (1) Section 71ZB of the Social Security Administration Act 1992 is amended as follows.<br> (2) In subsection (1), for “The” substitute “Subject to subsection (1A), the”.<br> (3) After subsection (1) insert—<br> “(1A) The amount referred to in subsection (1) shall not include any overpayment that arose in consequence of an official error where the claimant or a person acting on the claimant’s behalf or any other person to whom the payment is made could not, at the time of receipt of the payment or of any notice relating to that payment, reasonably have been expected to realise that it was an overpayment.””

<p>This new clause would provide that, where universal credit overpayments have been caused by official error, they can only be recovered where the claimant could reasonably have been expected to realise that there was an overpayment.</p>

NC2

To move the following Clause—<br> <b>“Offence of fraud against a public authority</b><br> (1) A person who—<br> (a) commits,<br> (b) assists or conspires in the committal of, or<br> (c) encourages the committal of<br> <span class="wrapped">fraud against a public authority commits an offence.</span><br> (2) A person who commits an offence under subsection (1) is liable—<br> (a) on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding the general limit in a magistrates’ court or a fine (or both);<br> (b) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 7 years.”

NC3

To move the following Clause—<br> <b>“Application of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 to investigations conducted by the Department for Work and Pensions</b><br> (1) The Secretary of State must, within six months of the passing of this Act, introduce regulations for the purpose of applying certain powers of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, subject to such modifications as the order may specify, to investigations of offences conducted by the Department for Work and Pensions.<br> (2) The powers to be applied must include—<br> (a) the power of arrest;<br> (b) any other such powers that the Secretary of State considers appropriate.<br> (3) Regulations made under this section shall be made by statutory instrument.”

NC5

To move the following Clause—<br> <b>“Publication of results of pilot schemes</b><br> Within three months of this Act coming into force, the Secretary of State must publish the results of any pilot schemes run with banks to test the provisions in Chapter 1 of Part 2.”

NC6

To move the following Clause—<br> <b>“Report on cost implications for banks</b><br> The Secretary of State must, within three months of the passing of this Act, publish a report on the expected cost implications of the provisions of this Act for banks.”

NC7

To move the following Clause—<br> <b>“Annual reporting of amounts recovered</b><br> (1) The Secretary of State must publish an annual report detailing the amount of money which has been recovered under the provisions of this Act.<br> (2) A first report must be published no later than 12 months after the passing of this Act with subsequent reports published at intervals of no more than 12 months.”

NC8

To move the following Clause—<br> <b>“Publication of an Anti-Fraud and Error Technology Strategy</b><br> (1) The Secretary of State must, within six months of the passing of this Act, publish an Anti-Fraud and Error Technology Strategy.<br> (2) An Anti-Fraud and Error Technology Strategy published under this section must set out—<br> (a) how the Government intends to use automated technologies or artificial intelligence to tackle fraud against public authorities and the making of erroneous payments by public authorities, and<br> (b) a series of safeguards to provide for human oversight of decision making that meet the aims set out in subsection (3);<br> (c) how rights of appeal will be protected;<br> (d) a framework for privacy and data sharing.<br> (3) The aims of the safeguards in subsection (2)(b) are—<br> (a) to ensure that grounds for decision making can only be reasonable if they are the result of a process in which there has been meaningful human involvement by a human of adequate expertise to scrutinise any insights or recommendations made by automated systems,<br> (b) to make clear that grounds cannot be reasonable if they are the result of an entirely automated process, and<br> (c) to ensure that any information notice issued is accompanied by a statement—<br> (i) setting out the reasonable grounds for suspicion that have been relied on, and<br> (ii) confirming that the conclusion has been formed on the basis of human involvement.”

NC9

To move the following Clause—<br> <b>“Impact of Act on vulnerable customers</b><br> (1) The Secretary of State must, within six months of the passing of this Act, lay before Parliament an assessment of the expected impact of the Act on vulnerable customers.<br> (2) For the purposes of this section, “vulnerable customers” means someone who, due to their personal circumstances, is especially susceptible to harm, particularly when a firm is not acting with appropriate levels of care.”

NC10

To move the following Clause—<br> <b>“Recovery of overpayments of Carer’s Allowance</b><br> The Secretary of State may not exercise any of the powers of recovery under this Act in relation to a person who has received an overpayment of Carer’s Allowance until such time as—<br> (a) the Secretary of State has commissioned an independent review of the overpayment of Carer's Allowance;<br> (b) the review has concluded its inquiry and submitted a report containing recommendations to the Secretary of State;<br> (c) the Secretary of State has laid the report of the independent review before Parliament; and<br> (d) the Secretary of State has implemented the recommendations of the independent review.”

<p>This new clause would delay any payments being taken from people who the Government may think owe repayments on Carer’s Allowance until the independent review into Carer’s Allowance overpayments has been published and fully implemented.</p>

NC11

To move the following Clause—<br> <b>“Audit of algorithmic systems used in relation to Carer’s Allowance overpayments</b><br> (1) An independent audit of algorithmic systems used in the assessment, detection or recovery of Carer’s Allowance overpayments must be conducted at least once every six months.<br> (2) Any audit under subsection (1) must be conducted by persons with relevant expertise in data science, ethics and social policy who have no direct affiliation with—<br> (a) the Department for Work and Pensions, or<br> (b) any person or body involved in the development or operation of the algorithmic systems under review.<br> (3) An audit conducted under this section must consider—<br> (a) the accuracy of the algorithmic systems in identifying overpayments, and<br> (b) the fairness of the systems’ design, application and operation, including any disproportionate impact on particular groups.<br> (4) After every audit a report on its findings must be—<br> (a) published;<br> (b) laid before both Houses of Parliament within 14 days of publication; and<br> (c) made publicly available in an accessible format.<br> (5) If any audit identifies significant inaccuracies, unfairness or biases in any algorithmic systems, the Secretary of State must, within 30 days of the publication of the report outlining these findings, present an action plan to Parliament which outlines the steps which the Government intends to take to address the identified issues.”

<p>This new clause would provide for an audit of algorithmic systems used in relation to Carer's Allowance overpayments.</p>

21

Schedule 5, page 101, line 17, leave out from “exceed” to the end of line 18 and insert—<br> “ <span class="sub-para subsection"><span class="sub-para-num">(a)</span><span class="sub-para-text">in a case to which sub-paragraph (3A) applies, the amounts credited to the account in the relevant period, or</span></span><br> (b) in any other case, 40% of the amounts credited to the account in the relevant period.<br> (3A) This subsection applies in a case where the Minister is satisfied, on the balance of probabilities, that the payable amount to which the regular direct deduction order relates is recoverable from the liable person because the liable person committed fraud.”

32

Clause 103, page 63, line 26, leave out from start to “following” in line 29 and insert—<br> “Subject to subsections (1A) and (2), this Act comes into force on such day as the Secretary of State or the Minister for the Cabinet Office may by regulations appoint.<br> (1A) No part of this Act may come into force until the recommendations of a report commissioned under section [<i>Recovery of overpayments of Carer’s Allowance</i>] have been implemented.<br> (2) Subject to subsection (1A), the”

23

Clause 103, page 63, line 35, at end insert—<br> “(3A) Before bringing into force any of the provisions of Part 1 of this Act, the Secretary of State must consult with banks as to the costs which will be incurred by banks upon application of the provisions of Part 1.<br> (3B) Where consultation finds that the expected costs to banks are at a disproportionate level, the Secretary of State may not bring into force the provisions which are expected to result in such disproportionate costs.”

11

Clause 3, page 2, line 36, at end insert—<br> “(c) the information is likely to relate to the suspected fraud, and<br> (d) the cost involved in recovering the required information is likely to be reasonable and proportionate.”

10

Clause 3, page 2, line 36, at end insert—<br> “(1A) The Minister has reasonable grounds to suspect a person has committed fraud against a public authority if—<br> (a) there is an objective basis for the Minister’s suspicion based on facts, verifiable information or intelligence, and<br> (b) a reasonable person would be entitled to reach same conclusion based on the same facts, information or intelligence.<br> (1B) The Minister does not have reasonable grounds to suspect a person has committed fraud against a public authority if the Minister’s suspicion—<br> (a) is based in any way on—<br> (i) the person’s physical appearance,<br> (ii) any protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010 that a person may have or appear to the Minister to have, or<br> (b) is based solely on any generalisation or stereotype giving rise to a belief that certain groups or categories of people are more likely to be involved in criminal activity.”

9

Clause 3, page 3, line 30, at end insert—<br> ““reasonable” means the Minister must have formed a genuine suspicion in their own mind, and the suspicion that fraudulent activity has taken place must be reasonable. This means that there must be an objective basis for that suspicion based on facts, verifiable information and or intelligence which indicate that fraudulent activity will be found, so that a reasonable person would be entitled to reach the same conclusion based on the same facts and information, and or intelligence.”

15

Clause 4, page 3, line 33, leave out “Minister” and insert “First Tier Tribunal”

12

Clause 4, page 3, line 33, at end insert—<br> “or of the duration of the period mentioned in section 3(4)(a)”

16

Clause 4, page 3, line 36, leave out “Minister” and insert “First Tier Tribunal”

17

Clause 4, page 3, line 38, leave out “Minister” and insert “First Tier Tribunal”

13

Clause 4, page 4, line 2, at end insert—<br> “, including by extending the duration of the period mentioned in section 3(4)(a) where satisfied that the person is reasonably unable to comply with the requirement to provide the information within the time required by the notice”

18

Clause 4, page 4, line 3, leave out “Minister” and insert “First Tier Tribunal”

19

Clause 22, page 14, line 27, leave out from “applies,” to “and” in line 28 and insert “the amounts credited to the account in the relevant period,”

20

Clause 41, page 25, line 16, leave out “40% of”

31

Clause 64, page 34, line 23, at end insert—<br> “(1A) Prior to appointing an independent person, the Minister must consult the relevant committee of the House of Commons.<br> (1B) For the purposes of subsection (1A), “the relevant committee” means a committee determined by the Speaker of the House of Commons.”

<p>This amendment would ensure Parliamentary oversight of the appointment of the “Independent person”.</p>

27

Page 41, line 8, leave out Clause 74

26

Page 11, line 20, leave out Clause 19

NC4

To move the following Clause—<br> <b>“Liability orders</b><br> (1) Where a person—<br> (a) has been found guilty of an offence under section 1 or section 11 of the Fraud Act 2006, or the offence at common law of conspiracy to defraud, and<br> (b) has not paid the required penalties or not made the required repayments,<br> <span class="wrapped">the Secretary of State may apply to a magistrates’ court or, in Scotland, to the sheriff, for an order (“a liability order”) against the liable person.</span><br> (2) Where the Secretary of State applies for a liability order, the magistrates’ court or (as the case may be) sheriff shall make the order if satisfied that the payments in question have become payable by the liable person and have not been paid.<br> (3) The Secretary of State may make regulations in relation to England and Wales—<br> (a) prescribing the procedure to be followed in dealing with an application by the Secretary of State for a liability order;<br> (b) prescribing the form and contents of a liability order; and<br> (c) providing that where a magistrates’ court has made a liability order, the person against whom it is made shall, during such time as the amount in respect of which the order was made remains wholly or partly unpaid, be under a duty to supply relevant information to the Secretary of State.<br> (4) Where a liability order has been made against a person (“the liable person”), the Secretary of State may use the procedure in Schedule 12 to the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 (taking control of goods) to recover the amount in respect of which the order was made, to the extent that it remains unpaid.”

28

Page 73, line 6, leave out Schedule 3

30

Schedule 3, page 84, leave out line 12

<p>This amendment would remove pension credit from being a ‘relevant benefit’ for the purposes of the Act.</p>

25

Schedule 3, page 84, line 12, at end insert “(d) housing benefit”

29

Schedule 3, page 84, leave out lines 13 to 17

<p>This amendment would mean remove the provision for regulations to change the list of qualifying benefits.</p>

24

Schedule 3, page 84, line 25, at end insert—<br> <span class="wrapped">“or such an account which is held by a person appointed to receive benefits on behalf of another person.”</span>

22

Schedule 5, page 110, line 29, at end insert “to which paragraph 6(3A) does not apply”

Gov 4

Page 73, line 6, leave out Schedule 3

Gov 5

Schedule 4, page 91, line 28, after "item” insert "or material"

7

Clause 89, page 55, line 6, leave out from “unless” to the end of line 14 and insert—<br> “(a) the liable person agrees, or<br> (b) there has been a final determination by a court or tribunal that it is necessary and proportionate to exercise a power under Schedule 3ZA.”

<p>This amendment would mean that the Secretary of State can only exercise powers to recover amounts from a person where the person agrees or where a court or tribunal has determined that such recovery is necessary and appropriate.</p>

8

Schedule 5, page 98, line 10, leave out from beginning to end of line 24 on page 99

<p>This amendment would remove the requirement for banks to provide information to the Secretary of State for the purposes of making a direct deduction order.</p>

1

Clause 6, page 4, line 28, in column 1, after “Office” insert “, so far as relating to the Public Sector Fraud Authority”

<p>This amendment limits the designation of the Cabinet Office as a relevant public authority for the purposes of Part 3 of the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 so that it is designated only so far as relating to the Public Sector Fraud Authority.</p>

2

Clause 34, page 20, line 30, leave out from “review” to end of line 35

<p>This amendment leaves out provision that is not needed; clause 29(5), (6) and (8) makes the necessary provision.</p>

3

Clause 67, page 36, line 10, leave out “disclosure, obtaining or use” and insert “processing”

<p>This amendment clarifies that clause 67(3) applies in relation to all processing of information and makes it consistent with clause 67(1) and (2)).</p>

4

Schedule 4, page 91, line 28, after “item” insert “or material”

<p>This amendment clarifies that paragraph 2(3) of new Schedule 3ZD of the Social Security Administration Act 1992 (as inserted by Schedule 4 of the Bill) applies in relation to any item or material.</p>

5

Schedule 4, page 91, line 31, after “item” insert “or material”

<p>This amendment clarifies that paragraph 2(4) of new Schedule 3ZD of the Social Security Administration Act 1992 (as inserted by Schedule 4 of the Bill) applies in relation to any item or material.</p>

6

Schedule 5, page 107, line 2, leave out from “review” to end of line 7

<p>This amendment leaves out provision that is not needed; paragraph 13(5), (6) and (8) of new Schedule 3ZA of the Social Security Administration Act 1992 (as inserted by Schedule 5 of the Bill) makes the necessary provision.</p>