Credit Reference Agencies (Client Information)

Steve Webb Excerpts

Tuesday 11th November 2014 Written Statements

[The Minister for Pensions (Steve Webb)]

Section 40 of the Child Maintenance and Other Payments Act 2008 gives the Department for Work and Pensions’ Child Maintenance Group the power to disclose client information to credit reference agencies. This can be done when a client has been non-compliant and has a liability order imposed on them or where they have requested that their information is shared.

It is our intention to commence this power in February 2015. We intend to lay regulations setting out the information that can be disclosed, and thus enabling the power to be used, in March 2015 with the intention of them coming into force by the end of the same month. These regulations will be confined to setting out the information required by credit reference agencies to affect the credit rating of a non-compliant non-resident parent against whom the Department holds a liability order.

This power was consulted on as part of the 2006 Command Paper Cm 6979 “A New System of Child Maintenance”. The responses received were generally supportive of implementing this power.

In my response to written parliamentary question 213703 tabled by the hon. Member for Edinburgh East (Sheila Gilmore), on the subject in July 2014, I said I would consult on this power before regulations were laid.

Further investigation has shown that there is no flexibility regarding the information we will need to provide to credit reference agencies to affect a credit rating of a non-resident parent against whom we hold a liability order. Given this position, a consultation would have no scope for changing the information that would be set out in these regulations. Consequently I have decided not to consult on this power at this stage.

However, if it is decided that further information should be disclosed to credit reference agencies under this power, there will be a consultation in advance of any further regulatory changes.