740.This section provides for the Secretary of State to authorise officers to exercise the powers set out in new sections 109B and 109C. It sets out who may be authorised, the purposes for which authorised officers may use the powers in new sections 109B and 109C and other particulars concerning the authorisations.
741.New section 109A(1) provides that a person who has the Secretary of State’s authorisation under section 109A may exercise any of the powers set out in new sections 109B and 109C for the purposes set out in subsection (2).
742.New section 109A(2) sets out the purposes for which authorised officers may exercise the powers in new sections 109B and 109C. The purposes are:
743.In paragraph 741 above, (a) and (b) are linked to claims made by particular individuals; (c) and (d) include wider purposes where social security investigators may wish to investigate concerns more generally. They may, for instance, wish to investigate whether there is widespread contravention of the legislation in a particular workplace. In such cases, the investigator may wish to ask for lists of people. For example, they may ask for a list of all employees where an employer has a history of colluding with his staff in order that they can commit benefit fraud. The list would then be cross-referenced against benefit records.
744.New section 109A(3) sets out the requirements relating to an authorisation. The Secretary of State must have granted the authorisation for the purposes set out in subsection (2). The person given the authorisation must also fall into one of the categories set out in this subsection. The Secretary of State may authorise persons other than those in his own Department – those working for other Departments and for local authorities and their contractors. This means that the Secretary of State is able to make use of personnel and expertise in other organisations and helps promote closer working across Government and local authorities in anti-fraud work.
745.New section 109A(4) sets out further requirements regarding authorisations.
(b) and (c) are discretionary powers.
746.The combination of this subsection and subsection (3) has the effect that the Secretary of State has a range of options open to him when authorising officers. For example, the Secretary of State could authorise a local authority’s officers to conduct social security investigations in an area where he wished to promote closer working (subsection (3)). However, he may equally (by using subsection (4)) authorise the local authority’s investigators for the duration of only one investigation, or limit the authorisation he grants so that local authority investigators may investigate all benefits except for benefits where they may have less expertise.
747.New section 109A(5) allows the Secretary of State to withdraw an authorisation at any time.
748.New section 109A(6) concerns circumstances where an individual working for a local authority, or a person administering Housing Benefit and/or Council Tax Benefit on behalf of a local authority, is granted an authorisation under this section.
749.New section 109A(7) provides that the matters on which an individual is authorised to report under section 139A of the Administration Act shall include work under this section carried out by an individual working for a local authority or for a person administering Housing Benefit and/or Council Tax Benefit on behalf of a local authority – for example, a contractor. This subsection would allow the Secretary of State to authorise the Benefit Fraud Inspectorate to inspect this work as it currently inspects local authority fraud work.
750.New section 109A(8) provides that authorised officers may exercise their powers in relation to persons employed by the Crown and conduct enquiries about persons employed by the Crown and in premises owned or occupied by the Crown.
Part III: Social Security Administration Investigation Powers Schedule 6 New section 109A: Authorisation for investigators