Commentary on Clauses 1 to 4 Exchanging Information Background
The current position
72.People are not entitled to means-tested benefits if they are claiming similar benefits in another country or working abroad.  In some cases benefits cannot be paid to people living in other countries.  Other countries have similar rules. Some people fraudulently claim benefit in more than one country at a time or use false, borrowed or stolen overseas identities to claim benefit fraudulently in the UK.
73.Sharing information with another country about people claiming benefit and living abroad could help both countries prevent and detect benefit fraud. Some limited information is already exchanged with other countries under the regulations that co-ordinate social security provision within the EU and under reciprocal agreements for payment of social security benefits with countries outside the EU. However, these do not provide for the exchange of all the information needed to prevent and detect social security fraud and error.