Overview
- The DWP says it already shares income and earnings data with local authorities to help ensure people receive Housing Benefit and council tax support.
- The department is exploring ways to extend access to Local Authorities and proposed Mayoral Strategic Authorities to better link claimants to employment support.
- The Devolution Bill, now under House of Lords scrutiny, would create Strategic Authorities for housing, skills and employment support but contains no explicit data-sharing provisions, according to policy experts.
- Fabian Chessell of Policy in Practice cited Section 72 of the Welfare and Pensions Reform Act 1999 as a current legal gateway that could be amended to allow wider sharing from the DWP and HMRC.
- Stakeholders including Phil Mawhinney welcomed the DWP’s efforts yet warned that improving benefit take-up remains challenging, with the department highlighting campaigns like Help for Households and its online benefits calculator.