Welfare Reform Bill

I was just coming to that very point. Amendments 101 and 102 focus on this particular power. Amendment 101 removes it entirely, and Amendment 102 exempts health and social care workers from its scope. Both amendments would prevent the use I have just described. We also intend to use this power to obtain information about people who have recently left prison from the Prison Service. Many prisoners are treated for drug problems while in prison, and will claim benefit on release. It is important that we identify them at this point. In future, it may be considered appropriate to authorise other persons or bodies to supply information. Therefore, it is important that we retain flexibility in the powers of paragraph 5(1). Regulations authorising the supply of information by prescribed persons will be subject to the affirmative parliamentary procedure, so before they can come into force they will have to be approved in draft by both Houses. Therefore, there will be an opportunity to consider and debate the regulations. Information supplied in paragraph 5 will be treated in strict confidence and will be used only to the extent that it is necessary to check the accuracy of information given by claimants about their drug use, and to enable the operation of the new drug and employment programme. The regulations will include safeguards to ensure that the use and sharing of the information is proportionate to our aims. The processing of the information will have to comply with the Data Protection Act 1998 and be compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights.