01 November 2024
Did the Autumn Budget hint at the return of government powers to access financial information to combat benefit fraud? Is AI legislation coming soon?
After the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill (DPDI) was dropped before the election and the Data Use and Access Bill (DUA) was introduced by the new government, it was notable that the new bill did not include the DPDI’s powers for the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) to access financial data to combat benefits fraud.
However, the Autumn Budget included references to a separate Bill being drafted by the DWP that appears to reinstate similar powers.
The Fraud, Error and Debt Bill was first announced on 24 September 2024, with the purpose of providing the DWP with powers to “better investigate suspected fraud,” “new powers of search and seizure” and powers to “require banks and financial institutions to share data that may show indications of potential benefit overpayments.”
The DWP briefing note on the proposed Bill states clearly that “DWP will not have access to people’s bank accounts and will not share their personal information with third parties.”
However, the Autumn Budget Statement included the following:
“The forthcoming Fraud, Error and Debt Bill will introduce new powers to check benefits are being paid correctly using data shared by banks and financial institutions […] DWP will continue to collaborate with other government departments such as HMRC, the Home Office and Department for Science, Innovation and Technology to further strengthen data sharing and explore new data innovations to tackle fraud and error” (para 2.15, pp40-41).
The King’s Speech and background briefing notes, setting out the new government’s legislative agenda, did not seem to contain any reference to this Bill or policy.
The DUA’s most significant data protection provisions come in the form of amendments to existing UK data protection law, primarily the Data Protection Act 2018 (UK GDPR), so they can be confusing to follow. However, the DUA does not include specific powers for the DWP to require financial information.
But the DUA does allow the government to pass future laws exempting particular data processing from the UK GDPR. Clause 105 provides for the government to pass new legislation that disapplies the UK GDPR to data processing “to the extent that it makes express provision to the contrary referring to this section” (proposed s183A of the UK GDPR, as inserted by Cl 105 of the DUA Bill).
The DWP’s statement suggests there is no intention to reinstate the previous government’s proposal in full, which would have included a power to require bank account information from anyone receiving benefits (Cl 128, Sch 11 of the DPDI).
Even so, the Budget Statement does imply that the upcoming Fraud, Error and Debt Bill may extend the DWP's ability to acquire financial data to a significant extent. If so, it is notable that these provisions were not included in the DUA Bill or mentioned in the King’s Speech.
Is the government planning to restore powers proposed for the DWP in the DPDI Bill through separate legislation?
The Rest of the Budget: AI and Data
The budget contained some further items of note relating to data and AI:
Investment, Infrastructure and Planning (p63)
New data centres are planned, with the Deputy Prime Minister having already used powers to take decision-making responsibility for a number of planning appeals for three data centres
Innovation (p77)
The government “will shortly publish the Artificial Intelligence Opportunities Action Plan setting out a roadmap to capture the opportunities of AI to enhance growth and productivity and better deliver services for the public”
The government is also “creating a National Data Library to unlock the full value of our public data assets. This will provide simple, ethical, and secure access to public data assets, giving researchers and businesses powerful insights that will drive growth and transform people’s quality of life through better public services and cutting-edge innovation, including AI.”
Although no specific spending commitments were included alongside the proposals for the AI Opportunities Action Plan or the National Data Library, their inclusion does indicate that the government still sees data and AI as key to the UK’s economic growth.
In the King’s Speech, the government stated that it “will seek to establish the appropriate legislation to place requirements on those working to develop the most powerful artificial intelligence models.”
It seems that legislation on AI, and laws on data to combat benefit fraud, may well be coming soon…