§ 3. Mr. Gardnerasked the Minister of Social Security what instructions she has issued to her local offices regarding the disclosure of information concerning individuals.
§ The Joint Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Social Security (Mr. Charles Loughlin)The Ministry's general policy is to treat information it holds about individuals as strictly confidential.
Local offices have detailed instructions about what may, exceptionally, be disclosed.
§ Mr. GardnerIs my hon. Friend aware of reports that tracing firms are obtaining information from his local offices, and from offices of other Government Departments, by impersonating local government officers, and indeed officials of his Ministry? Will he give his local officers more advice, particularly about the way in which queries on the telephone should be answered?
§ Mr. LoughlinIt is very difficult. We are considering whether additional instructions should be given to local offices in this matter. As my hon. Friend knows, and indeed as the House knows, a lot of our work is done over the telephone, but I assure my hon. Friend that as far as this, not illegal, but tracing that should not take place, goes, we are keeping our eye on it with a view to seeing whether we can do anything about it.
§ Mr. WilkinsWould my hon. Friend agree that there are some kinds of information which ought to be disclosed, especially to Members of Parliament, for 4 example, in helping to trace husbands who have deserted their wives, and those wives have become chargeable to the Social Insurance Fund?
§ Mr. LoughlinWe do everything that we can to help where there is a charge on the Social Insurance Fund, but I think my hon. Friend will accept that we have to be very careful about the degree of information that we can give when there is general acceptance of confidentiality.