§ Mr. Laurence RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to allow the police to provide the names of convicted criminals to housing associations. [56564]
§ Mr. BoatengThe police have a common law power to disclose information where necessary for the prevention or detection of crime, and would doubtless use this to disclose information to housing associations where they judged it to be necessary.
Section 115 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 clarified the position with regard to the disclosure of information and, following that, the Home Office and Data Protection Registrar have issued a joint Statement setting out how this should properly be done.
The guidance on information sharing, including the joint Statement, is included in the Home Office's "Guidance on Statutory Crime and Disorder Partnerships", a copy of which has been placed in the Library. It is also available via the Home Office website at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/cdact/actgch5.htm