§ Mr. FieldTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if local authorities will be able to access information held by the Inland Revenue on each of the tax credits using remote access terminals. [113622]
§ Angela EagleRemote Access Terminals are currently used by LAs to access a range of DSS held information relating to claims for Income Support and Jobseeker's Allowance which is relevant to the administration of Housing and Council Tax benefit. We are currently exploring the implications of extending the range of available information to include details relating to other benefits and tailored access to the Departmental Central Index.
We anticipate being able to start implementing these enhancements within the next financial year. There are no plans at present to extend this level to access to include Inland Revenue systems.
The Inland Revenue do not currently have Remote Access Terminals for local authorities to access tax credits information. However, they do operate several dedicated helplines to provide local authorities with information about tax credits.