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Social Security Benefits (Abuse)

Volume 981: debated on Tuesday 25 March 1980

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34.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what restrictions are placed on former members of his Department regarding giving details of abuses of the social security system, whether or not individuals are mentioned by name.

Civil servants who leave the Department remain subject to the provision of Official Secrets Acts. The position under the Acts is that they are liable to prosecution if, without official sanction, they communicate either orally or in writing to an unauthorised person any information they have acquired through their official duties or to which they had access owing to their official positions, although the Acts do not apply to information which has already officially been made public.Whether or not it would be thought right to take action against a former member of the Department for un-authorised disclosure would of course depend on the circumstances. It is fundamental to public confidence in the social security system that the names and circumstances of claimants are not disclosed.