The Prevention of Social Housing Fraud (Power to Require Information) (England) Regulations 2014
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | SI 2014/899 |
| Year | 2014 |
(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Prevention of Social Housing Fraud (Power to Require Information) (England) Regulations 2014 and come into force on the third day after the day on which they are made.(2) These Regulations apply in relation to England only.(1) In these Regulations— “authorised officer” means a person acting in accordance with any authorisation for the purposes of these Regulations which is for the time being in force in relation to that person. references to a document include references to anything in which information is recorded in electronic or any other form;are transmitted to the recipient of the notice by electronic means; andare received by that person in a form that is legible and capable of being recorded for future reference.(1) Subject to paragraphs (2) and (3) , a local authority may grant an authorisation to an individual to exercise the powers conferred on an authorised officer under regulation 4.an individual employed by that authority;an individual employed by another local authority or joint committee that carries out functions relating to housing fraud investigation purposes on behalf of that authority.must be in writing and provided to that individual as evidence of that individual's entitlement to exercise powers conferred by these Regulations;may contain provision as to the period for which the authorisation is to have effect; and,may restrict the powers exercisable by virtue of the authorisation so as to prohibit their exercise except for particular purposes or in particular circumstances.(4) An authorisation may be withdrawn at any time in writing by the local authority that granted it.the officer designated under section 4 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 as the head of the authority's paid service; or the officer who is the authority's chief finance officer (within the meaning of section 5 of that Act) .(6) A local authority may grant an authorisation for housing fraud investigation purposes in relation to offences in the area of another local authority, as well as in relation to offences in the area of the authority granting the authorisation.(1) An authorised officer may exercise the powers conferred by this regulation for any of the housing fraud investigation purposes (but not for any other purpose) .is a person falling within paragraph (3) below, andhas or may have possession of or access to any information about any matter that is relevant to housing fraud investigation purposes,any bank;any person carrying on a business the whole or a significant part of which consists in the provision of credit (whether secured or unsecured) to members of the public;any water undertaker or sewerage undertaker;is the holder of a licence under section 7 of the Gas Act 1986 to convey gas through pipes; or, is the holder of a licence under section 7A of that Act to supply gas through pipes; any person who (within the meaning of the Electricity Act 1989 ) distributes or supplies electricity; . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .any servant or agent of any person mentioned in sub-paragraphs (a) to F14(e) .(4) Subject to the following provisions of this regulation, the powers conferred by this regulation on an authorised officer to require information from any person by virtue of that person falling within paragraph (3) shall be exercisable for the purpose only of obtaining information relating to a particular person identified (by name or description) by the officer.a person who has committed, is committing or intends to commit an offence listed in section 7(7) of the Prevention of Social Housing Fraud Act 2013; ora person who is a member of the family of a person falling within sub-paragraph (a) .(6) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(7) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .is identified by or in accordance with the terms of the notice; orhas been identified, since the giving of the notice, by a further written notice given by the authorised officer who imposed the original requirement or another authorised officer.(9) The power of an authorised officer under this regulation to require the provision of information shall include a power to require the production and delivery up and (if necessary) creation of any such documents containing the information as may be specified or described in the notice imposing the requirement, or the creation of copies of or extracts from any such documents.any information that tends to incriminate either that person or, in the case of a person who is married or is a civil partner, that person's spouse or civil partner; orany information in respect of which a claim to legal professional privilege would be successful in any proceedings;
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