Explanatory note

This Order makes provision consequential on the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001 (“the 2001 Act”).

Section 91 of the 2001 Act gives power to the Scottish Ministers to pay grants to local authorities towards spending incurred in connection with prescribed housing support services. This Order makes provision for information on income support, income based jobseeker’s allowance and housing benefit to be passed to and from local authorities for purposes connected with that spending.

Article 3 applies to information supplied before regulations under section 91(8) (to prescribe housing support services) of the 2001 Act come into force. Article 3 makes provision for the flow of information in advance of the prescription of those services.

Article 4 applies to information supplied from the point at which the regulations under section 91(8) of the 2001 Act come into force. That article makes provision for the supply of information to a local authority (or a person authorised to exercise a function of the authority in relation to the section 91 grant), and allows local authorities (and authorised persons) to pass that information on to those who are providing prescribed housing support services.

Article 5 makes provision about unauthorised disclosure of information. It is an offence to disclose (without authority) information about a particular person. Article 5 also sets out circumstances which do not constitute an offence, and the penalties to which a person guilty of an offence may be liable.