Member

I want to address the points that my hon. Friend the Member for Poole (Neil Duncan-Jordan) made about the eligibility verification measure in relation to his amendment 11. The hon. Member for Aberdeen North (Kirsty Blackman) and my right hon. Friend the Member for Hayes and Harlington (John McDonnell) spoke of the impact this would have on the poorest, giving them less right to privacy than everybody else. I understand their concerns, but that is not my interpretation, because we have already established in this place the right of Government to receive information or data from private organisations, including banks and building societies, that points to financial standing. HMRC already receives data on every interest-bearing account in the country, so this is not an unprecedented power. HMRC sends out 550 notices to data holders covering 130 million accounts, and 100 notices to card-acquiring service providers. It receives 20 million lines of data on card sales. I understand Members’ concerns, but I challenge gently the extent to which the measure is unprecedented.