In the vast majority of cases where the rate of benefit is involved, the claimant will be asked to explain the inconsistency before any action is taken. That may be impractical where, for instance, the data suggest that the claimant has moved abroad or in cases where the whole identity is entirely fictitious. If the claimant fails to respond to a letter to his last known address within a reasonable time, powers exist within regulations made under Section 5 of the Social Security Administration Act to suspend the payment of benefit. I do not suppose anyone would argue against of those situations. Column 433 Adjudication officers then make decisions about an individual's entitlement to benefit by applying the law to the facts of each case.
Local authorities do the same in relation to housing benefit and council tax benefit.
If and when a decision is made by an adjudication officer or a local authority, that individual will be informed of that decision in writing and notified at the same time of his review and appeal rights. Article 15 and the noble Earl's amendment relate to decisions based solely on the automated processing of data. I have explained that data matching does not involve taking decisions. All it does is identify inconsistencies which may then be subject to further human investigation. As I have said before, we believe that prior to October 1998, when we shall have to implement the directive into domestic law, the Government will have to bring forward the necessary legislation encompassing the whole field of data protection and data use and not just specifically this small corner relating to the Benefits Agency.