The Digital Economy Act 2017 - Debt and Fraud Information Sharing Review Board
Source: gov.uk (2025-08-19)

The purpose, membership and terms of reference for the Debt and Fraud Information Sharing Review Board.

Purpose

The Debt and Fraud Information Sharing Review Board has been established by the UK government to oversee any non-devolved and England-only information sharing under the debt and fraud powers in Part 5 of the Digital Economy Act 2017 (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2017/30/part/5).

The Review Board assesses proposals to use the powers and considers whether the requirements to use the powers are met. It makes recommendations to the Minister for the Cabinet Office on whether proposals should be accepted for implementation, accepted subject to amendments, or declined. All approved proposals must proceed as pilots in the first instance.

The Review Board monitors the pilots and supports any decisions made on the basis of pilot outcomes, such as implementing the data share on a wider scale. The Review Board gathers and analyses evidence on the effectiveness of the pilots in order to assist the review of the powers after three years.

The purpose and objectives of the Review Board fulfil the functions as outlined in the Code of Practice (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/digital-economy-act-2017-part-5-codes-of-practice).

It is important that citizens can understand:
- what data is being shared
- the specific purposes for which it is being shared
- which bodies are disclosing and receiving that data
- the potential benefits to be derived from the data sharing
- where appropriate, how long that data will be held for
The Code of Practice (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/digital-economy-act-2017-part-5-codes-of-practice) states that this information is held on a searchable, electronic register. The register (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/register-of-information-sharing-agreements-under-chapters-1-2-3-and-4-of-part-5-of-the-digital-economy-act-2017) covers all active information sharing pilots approved by the Review Board.

Membership

The Review Board consists of qualified subject matter experts gathered from across government, as well as representatives from the ICO and appropriate public representative bodies.
- Jane Tully - central government
- Rob Malcolmson - central government
- Yvonne Addison - central government
- Ed Burness - central government
- Stuart Murtha - central government
- Ian Christopher - central government
- Alan Gibbons - central government
- Marie Scott - central government
- Duwaine Brown - local government
- Peter Tutton - Step Change Debt Charity
- Christie McAleese - Money Advice Service
- Tracey Stone - Welfare Together
- Daniel Spencely - Credit Services Association
- Louise Bennett - Privacy and Consumer Advisory Group
- Edgar Whitley - Privacy and Consumer Advisory Group
- Daniel Barnett - Information Commissioner’s Office
- Sarah Lawrence - Information Commissioner’s Office
Upcoming meetings

It is expected that The Debt and Fraud Information Sharing Review Board will meet monthly, except in instances where there is no business to discuss.

The Secretariat

The Secretariat to the Debt and Fraud Information Sharing Review Board is provided by Public Sector Fraud Authority (https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/public-sector-fraud-authority) in the Cabinet Office.

For more information, email xxx@xxx.xx (mailto:xxx@xxx.xx)