97Departmental information requests
(1)A departmental information request is a request for the disclosure of information held by, or on behalf of, a government department.
(2)The request is to be made to the Minister of the Crown, or other person, who is in charge of the department.
(3)In the case of a request made to the designated Secretary of State, the disclosure of some or all of the following information may be requested—
(a)the full name of the debtor;
(b)the address of the debtor;
(c)the date of birth of the debtor;
(d)the national insurance number of the debtor;
(e)prescribed information.
(4)In the case of a request made to the Commissioners, the disclosure of some or all of the following information may be requested—
(a)whether or not the debtor is employed;
(b)the name and address of the employer (if the debtor is employed);
(c)the national insurance number of the debtor;
(d)prescribed information.
(5)In the case of any other request, the disclosure of prescribed information may be requested.
(6)In this section—
“designated Secretary of State” means the Secretary of State designated for the purpose of this section by regulations;
“government department” does not include the following—
(a)any part of the Scottish Administration;
(b)a Northern Ireland department;
(c)the Welsh Assembly Government or any member of staff appointed under section 52 of the Government of Wales Act 2006 (c. 32);
“prescribed information”, in relation to a departmental information request, means information that falls within the category or categories of information (if any) prescribed by regulations in relation to the department to which the request relates.