CCM5460 - Working the examination: Surveillance: Informers: Limits on information to be obtained from third parties

You will not normally deal direct with informers, such contacts will generally be handled in the CCROs. But you may occasionally be offered unsolicited information by third parties, for example child care providers.

You might, for instance, have contacted a provider for confirmation of the child care costs, and the provider alleges that another person lives with your claimant and drops off the child in the morning. In such a case, there is no objection to you asking the person to clarify the information they have already provided (i.e. the full name of the suspected partner), but you must make it clear to them that

• you are only asking for information they already know or can find out by referring to papers they already have
• you do not want them to find out any more.
• you do not want them to use their contacts with another person (for example, the suspected partner’s employer) to find something out for you.