The UK Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is asking private firms to pitch for a contract checking share prices on the LSE to help it identify the incomes of people claiming benefits.
In a contract notice first spotted by ComputerWorld, the DWP says that it "requires access to current and retrospective London Stock Exchange share and securities price data on request to enable its staff to quickly and accurately assess their customer's entitlement to income related state benefits".
The provider will need to be able to deliver this price data - in pounds sterling - on request between 7:00am and 8:00pm, Monday to Friday and 08:00am and 4:00pm on Saturday and Sunday, in an electronic format accessible via the DWP desktop environment.
The application deadline for the contract - which will run for up to five years and be worth up to £700,000 - is the end of March.