39Disclosure of information to Environmental Standards Scotland
(1)No enactment or rule of law prohibiting or restricting the disclosure of information prevents a public authority from providing Environmental Standards Scotland with information necessary for the exercise of Environmental Standards Scotland’s functions in accordance with—
(a)the authority’s duty to co-operate under section 23(1), or
(b)an information notice issued under section 24(1).
(2)But nothing in this Chapter requires a public authority to provide Environmental Standards Scotland with information that the authority—
(a)would be entitled to refuse to provide in civil proceedings on grounds of confidentiality of communications, or
(b)would be entitled, or required by any rule of law, to refuse to provide in civil proceedings on grounds of public interest immunity.
(3)Nothing in this Chapter requires or authorises a disclosure of information which, although made in accordance with a duty or a power provided for in this Chapter, would contravene the data protection legislation.
(4)In subsection (3), “the data protection legislation” has the same meaning as in the Data Protection Act 2018 (see section 3(9) of that Act).