The Police, Public Order and Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2006 (Consequential Provisions and Modifications) Order 2007

Disclosure of information

3.—(1) Any person may disclose information to the Agency or the Commissioner if the disclosure is made for the purposes of the exercise or carrying out by the Agency or the Commissioner of any of their functions within the meaning of the Act.

(2) Any person who, without the consent of the Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, discloses information to another person which those Commissioners have disclosed under paragraph (1) commits an offence.

(3) It is a defence for a person charged with an offence under paragraph (2) to prove that he reasonably believed that–

(a) the disclosure was lawful; or

(b) the information had already and lawfully been made available to the public.

(4) A person who commits an offence under paragraph (2) is liable–

(a) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, to a fine, or to both; or

(b) on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months or to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale, or to both.

(5) Information disclosed by the Agency under section 19 of the Act to any person or body must not be further disclosed except–

(a) for a purpose connected with any function of that person or body for the purposes of which the information was disclosed by the Agency, or otherwise for any of the permitted purposes specified in section 19(2) of the Act; and

(b) with the consent of the Agency.

(6) Information disclosed by the Commissioner under section 46 of the Act to any public body or office holder must not be further disclosed except–

(a) for a purpose connected with any function of that public body or office holder; and

(b) with the consent of the Commissioner.

(7) Consent under paragraphs (2), (5) and (6) may be given–

(a) in relation to a particular disclosure; or

(b) in relation to disclosures made in circumstances specified or described in the consent.

(8) A disclosure under this article does not breach–

(a) any obligation of confidence owed by the person making the disclosure; or

(b) any other restriction on the disclosure of information (however imposed).

(9) But nothing in this article authorises–

(a) a disclosure, in contravention of any provisions of the Data Protection Act 1998(1), of personal data which are not exempt from those provisions; or

(b) a disclosure which is prohibited by Part 1 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000(2).

(10) Paragraph (1) does not apply to any person who may disclose information under section 20(1) or 46(4) of the Act.

(11) Paragraphs (5) and (6) do not apply to further disclosure by any person, body or office holder to whom section 19(4) or 46(2) of the Act applies.

(1)

1998 c. 29.

(2)

2000 c. 23.