Search Legislation

Justice Act (Northern Ireland) 2016

 Help about what version

What Version

 Help about advanced features

Advanced Features

Status:

Point in time view as at 01/06/2018.

Changes to legislation:

There are currently no known outstanding effects for the Justice Act (Northern Ireland) 2016, Section 17. Help about Changes to Legislation

Close

Changes to Legislation

Revised legislation carried on this site may not be fully up to date. At the current time any known changes or effects made by subsequent legislation have been applied to the text of the legislation you are viewing by the editorial team. Please see ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ for details regarding the timescales for which new effects are identified and recorded on this site.

Disclosure of informationN.I.
This section has no associated Explanatory Notes

17—(1) The Department for Social Development, or a person providing services to that Department, may disclose social security information to a court or a collection officer for the purpose of—

(a)facilitating a decision by the court or officer whether or not to make an application for deduction from benefits, or

(b)facilitating the making of the application by the court or officer.

(2) In subsection (1), “social security information” means—

(a)information which is held by the Department for the purposes of functions relating to social security,

(b)information which is held by a person providing services to the Department in connection with the provision of those services, or

(c)information which is held with information of the description given in paragraph (a) or (b).

(3) A person to whom information is disclosed under this section commits an offence if the person—

(a)discloses the information to another person, or

(b)uses the information for a purpose other than a purpose referred to in subsection (1).

(4) It is not an offence under subsection (3)—

(a)to disclose any information in accordance with a statutory provision or with an order of a court or of a tribunal established by or under a statutory provision or for the purposes of any proceedings before a court,

(b)to disclose or use any information which is in the form of a summary or collection of information so framed as not to enable information relating to any particular person to be ascertained from it, or

(c)to disclose or use any information which has previously been lawfully disclosed to the public.

(5) It is a defence for a person charged with an offence under subsection (3) to prove that the person reasonably believed that the disclosure or use was lawful.

(6) A person guilty of an offence under subsection (3) is liable—

(a)on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum;

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

(7) Nothing in this section authorises the making of a disclosure which contravenes the [F1the data protection legislation] .

(8) In this section [F2

the data protection legislation” has the same meaning as in the Data Protection Act 2018 (see section 3 of that Act);]

information” means information held in any form.

Textual Amendments

F1Words in s. 17(7) substituted (25.5.2018) by Data Protection Act 2018 (c. 12), s. 212(1), Sch. 19 para. 208(2) (with ss. 117, 209, 210); S.I. 2018/625, reg. 2(1)(g) (but this amendment could not take effect until the commencement of 2016 c. 21 (N.I), s. 17(7) on 1.6.2018)

F2Words in s. 17(8) inserted (25.5.2018) by Data Protection Act 2018 (c. 12), s. 212(1), Sch. 19 para. 208(3) (with ss. 117, 209, 210); S.I. 2018/625, reg. 2(1)(g) (but this amendment could not take effect until the commencement of 2016 c. 21 (N.I), s. 17(8) on 1.6.2018)

Commencement Information

I1S. 17(1)-(5) in operation at 1.6.2018 by S.R. 2018/99, art. 2(a)

I2S. 17(7)(8) in operation at 1.6.2018 by S.R. 2018/99, art. 2(a)

Back to top

Options/Help

Print Options

Close

Legislation is available in different versions:

Latest Available (revised):The latest available updated version of the legislation incorporating changes made by subsequent legislation and applied by our editorial team. Changes we have not yet applied to the text, can be found in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ area.

Original (As Enacted or Made): The original version of the legislation as it stood when it was enacted or made. No changes have been applied to the text.

Point in Time: This becomes available after navigating to view revised legislation as it stood at a certain point in time via Advanced Features > Show Timeline of Changes or via a point in time advanced search.

Close

See additional information alongside the content

Geographical Extent: Indicates the geographical area that this provision applies to. For further information see ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.

Show Timeline of Changes: See how this legislation has or could change over time. Turning this feature on will show extra navigation options to go to these specific points in time. Return to the latest available version by using the controls above in the What Version box.

Close

Opening Options

Different options to open legislation in order to view more content on screen at once

Close

Explanatory Notes

Text created by the Northern Ireland Assembly department responsible for the subject matter of the Act to explain what the Act sets out to achieve and to make the Act accessible to readers who are not legally qualified. Explanatory Notes accompany all Acts of the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Close

More Resources

Access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item from this tab. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:

  • the original print PDF of the as enacted version that was used for the print copy
  • lists of changes made by and/or affecting this legislation item
  • confers power and blanket amendment details
  • all formats of all associated documents
  • correction slips
  • links to related legislation and further information resources
Close

Timeline of Changes

This timeline shows the different points in time where a change occurred. The dates will coincide with the earliest date on which the change (e.g an insertion, a repeal or a substitution) that was applied came into force. The first date in the timeline will usually be the earliest date when the provision came into force. In some cases the first date is 01/02/1991 (or for Northern Ireland legislation 01/01/2006). This date is our basedate. No versions before this date are available. For further information see the Editorial Practice Guide and Glossary under Help.

Close

More Resources

Use this menu to access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:

  • the original print PDF of the as enacted version that was used for the print copy
  • correction slips

Click 'View More' or select 'More Resources' tab for additional information including:

  • lists of changes made by and/or affecting this legislation item
  • confers power and blanket amendment details
  • all formats of all associated documents
  • links to related legislation and further information resources