12.—(1) The Department may disclose any information held for the purposes of the Order to—
(a)a court;
(b)any tribunal or other body or person mentioned in the Order;
(c)a person with a right of appeal under the Order to an appeal tribunal,
where such disclosure is made for the purposes of any proceedings before any of those bodies relating to the Order, the benefit Acts, the Jobseekers (Northern Ireland) Order 1995(1) or Part 1 of the Welfare Reform Act (Northern Ireland) 2007(2).
(2) For the purposes of this regulation “proceedings” includes the determination of an application referred to an appeal tribunal under Article 28D(1)(b)(3) of the Order.
(3) The Department may disclose information held for the purposes of the Order to a court in any case where—
(a)that court has exercised any power it has to make, vary or revive a maintenance order or to vary a maintenance agreement; and
(b)such disclosure is made for the purposes of any proceedings before that court in relation to that maintenance order or that maintenance agreement or for the purposes of any matters arising out of those proceedings.
13.—(1) The Department may disclose information held for the purposes of the Order relating to one party to a maintenance calculation to another party to that calculation where, in the opinion of the Department such information is essential to inform the party to whom it would be given as to—
(a)why it has decided not to make a maintenance calculation in response to an application made under Article 7 of the Order, or an application for a revision under Article 18 of that Order, or a decision under Article 19 of that Order superseding an earlier decision has been rejected;
(b)why, although an application for a maintenance calculation referred to in sub-paragraph (a) has been made, that calculation cannot, at the time in question, be proceeded with;
(c)why a maintenance calculation has ceased to have effect;
(d)how a maintenance calculation has been calculated, in so far as the matter has not been dealt with by the notification given under regulation 23 of the Maintenance Calculation Procedure Regulations;
(e)why a decision has been made not to arrange for, or to cease, collection of any child support maintenance under Article 29 of the Order;
(f)why a particular method of enforcement under the Order of an amount due under a maintenance calculation has been adopted in a particular case; or
(g)why a decision has been made not to enforce, or to cease to enforce, under the Order the amount due under a maintenance calculation.
(2) For the purposes of this regulation, “party to a maintenance calculation” means—
(a)a person who has made an application for a maintenance calculation;
(b)a qualifying child, person with care or non-resident parent in respect of whom an application for a maintenance calculation has been made;
(c)a person appointed under regulation 34 of the Social Security and Child Support (Decisions and Appeals) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1999(4) (death of a party to an appeal);
(d)the personal representative of a person mentioned in sub-paragraph (a) or (b) where—
(i)a revision, supersession or appeal was pending at the date of death of that person and the personal representative is dealing with that revision, supersession or appeal on behalf of that person, or
(ii)an application for a variation has been made but not determined at the date of death of that person and the personal representative is dealing on behalf of that person with any matters arising in connection with such an application.
(3) Any application for information under this regulation shall be made to the Department in writing setting out the reasons for the application.
(4) Except where a person gives written permission to the Department that the information mentioned in sub-paragraphs (a) and (b) below in relation to that person may be conveyed to other persons, any information given under the provisions of paragraph (1) shall not contain—
(a)the address of any person other than the recipient of the information in question (other than the address of the office of the officer concerned who is exercising functions of the Department under the Order) or any other information, the use of which could reasonably be expected to lead to any such person being located;
(b)any other information the use of which could reasonably be expected to lead to any person, other than a party to the maintenance calculation, being identified.
14. Article 46 of the Order applies to the following kinds of employment, in addition to those specified in paragraph (5) of that Article—
(a)the Comptroller and Auditor General for Northern Ireland;
(b)any member of staff of the Northern Ireland Audit Office, or any other person who carries out administrative work of that Office, or who provides, or is employed in the provision of, services to it;
(c)the Northern Ireland Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration;
(d)the Northern Ireland Commissioner for Complaints;
(e)any officer of the Commissioners referred to in paragraphs (c) and (d) above; and
(f)any person who provides, or is employed in the provision of, services to the Department.
Article 28D was inserted by Article 3(1) of the Child Support (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 (S.I. 1995/2702 (N.I. 13)). Paragraph 1(b) was amended by paragraph 21 of Schedule 6 to the Social Security (Northern Ireland) Order 1998 (S.I. 1998/1506 (N.I. 10)) and is substituted by section 5(3) of the Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Act (Northern Ireland) 2000 c. 4 (N.I.)