This draft Statutory Instrument supersedes the draft of the same title which was laid before Parliament on 9th February 2012 and published on 13th February 2012 and is being issued free of charge to all known recipients of that draft Statutory Instrument.

Draft Order laid before Parliament under section 56(4) and 89(4) of the Postal Services Act 2011, for approval by resolution of each House of Parliament.

2012 No. 0000

Postal Services

The Postal Services Act 2011 (Disclosure of Information) Order 2012

Made

Coming into force in accordance with article 1

The Secretary of State makes the following Order in exercise of the powers conferred by section 56(2) and (3) of the Postal Services Act 20111.

In accordance with sections 56(4) and 89(4) of that Act a draft of this Order was laid before and approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament.

Citation and Commencement1

1

This Order may be cited as the Postal Services Act 2011 (Disclosure of Information) Order 2012.

2

This Order comes into force on the day following the day on which it is made.

Interpretation2

In this Order, “the Act” means the Postal Services Act 2011.

Prescription of bodies and persons3

Each of the following is a prescribed body or other person for the purposes of section 56(2)(d) of the Act—

the Civil Aviation Authority;

the Coal Authority;

the Competition Commission;

the Consumer Panel (as established under section 16(2) of the Communications Act 20032);

any district council in Northern Ireland;

the Financial Services Authority;

the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority;

the Health and Safety Executive;

the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland;

the Insolvency Practitioners Tribunal;

any local weights and measures authority in Great Britain;

any Minister of the Crown;

the National Consumer Council;

the Northern Ireland Authority for Utility Regulation;

any Northern Ireland department;

any Northern Ireland Minister;

the Office of Fair Trading;

the Office of Rail Regulation;

any official receiver in England, Wales or Northern Ireland;

any Scottish Minister;

the Treasury;

the Water Appeals Commission for Northern Ireland;

the Water Services Regulation Authority.

Prescription of enactments4

Each of the following is a prescribed enactment for the purposes of section 56(2)(d) or (f) of the Act—

the Industrial and Provident Societies Act 19653;

the Industrial and Provident Societies Act 19674;

the Trade Descriptions Act 19685;

the Friendly and Industrial and Provident Societies Act 19686;

the Fair Trading Act 19737;

the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act8;

the Consumer Credit Act 19749;

the Friendly Societies Act 197410;

the Industrial and Provident Societies Act 197511;

the Industrial and Provident Societies Act 197812;

the Credit Unions Act 197913;

the Estate Agents Act 197914;

the Competition Act 198015;

the Solicitors (Scotland) Act 198016;

the Telecommunications Act 198417;

the Companies Act 198518;

the Airports Act 198619;

the Gas Act 198620;

the Insolvency Act 198621;

the Company Directors Disqualification Act 198622;

the Building Societies Act 198623;

the Consumer Protection Act 198724;

the Water Act 198925;

the Electricity Act 198926;

the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Scotland) Act 199027;

the Courts and Legal Services Act 199028;

the Broadcasting Act 199029;

the Property Misdescriptions Act 199130;

the Water Industry Act 199131;

the Water Resources Act 199132;

the Friendly Societies Act 199233;

the Railways Act 199334;

the Coal Industry Act 199435;

the Employment Rights Act 199636;

the Competition Act 199837;

the Financial Services and Markets Act 200038;

the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 200039;

the Postal Services Act 200040;

the Utilities Act 200041;

Part I of the Transport Act 2000 42;

the Insolvency Act 200043;

the Transport (Scotland) Act 200144;

the Industrial and Provident Societies Act 200245;

the Enterprise Act 200246;

the Communications Act 200347;

the Water Act 200348;

the Consumer Credit Act 200649;

the Companies Act 200650;

the Consumers, Estate Agents and Redress Act 200751;

the Legal Services Act 200752;

Schedule 7 to the Counter-Terrorism Act 200853;

the Health and Safety at Work (Northern Ireland) Order 197854;

the Audit (Northern Ireland) Order 198755;

the Insolvency (Northern Ireland) Order 198956;

the EEC Merger Control (Distinct Market Investigations) Regulations 199057;

the Electricity (Northern Ireland) Order 199258;

Part IV of the Airports (Northern Ireland) Order 199459;

the Gas (Northern Ireland) Order 199660;

the Water (Northern Ireland) Order 199961;

the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 199962;

the Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 200063;

the Sale and Supply of Goods to Consumers Regulations 200264;

the Energy (Northern Ireland) Order 200365;

the Competition Act 1998 (Concurrency) Regulations 200466;

the Financial Services (Distance Marketing) Regulations 200467;

the Water Services etc. (Scotland) Act 2005 (Consequential Provisions and Modifications) Order 200568;

the Water and Sewerage Services (Northern Ireland) Order 200669;

the Money Laundering Regulations 200770;

the Business Protection from Misleading Marketing Regulations 200871;

the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 200872;

the Payment Services Regulations 200973.

Prescription of other circumstances and purposes5

Each of the following is a prescribed circumstance or purpose for the purposes of section 56(2)(h) of the Act—

a

the carrying out by the Comptroller and Auditor General, or the Comptroller and Auditor General for Northern Ireland, of any of their functions under any enactment;

b

complying with any international obligation of the United Kingdom;

c

the conduct of negotiations by the Secretary of State with representatives of the government of a country outside the United Kingdom;

d

the provision of information, by or with the consent of the Secretary of State, to any international organisation of which the United Kingdom is a member.

NameParliamentary Under Secretary of State for Employment Relations, Consumer and Postal AffairsDepartment for Business, Innovation and Skills
EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order)

Section 56 of the Postal Services Act 2011 (c.5) (“the Act”) imposes a general prohibition on the disclosure of information that relates to an individual or particular business and is obtained by virtue of Part 3 (Regulation of Postal Services) of the Act (“information”), except as permitted by the section.

Subsection (2) provides certain exemptions to the general prohibition. Subsections (2)(a), (b) and (c) have the effect of permitting disclosure of information with the consent of those concerned and to facilitate the carrying out of functions of OFCOM, the Secretary of State, the Treasury or the Competition Commission under the Act. Subsections (2)(d), (f) and (h) give the Secretary of State the power to prescribe, by Order, further persons, enactments, circumstances or purposes so as to permit disclosure of information under those subsections.

This Order provides that the Secretary of State prescribes bodies and other persons, enactments, circumstances or purposes for the purposes of disclosure of information permitted under section 56 of the Act.

Taken together with the exemptions to the general prohibition on disclosure provided in section 56(2), the provisions of this Order have the effect of creating a disclosure regime comparable to the (now repealed) permitted disclosure regime in Schedule 7 to the Postal Services Act 2000 (c.26).

Article 1 provides that the Order shall come into force on the day following that on which it is made.

Article 3 prescribes certain bodies and other persons (“prescribed persons”), with the effect that disclosure of information is permitted under section 56(2)(d) of the 2011 Act, for the purposes of facilitating their carrying out of any functions under enactments prescribed by article 4.

Article 4 prescribes enactments so as to permit, under section 56(2)(d), disclosure of information by prescribed persons to facilitate the carrying out of their functions under those enactments. Disclosure of information for the purposes of civil proceedings brought under those enactments is also permitted, under subsection (2)(f) of the Act.

Article 5 prescribes certain other circumstances and purposes, with the effect that disclosure of information in and for those circumstances and purposes is permitted under section 56(2)(h) of the Act.