F1Part V Fitness to Practise and Medical Ethics

35AGeneral Council’s power to require disclosure of information

(1)

For the purpose of assisting the General Council or any of their committees F2or the Registrar in carrying out functions in respect of a practitioner’s fitness to practiseF3, or for the purpose of assisting the Registrar in carrying out functions in respect of identifying any person registered by virtue of section 18A(1)(b),, a person authorised by the Council may require—

(a)

a practitioner (except the practitioner in respect of whom the information or document is sought); or

(b)

any other person,

who in his opinion is able to supply information or produce any document which appears relevant to the discharge of any such function, to supply such information or produce such a document.

F4(1A)

The Registrar may by notice in writing require a practitioner, within such period as is specified in the notice, to supply such information or produce such documents as the Registrar considers necessary—

(a)

for the purpose of assisting the General Council or any of their committees or the Registrar in carrying out functions in respect of the practitioner’s fitness to practise;

(b)

for the purpose of assisting the Registrar in carrying out functions in respect of identifying whether the practitioner is a person registered by virtue of section 18A(1)(b).

(2)

As soon as is reasonably practicable after the relevant date, the General Council shall require, from a practitioner whose fitness to practise is being investigated, details of any person—

(a)

by whom the practitioner is employed to provide services in, or in relation to, any area of medicine; or

(b)

with whom he has an arrangement to do so.

(3)

For the purposes of this section and section 35B below the relevant date is the date specified by the General Council by rules under paragraph 1 of Schedule 4 of this Act.

(4)

Nothing in this section shall require or permit any disclosure of information which is prohibited by or under any other enactment.

(5)

But where information is held in a form in which the prohibition operates because the information is capable of identifying an individual, the person referred to in subsection (1) F5or (1A) above may, in exercising his functions under that subsection, require that the information be put into a form which is not capable of identifying that individual.

(5A)

In determining for the purposes of subsection (4) above whether a disclosure is not prohibited, by reason of being a disclosure of personal data which is exempt from the non-disclosure provisions of the Data Protection Act 1998 by virtue of section 35(1) of that Act, it shall be assumed that the disclosure is required by this section.

(6)

F6Subsections (1) and (1A) above do not apply in relation to the supplying of information or the production of a document which a person could not be compelled to supply or produce in civil proceedings before the relevant court (within the meaning of section 40(5) below).

F7(6A)

If a person fails to supply any information or produce any document within 14 days of his being required to do so under subsection (1) above, the General Council may seek an order of the relevant court requiring the information to be supplied or the document to be produced.

(6B)

For the purposes of subsection (6A), “the relevant court” means the county court or, in Scotland, the sheriff in whose sheriffdom is situated the address—

(a)

which is shown in the register as the address of the person concerned; or

(b)

which would have been so shown if the person concerned were registered.

F8(6C)

If a person fails to comply with a requirement imposed under subsection (1A), the Registrar may refer that matter to the MPTS for them to arrange for it to be considered by a Medical Practitioners Tribunal.

(6D)

Where a matter is referred to the MPTS under subsection (6C), the MPTS must arrange for it to be considered by a Medical Practitioners Tribunal.

(6E)

Sub-paragraphs (3D) to (5A) of paragraph 5A of Schedule 4 apply to a matter being considered by a Medical Practitioners Tribunal under subsection (6D) as if it were a matter being considered by the Tribunal under sub-paragraph (3B) of that paragraph; and a reference in this Act to any of sub-paragraphs (3D) to (5A) of that paragraph is to be read as including a reference to that sub-paragraph as so applied.

(7)

For the purposes of subsection (4), “enactment” includes—

(a)

an enactment comprised in, or in an instrument made under, an Act of the Scottish Parliament; and

(b)

any provision of, or any instrument made under, Northern Ireland legislation.

(8)

For the purposes of this section and section 35B below, a “practitioner” means a F9fully registered person or a provisionally registered person.