244 Specified information: considerations relevant to disclosureF1U.K.
(1)A public authority must have regard to the following considerations before disclosing any specified information (within the meaning of section 238(1)).
(2)The first consideration is the need to exclude from disclosure (so far as practicable) any information whose disclosure the authority thinks is contrary to the public interest.
(3)The second consideration is the need to exclude from disclosure (so far as practicable)—
(a)commercial information whose disclosure the authority thinks might significantly harm the legitimate business interests of the undertaking to which it relates, or
(b)information relating to the private affairs of an individual whose disclosure the authority thinks might significantly harm the individual’s interests.
(4)The third consideration is the extent to which the disclosure of the information mentioned in subsection (3)(a) or (b) is necessary for the purpose for which the authority is permitted to make the disclosure.
Textual Amendments applied to the whole legislation
F1Act: for the words "solicitor of the Supreme Court of Northern Ireland" wherever they occur there is substituted (prosp.) the words "solicitor of the Court of Judicature of Northern Ireland" by virtue of Constitutional Reform Act 2005 (c. 4), ss. 59, 148(1), Sch. 11 para. 5 [Editorial Note: this amendment will be carried through into the text of the Act at the same time as any other effects on the Act for the year in which the relevant commencement order (or first such order) is made]