National Health Service Act 2006

198 Production of documents

(1) This section applies where a notice has been served under section 197.

(2) An authorised officer may—

(a) take away any documents produced in compliance with the notice,

(b) take copies of or extracts from any documents so produced,

(c) require the person producing any such documents to provide an explanation of any of them.

(3) If—

(a) the officer takes away any such document,

(b) the person producing it requests the officer to provide him with a copy of it, and

(c) the request appears to the officer to be reasonable in the circumstances,

the officer must, as soon as is reasonably practicable, provide that person with a copy of the document (in such form as the officer considers appropriate).

(4) Documents produced in compliance with a notice under section 197 may be retained for so long as the Secretary of State considers that it is necessary to retain them (rather than copies of them) in connection with the exercise of any of his functions to which this Part applies.

(5) If the Secretary of State has reasonable grounds for believing—

(a) that any such documents may have to be produced for the purposes of any legal proceedings, and

(b) that they might otherwise be unavailable for those purposes,

they may be retained until the proceedings are concluded.

(6) If a person who is required by a notice under section 197 to produce any documents does not produce the documents in compliance with the notice, an authorised officer may require that person to state, to the best of his knowledge and belief, where they are.

(7) A person is not bound to comply with any requirement imposed by a notice under section 197 or any requirement under subsection (6) unless evidence of authority is given—

(a) at the time when the notice is served, or

(b) at the time when the requirement is imposed under subsection (6).

(8) In addition, a person may not be required under section 197 or subsection (6) to produce any document or disclose any information which he would be entitled to refuse to produce or disclose in proceedings in the High Court on grounds of legal professional privilege.