In section 31 of the Data Protection Act 1998 (c. 29) (exemptions for regulatory activity), after subsection (6) insert—
“(7)Personal data processed for the purpose of discharging any function which is conferred by or under Part 3 of the Local Government Act 2000 on—
(a)the monitoring officer of a relevant authority,
(b)an ethical standards officer, or
(c)the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales,
are exempt from the subject information provisions in any case to the extent to which the application of those provisions to the data would be likely to prejudice the proper discharge of that function.
(8)In subsection (7)—
(a)“relevant authority” has the meaning given by section 49(6) of the Local Government Act 2000, and
(b)any reference to the monitoring officer of a relevant authority, or to an ethical standards officer, has the same meaning as in Part 3 of that Act.”