Search Legislation

Health and Social Care Act 2008

 Help about what version

What Version

 Help about advanced features

Advanced Features

Changes over time for: Cross Heading: Information

 Help about opening options

Version Superseded: 01/04/2013

Status:

Point in time view as at 01/08/2012.

Changes to legislation:

There are currently no known outstanding effects for the Health and Social Care Act 2008, Cross Heading: Information. Help about Changes to Legislation

Close

Changes to Legislation

Revised legislation carried on this site may not be fully up to date. At the current time any known changes or effects made by subsequent legislation have been applied to the text of the legislation you are viewing by the editorial team. Please see ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ for details regarding the timescales for which new effects are identified and recorded on this site.

InformationE+W

76Disclosure of confidential personal information: offenceE+W

(1)This section applies to information which—

(a)has been obtained by the Commission on terms or in circumstances requiring it to be held in confidence, and

(b)relates to and identifies an individual.

(2)A person is guilty of an offence if the person knowingly or recklessly discloses information to which this section applies during the lifetime of the individual.

(3)A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable—

(a)on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months, or to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum, or to both;

(b)on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or to a fine, or to both.

(4)In relation to an offence committed before the commencement of section 154(1) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 (c. 44), the reference in subsection (3)(a) to 12 months is to be read as a reference to 6 months.

(5)For the purposes of subsection (1)(b), information obtained by the Commission is to be treated as identifying an individual if the individual can be identified from a combination of—

(a)that information, and

(b)other information obtained by the Commission.

(6)Reference in this section and in sections 77 to 80 to information obtained or disclosed by the Commission includes information obtained or disclosed by a person authorised by the Commission.

Commencement Information

I1S. 76 in force at 1.10.2008 by S.I. 2008/2497, art. 2(i)

77DefenceE+W

(1)It is a defence for a person charged with an offence under section 76 to prove that at the time of the alleged offence—

(a)any of the circumstances in subsection (2) applied in relation to the disclosure, or

(b)the person reasonably believed that any of them so applied.

(2)The circumstances are—

(a)that the disclosure was made in a form in which the individual to whom the information relates is not identified;

(b)that the disclosure was made with the consent of that individual;

(c)that the information disclosed had previously been lawfully disclosed to the public;

(d)that the disclosure was made under or pursuant to regulations under section 113 or 114 of the Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Act 2003 (c. 43) (complaints about health care or social services);

(e)that the disclosure was made in accordance with any enactment or court order;

(f)that the disclosure was necessary or expedient for the purposes of protecting the welfare of any individual;

(g)that the disclosure was made to any person or body in circumstances where it was necessary or expedient for the person or body to have the information for the purpose of exercising functions of that person or body under any enactment.

(3)It is also a defence for a person charged with an offence under section 76 to prove that the disclosure was made—

(a)for the purpose of facilitating the exercise of any of the Commission's functions,

(b)in connection with the investigation of a criminal offence (whether or not in the United Kingdom), or

(c)for the purpose of criminal proceedings (whether or not in the United Kingdom).

(4)If a person charged with an offence under section 76 relies on a defence in subsection (1) or (3), and evidence is adduced which is sufficient to raise an issue with respect to that defence, the court must assume that the defence is satisfied unless the prosecution proves beyond reasonable doubt that it is not.

(5)For the purposes of subsection (2)(a), information disclosed by a person is to be treated as being in a form in which an individual is identified if the individual can be identified from a combination of—

(a)the information, and

(b)other information disclosed by the person or by the Commission.

Commencement Information

I2S. 77 in force at 1.10.2008 by S.I. 2008/2497, art. 2(i)

78Use of information etc.E+W

Information obtained by, or documents or records produced to, the Commission in connection with any of its functions may be used by the Commission in connection with any of its other functions.

Commencement Information

I3S. 78 in force at 1.10.2008 by S.I. 2008/2497, art. 2(i)

79Permitted disclosuresE+W

(1)Subsections (2) and (3) apply to any information obtained by the Commission in the course of exercising any of its functions.

(2)In the case of information relating to an individual, the Commission may disclose the information if—

(a)the disclosure is made in a form in which the individual is not identified, or

(b)the disclosure is made with the consent of the individual.

(3)In all cases (whether or not relating to an individual), the Commission may disclose the information if—

(a)the information has previously been lawfully disclosed to the public,

(b)the disclosure is made under or pursuant to regulations under section 113 or 114 of the Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Act 2003 (c. 43) (complaints about health care or social services),

(c)the disclosure is made in accordance with any enactment or court order,

(d)the disclosure is necessary or expedient for the purposes of protecting the welfare of any individual,

(e)the disclosure is made to any person or body in circumstances where it is necessary or expedient for the person or body to have the information for the purpose of exercising functions of that person or body under any enactment,

(f)the disclosure is made for the purpose of facilitating the exercise of any of the Commission's functions,

(g)the disclosure is made in connection with the investigation of a criminal offence (whether or not in the United Kingdom), or

(h)the disclosure is made for the purpose of criminal proceedings (whether or not in the United Kingdom).

(4)Subsections (2) and (3) have effect notwithstanding any rule of common law which would otherwise prohibit or restrict the disclosure.

(5)For the purposes of subsection (2)(a), information disclosed by the Commission is to be treated as being in a form in which an individual is identified if the individual can be identified from a combination of—

(a)the information, and

(b)other information disclosed by the Commission.

Commencement Information

I4S. 79 in force at 1.10.2008 by S.I. 2008/2497, art. 2(i)

80Code of practice on confidential personal informationE+W

(1)The Commission must prepare and publish a code in respect of the practice it proposes to follow in relation to confidential personal information.

(2)The code must in particular make provision—

(a)about the obtaining by the Commission of information which, once obtained, will be confidential personal information, and

(b)about the handling, use and disclosure by the Commission of confidential personal information.

(3)Before publishing the code, the Commission must consult—

(a)the National Information Governance Board for Health and Social Care, and

(b)such other persons as it considers appropriate.

(4)The Commission must keep the code under review and, if it considers it appropriate, from time to time publish a revised code (and references in this section to the code include any revised code).

(5)In this section “confidential personal information” means information which—

(a)is obtained by the Commission on terms or in circumstances requiring it to be held in confidence, and

(b)relates to and identifies an individual.

(6)For the purposes of subsection (5)(b), information obtained by the Commission is to be treated as identifying an individual if the individual can be identified from a combination of—

(a)the information, and

(b)other information obtained by the Commission.

Commencement Information

I5S. 80 in force at 1.10.2008 by S.I. 2008/2497, art. 2(i)

Back to top

Options/Help

Print Options

You have chosen to open The Whole Act

The Whole Act you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.

Would you like to continue?

You have chosen to open The Whole Act as a PDF

The Whole Act you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download.

Would you like to continue?

You have chosen to open The Whole Act without Schedules

The Whole Act without Schedules you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.

Would you like to continue?

You have chosen to open The Whole Act without Schedules as a PDF

The Whole Act without Schedules you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download.

Would you like to continue?

You have chosen to open the Whole Act

The Whole Act you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.

Would you like to continue?

You have chosen to open the Whole Act without Schedules

The Whole Act without Schedules you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.

Would you like to continue?

You have chosen to open Schedules only

The Schedules you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.

Would you like to continue?

Close

Legislation is available in different versions:

Latest Available (revised):The latest available updated version of the legislation incorporating changes made by subsequent legislation and applied by our editorial team. Changes we have not yet applied to the text, can be found in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ area.

Original (As Enacted or Made): The original version of the legislation as it stood when it was enacted or made. No changes have been applied to the text.

Point in Time: This becomes available after navigating to view revised legislation as it stood at a certain point in time via Advanced Features > Show Timeline of Changes or via a point in time advanced search.

Close

See additional information alongside the content

Geographical Extent: Indicates the geographical area that this provision applies to. For further information see ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.

Show Timeline of Changes: See how this legislation has or could change over time. Turning this feature on will show extra navigation options to go to these specific points in time. Return to the latest available version by using the controls above in the What Version box.

Close

Opening Options

Different options to open legislation in order to view more content on screen at once

Close

Explanatory Notes

Text created by the government department responsible for the subject matter of the Act to explain what the Act sets out to achieve and to make the Act accessible to readers who are not legally qualified. Explanatory Notes were introduced in 1999 and accompany all Public Acts except Appropriation, Consolidated Fund, Finance and Consolidation Acts.

Close

More Resources

Access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item from this tab. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:

  • the original print PDF of the as enacted version that was used for the print copy
  • lists of changes made by and/or affecting this legislation item
  • confers power and blanket amendment details
  • all formats of all associated documents
  • correction slips
  • links to related legislation and further information resources
Close

Timeline of Changes

This timeline shows the different points in time where a change occurred. The dates will coincide with the earliest date on which the change (e.g an insertion, a repeal or a substitution) that was applied came into force. The first date in the timeline will usually be the earliest date when the provision came into force. In some cases the first date is 01/02/1991 (or for Northern Ireland legislation 01/01/2006). This date is our basedate. No versions before this date are available. For further information see the Editorial Practice Guide and Glossary under Help.

Close

More Resources

Use this menu to access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:

  • the original print PDF of the as enacted version that was used for the print copy
  • correction slips

Click 'View More' or select 'More Resources' tab for additional information including:

  • lists of changes made by and/or affecting this legislation item
  • confers power and blanket amendment details
  • all formats of all associated documents
  • links to related legislation and further information resources