Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012

35 Exceptions from restriction under section 34 E+W

(1) Section 34(2) does not prevent the disclosure of information—

(a) for the purpose of enabling or assisting the Lord Chancellor or the Secretary of State for Justice to carry out their functions (whether conferred or imposed by an Act or otherwise),

(b) for the purpose of enabling or assisting the Director to carry out functions imposed or conferred on the Director by or under this Part, or

(c) for the purpose of enabling or assisting a court, tribunal or other person on whom functions are imposed or conferred by or under this Part to carry out those functions.

(2) Section 34(2) does not prevent—

(a) the disclosure of information in accordance with the law of England and Wales or an order of a court,

(b) the disclosure of information for the purposes of the investigation or prosecution of an offence (or suspected offence) under the law of England and Wales or any other jurisdiction, except where regulations otherwise provide,

(c) the disclosure of information for the purposes of instituting, or otherwise for the purposes of, proceedings before a court,

(d) the disclosure of information which has previously been lawfully disclosed to the public, or

(e) the disclosure of information for the purpose of facilitating the proper performance by a tribunal of disciplinary functions.

(3) Section 34(2) does not prevent the disclosure of—

(a) information in the form of a summary or collection of information that is framed so that information relating to an individual cannot be ascertained from it, or

(b) information about the amount of any grant, loan or other payment made to a person by the Lord Chancellor under arrangements made for the purposes of this Part.

(4) Section 34(2) does not prevent the disclosure of information for any purpose—

(a) with the consent of the individual in connection with whose case it was provided, and

(b) if the information was provided other than by that individual, with the consent of the person who provided the information.

(5) Section 34(2) does not prevent the disclosure of information after the end of the restricted period if—

(a) the disclosure is by a person who is a public authority for the purposes of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 or who is acting on behalf of such a person, and

(b) the information is not held by the public authority on behalf of another person.

(6) The restricted period is the period of 100 years beginning with the end of the calendar year in which a record containing the information was first created by a person to whom the information was provided in connection with a case described in section 34(1)(b).