24Supply of information in connection with student loans
(1)This section applies to any information which is held—
(a)by the Commissioners of Inland Revenue, or
(b)by a person providing services to those Commissioners and in connection with the provision of those services.
(2)Information to which this section applies may be supplied to—
(a)the Secretary of State or the Department of Education for Northern Ireland,
(b)any person or body acting on behalf of the Secretary of State or that Department under the delegation of functions provisions, or
(c)any authority or governing body by whom any function of the Secretary of State or that Department is for the time being exercisable to any extent by virtue of the transfer of functions provisions,
for the purpose of enabling or assisting the recipient to exercise any function in connection with the operation of the student loans scheme.
(3)Information supplied under subsection (2) shall not be supplied by the recipient to any other person or body unless it is supplied—
(a)to a person or body to whom it could be supplied under that subsection, or
(b)for the purposes of any civil or criminal proceedings arising out of the student loans scheme.
(4)Subsections (2) and (3) extend only to the supply of information by or under the authority of the Commissioners of Inland Revenue.
(5)This section does not limit the circumstances in which information may be supplied apart from this section.
(6)In this section—
(a)“the delegation of functions provisions” means section 23(4) of this Act or section 73A(3) of the [1980 c. 44.] Education (Scotland) Act 1980;
(b)“the transfer of functions provisions” means section 23(1) of this Act or section 73A(1) of that Act; and
(c)“the student loans scheme” means the provisions of—
(i)regulations under section 22 of this Act so far as having effect in relation to loans under that section, or
(ii)regulations under section 73(f) of that Act made with respect to loans;
and in this subsection any reference to a provision of this Act includes a reference to any corresponding Northern Ireland legislation.