Disclosure of information by public authority
Section 129: Local authority
330.This section provides that where the Secretary of State reasonably suspects that a person has committed a specified offence under the 1971 Act and is, or has been resident in a local authority area, the Secretary of State may require that local authority to provide information for the purpose of locating that person. It further provides that local authorities must comply with such a requirement.
Section 130: Inland Revenue
331.This section provides that the Commissioners of Inland Revenue may supply the Secretary of State with information for the purpose of establishing a person’s whereabouts if the Secretary of State reasonably suspects that person does not have leave to be in the United Kingdom ; does not have permission to work; that he has worked in breach of conditions of leave or temporary admission. The Inland Revenue may also provide information to the Secretary of State for the purpose of determining whether an applicant for naturalisation under the British Nationality Act 1981 is of good character and for verifying whether a sponsored entry clearance applicant meets the maintenance and accommodation requirements of the Immigration Rules.
Section 131: Police, &c
332.Section 20 of the 1999 Act provides for information to be supplied to the Secretary of State by a number of bodies for immigration or other specified purposes. This section enables those bodies (including chief officers of police, the National Criminal Intelligence Service and HM Customs & Excise) to supply information to assist the Secretary of State in determining whether a person who has applied for naturalisation as a British citizen satisfies the "good character" requirements of the BNA 1981. Such information may include evidence of convictions.
Section 132: Supply of document, &c. to Secretary of State
333.Section 132 extends the scope of section 20 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 to allow a person to whom the section applies who comes across physical objects, such as documents or replica immigration stamps, to pass them to the Secretary of State for immigration purposes.
334.Subsection (4) allows the Secretary of State to retain or dispose of documents or articles which are passed to him under this section.
Section 133: Medical inspectors
335.This section authorises port medical inspectors and staff working under their direction to disclose information to health service bodies for specific medical purposes. The information that can be disclosed is set out at subsection (2). The permitted purposes of such disclosure are specified at subsection (3). “Health service body” is defined at subsection (4).
