Scheme administration U.K.

9 Unauthorised disclosure of information: penalties etc U.K.

(1) A person guilty of an offence under section 8 is liable on conviction on indictment to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or a fine or both.

(2) A person guilty of an offence under section 8 is liable—

(a) on summary conviction in England and Wales, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding [F1 the general limit in a magistrates’ court] or a fine;

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

(c) on summary conviction in Northern Ireland, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum or both.

(3) The court by or before which a person is convicted of an offence under section 8 may order the destruction of a document containing the information disclosed in breach of that section or, if the information disclosed is held in some other form, may order its erasure.

(4) Where an offence under section 8 committed by a body corporate—

(a) is committed with the consent or connivance of an officer, or

(b) is attributable to neglect on the part of an officer,

the officer as well as the body corporate is guilty of the offence.

(5) Where an offence under section 8 committed by a Scottish partnership—

(a) is committed with the consent or connivance of a partner, or

(b) is attributable to neglect on the part of a partner,

the partner as well as the Scottish partnership is guilty of the offence.

(6) In this section—

• “director”, in relation to a body corporate whose affairs are managed by its members, means a member of the body corporate;

• “officer”, in relation to a body corporate, means—

  (a)

  a director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the body corporate, or

  (b)

  a person purporting to act in any such a capacity;

• “partner”, in relation to a Scottish partnership, includes any person who was purporting to act as a partner in the partnership.

(7) In relation to an offence committed in England and Wales before [F2 2 May 2022], the reference in subsection (2)(a) above to “ [F3 the general limit in a magistrates’ court] ” is to be read as a reference to “6 months”.

(8) In relation to an offence committed in England and Wales before section 85 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 comes into force, the reference in subsection (2)(a) above to a fine is to be read as a reference to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum.

Textual Amendments

F1 Words in s. 9(2)(a) substituted (7.2.2023 at 12.00 p.m.) by The Judicial Review and Courts Act 2022 (Magistrates’ Court Sentencing Powers) Regulations 2023 (S.I. 2023/149), regs. 1(2), 2(1), Sch. Pt. 1

F2 Words in s. 9(7) substituted (28.4.2022) by The Criminal Justice Act 2003 (Commencement No. 33) and Sentencing Act 2020 (Commencement No. 2) Regulations 2022 (S.I. 2022/500), regs. 1(2), 5(1), Sch. Pt. 1

F3 Words in s. 9(7) substituted (7.2.2023 at 12.00 p.m.) by The Judicial Review and Courts Act 2022 (Magistrates’ Court Sentencing Powers) Regulations 2023 (S.I. 2023/149), regs. 1(2), 2(1), Sch. Pt. 1

Commencement Information

I1 S. 9 in force at 31.3.2014 by S.I. 2014/459, art. 3(b)