Consent of subject to disclosure etc
12.—(1) An agency must not disclose any identifying information about the subject to the person requesting that information without first obtaining the consent of the subject.
(2) The agency must take all reasonable steps to ensure that the subject has enough information to enable him or her to make an informed decision as to whether to give his or her consent to any such disclosure.
(3) If the subject has died or the agency determines that he or she is incapable of giving consent the agency may disclose such identifying information about the subject as is appropriate taking into consideration the welfare of those who may be affected by the disclosure and this process may include eliciting views of those persons.
(4) In this regulation and in regulation 14, “identifying information” means information which whether taken on its own or together with other information possessed by the person requesting it, enables the subject to be identified and traced.