Disclosure of information by and to the Commission
24.—(1) The Commission may disclose any information to any public body or office-holder (in Northern Ireland, in any other part of the United Kingdom or in a country or territory outside the United Kingdom)—
(a)for any purpose connected with the exercise of the Commission’s functions, or
(b)for the purpose of enabling or assisting the public body or office-holder to exercise any functions.
(2) Any person to whom this subsection applies may disclose any information to the Commission for the purpose of enabling or assisting it to exercise any functions.
(3) Subsection (2) applies to—
(a)any Northern Ireland authority,
(b)the Northern Ireland Assembly Commission,
(c)any district council,
(d)any constable, and
(e)any other public authority whose functions are exercisable only or mainly in or as regards Northern Ireland and relate only or mainly to transferred matters.
(4) In subsection (3)(a) “Northern Ireland authority” means the First Minister, the deputy First Minister, a Northern Ireland Minister or a Northern Ireland department.
(5) A power to disclose information under subsection (1) or (2) is subject to any express restriction imposed by or under any other statutory provision.
(6) Where any information disclosed to the Commission under or for the purposes of any statutory provision is so disclosed subject to any express restriction on the disclosure of the information by the Commission, the Commission’s power of disclosure under subsection (1) shall, in relation to the information, be exercisable subject to any such restriction.