155.—(1) In section 145 of the Pension Schemes Act, after subsection (4) add—
“(5) The Pensions Ombudsman may disclose any information which he obtains for the purposes of an investigation under this Part to any person to whom subsection (6) applies, if the Ombudsman considers that the disclosure would enable or assist that person to discharge any of his functions.
(6) This subsection applies to the following—
(a)the Regulatory Authority,
(b)the Pensions Compensation Board,
(c)the Registrar,
(d)any Northern Ireland department or department of the Government of the United Kingdom,
(e)the Bank of England,
(f)the Friendly Societies Commission,
(g)the Building Societies Commission,
(h)an inspector appointed by the Department of Economic Development under Part XV of the Companies (Northern Ireland) Order 1986F1,
(i)an inspector appointed by the Secretary of State under Part XIV of the Companies Act 1985F2 or section 94 or 177 of the Financial Services Act 1986F3,
(j)a person authorised under section 106 of the Financial Services Act 1986 to exercise powers conferred by section 105 of that Act,
(k)a designated agency or transferee body or the competent authority, within the meaning of that Act, and
(l)a recognised self-regulating organisation, recognised professional body, recognised investment exchange or recognised clearing house, within the meaning of that Act.
(7) The Department may by order—
(a)amend subsection (6) by adding any person or removing any person for the time being specified in that subsection, or
(b)restrict the circumstances in which, or impose conditions subject to which, disclosure may be made to any person for the time being specified in that subsection.” .
(2) In section 147 of that Act, in subsection (7)(a), after “this section” insert—
“(aa)in disclosing any information under section 145(5),” .