The Rate Relief (Qualifying Age) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2007

Unauthorised disclosure of information relating to particular persons

39.—(1) A person who is or has been employed in rate relief administration or adjudication is guilty of an offence if he discloses without lawful authority any information which he acquired in the course of his employment and which relates to a particular person.

(2) A person who is or has been employed in the audit of expenditure or the investigation of complaints is guilty of an offence if he discloses without lawful authority any information—

(a) which he acquired in the course of his employment;

(b) which is, or is derived from, information acquired or held by or for the purposes of any of the government departments or other bodies or persons referred to in paragraphs (10) and (11); and

(c) which relates to a particular person.

(3) It is not an offence under this regulation—

(a) to disclose information in the form of a summary or collection of information so framed as not to enable information relating to any particular person to be ascertained from it; or

(b) to disclose information which has previously been disclosed to the public with lawful authority.

(4) It is a defence for a person charged with an offence under this regulation to prove that at the time of the alleged offence—

(a) he believed that he was making the disclosure in question with lawful authority and had no reasonable cause to believe otherwise; or

(b) he believed that the information in question had previously been disclosed to the public with lawful authority and had no reasonable cause to believe otherwise.

(5) A person guilty of an offence under this regulation shall be liable—

(a) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to a fine or to both; or

(b) on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum or both.

(6) For the purposes of this regulation, the persons who are “employed in rate relief administration or adjudication” are—

(a) any person specified in paragraphs (10) and (11);

(b) any other person who carries out the administrative work of any of the government departments or other bodies or persons referred to in paragraphs (10) and (11); and

(c) any person who provides, or is employed in the provision of, services to any of those departments, persons or bodies;

and “employment”, in relation to any such person, shall be construed accordingly.

(7) For the purposes of this regulation, the persons who are “employed in the audit of expenditure or the investigation of complaints” are—

(a) the Comptroller and Auditor General for Northern Ireland;

(b) the Northern Ireland Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration;

(c) the Northern Ireland Commissioner for Complaints;

(d) any member of the staff of the Northern Ireland Audit Office;

(e) any other person who carries out the administrative work of that Office, or who provides, or is employed in the provision of, services to it; and

(f) any officer of any of the Commissioners or Commissions referred to in paragraphs (b) and (c);

and “employment”, in relation to any such person, shall be construed accordingly.

(8) For the purposes of this regulation a disclosure is to be regarded as made with lawful authority if, and only if, it is made—

(a) in accordance with his official duty—

(i) by a civil servant; or

(ii) by a person employed in the audit of expenditure or the investigation of complaints, who does not fall within paragraph (7)(e);

(b) by any other person either—

(i) for the purposes of the function in the exercise of which he holds the information and without contravening any restriction duly imposed by the person responsible; or

(ii) to, or in accordance with an authorisation duly given by, the person responsible;

(c) in accordance with any statutory provision or order of a court;

(d) for the purpose of instituting, or otherwise for the purposes of, any proceedings before a court or before any tribunal or other body or person referred to in paragraphs (10) and (11); or

(e) with the consent of the appropriate person;

and in this subsection “the person responsible” means the Department, the Lord Chancellor or any person authorised by the Department or the Lord Chancellor for the purposes of this paragraph.

(9) For the purposes of paragraph (8)(e), “the appropriate person” means the person to whom the information in question relates, except that if the affairs of that person are being dealt with—

(a) under a power of attorney;

(b) by a controller appointed under Article 101 of the Mental Health (Northern Ireland) Order 1986(1) or by a receiver appointed under section 99 of the Mental Health Act 1983(2);

(c) by a Scottish mental health custodian, that is to say a guardian or other person entitled to act on behalf of the person under the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000(3); or

(d) by a mental health appointee, that is to say—

(i) a person directed or authorised as mentioned in sub-paragraph (a) of rule 38(1) of Order 109 of the Rules of the Supreme Court (Northern Ireland) 1980(4) or sub-paragraph (a) of rule 41(1) of the Court of Protection Rules 1984(5); or

(ii) a controller ad interim appointed under sub-paragraph (b) of the said rule 38(1) or any receiver ad interim appointed under sub-paragraph (b) of the said rule 41(1),

the appropriate person is the attorney, controller, receiver or appointee, as the case may be, or, in a case falling within paragraph (a) above, the person to whom the information relates.

(10) In this regulation the specified persons are—

(a) a civil servant in—

(i) the Department;

(ii) the Department for Social Development,

but only to the extent that the appropriate Department carries out functions relating to rate relief.

(b) a civil servant in the Northern Ireland Court Service but only to the extent that the functions carried out relate to functions of the Chief Social Security Commissioner, appointed under section 50(1)(a) of the Administration Act, or any other Social Security Commissioner, appointed under section 50(1)(b) of that Act, and then only in so far as relating to rate relief.

(c) the following persons—

(i) a member, officer or employee of the Executive;

(ii) a person authorised to exercise any function of the Executive relating to rate relief or any employee of such a person;

(iii) a person authorised under regulation 56 to consider and report to the Department on the administration of rate relief.

(d) the clerk to, or other officer or member of the staff of, an appeal tribunal constituted under Chapter I of Part II of the 1998 Order, and whose remit has been extended to hear appeals against decisions relating to rate relief.

(11) In paragraph (10)—

(a) any reference to a person authorised to exercise any function of the Executive relating to rate relief shall include a reference to a person providing services to the Executive which relate to that rate relief; and

(b) any reference to the exercise of any function relating to such rate relief shall include a reference to the provision of any services so relating.

(1)

S.I. 1986/595 (N.I.)

(2)

1983 c. 20

(3)

2000 asp 4

(4)

S.R. 1980 No. 346

(5)

S.I. 1984/2035