Part VI Miscellaneous and Supplementary

Supplementary

74 Restriction on disclosure of information.

(1)

Subject to the following provisions of this section, no information with respect to any particular business which has been obtained under or by virtue of the provisions of this Act shall, so long as the business continues to be carried on, be disclosed without the consent of the person for the time being carrying it on.

(2)

Subsection (1) does not apply to any disclosure of information which is made—

(a)

for the purpose of facilitating the performance of any functions under this Act or any of the enactments F1or subordinate legislation specified in subsection (3) of any Minister, any Northern Ireland department, the head of any such department, the CAA, F2the Competition and Markets Authority F3the Water Services Regulation Authority F4the Director General of Electricity Supply F5the Director General of Electricity Supply for Northern Ireland F6or the Director General of Gas for Northern Ireland F7the Office of Rail and Road or a local weights and measures authority in Great Britain;

(b)

in connection with the investigation of any criminal offence or for the purposes of any criminal proceedings;

(c)

for the purposes of any civil proceedings brought under or by virtue of this Act or any of the enactments F1or subordinate legislation specified in subsection (3);

(d)

in pursuance of any F8F9assimilated obligation.

(3)

The enactments F10and subordinate legislation referred to in subsection (2) are—

(a)

the M1Trade Descriptions Act 1968;

(b)

the M2Fair Trading Act 1973;

(c)

the M3Consumer Credit Act 1974;

F11(d)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

F11(e)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(f)

the M4Estate Agents Act 1979;

(g)

the M5Competition Act 1980; F12...

(h)

the 1982 Act and any Order in Council made under section 60 of that Act (Air Navigation Orders).

F13(i)

the M6Consumer Protection Act 1987.

F14(j)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

F15(k)

the M7Water Act 1989 F16the Water Industry Act 1991 or any of the other consolidation Acts (within the meaning of section 206 of that Act of 1991) F17, or the Water Act 2003 F18or the Water Act 2014.

F19(l)

the M8Electricity Act 1989.

F20(ll)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

F21(m)

the Electricity (Northern Ireland) Order 1992

F22(mm)

the Gas (Northern Ireland) Order 1996;

F23(n)

the Railways Act 1993

F24(o)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

F25(p)

the Competition Act 1998.

F26(q)

Part I of the Transport Act 2000.

F27(r)

the Enterprise Act 2002

F28(s)

the Railways Act 2005.

F29(t)

the Water and Sewerage Services (Northern Ireland) Order 2006.

F30(u)

the Business Protection from Misleading Marketing Regulations 2008;

F31(v)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

F32(w)

the Airport Charges Regulations 2011.

F33(x)

Part 1 of the Civil Aviation Act 2012

F34(y)

Parts 3 and 4 of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013

F35(z)

the following provisions of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024—

(i)

Part 3;

(ii)

F36Chapter 1 of Part 4;

(iii)

Chapter 2 of Part 5.

(4)

Nothing in subsection (1) shall be construed—

F37(a)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(b)

as applying to any information which has been made public as part of F38a report of the Competition Commission under section 45 F39(prior to the abolition of the Competition Commission by section 26 of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013).

(5)

Any person who discloses any information in contravention of this section shall be guilty of an offence and liable—

(a)

on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum;

(b)

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

F40(6)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .