125CDisclosure of information for enforcing warrants

1

Basic personal information held by a relevant public authority may, on the application of a justices' chief executive, be supplied by the authority to him (or to a justices' clerk appointed by, or member of the staff of, his magistrates' courts committee who is specified in the application) for the purpose of facilitating the enforcement of a section 125A(1) warrant which is so specified.

2

In this section—

• “basic personal information” means a person’s name, date of birth or national insurance number or the address (or any of the addresses) of a person;

• “relevant public authority” means a Minister of the Crown, government department, local authority or chief officer of police specified in an order made by the Lord Chancellor; and

• “a section 125A(1) warrant” means a warrant to which section 125A(1) above applies and which has been issued by a justice of the peace to whom the justices' chief executive making the application is chief executive.

3

Information supplied to any person under subsection (1) above, or this subsection, for the purpose of facilitating the enforcement of a section 125A(1) warrant may be supplied by him for that purpose to—

a

any person entitled to execute the warrant;

b

any employee of a body or person who, for the purposes of section 125B above, is an approved enforcement agency in relation to the warrant; or

c

any person who is the justices' chief executive, a justices' clerk or a member of the staff of the magistrates' courts committee whose justices' chief executive made the application for the information.

4

A person who intentionally or recklessly—

a

discloses information supplied to him under this section otherwise than as permitted by subsection (3) above; or

b

uses information so supplied otherwise than for the purpose of facilitating the enforcement of the section 125A(1) warrant concerned,

commits an offence.

5

But it is not an offence under subsection (4) above—

a

to disclose any information in accordance with any enactment or order of a court or for the purposes of any proceedings before a court; or

b

to disclose any information which has previously been lawfully disclosed to the public.

6

A person guilty of an offence under subsection (4) above is liable—

a

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

b

on conviction on indictment, to a fine.

7

The power to make orders conferred by subsection (2) above shall be exercisable by statutory instrument which shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.