Section 59
1(1)This paragraph applies if—
(a)a superintendent registrar refers a proposed marriage to the Secretary of State under section 28H of the Marriage Act 1949, or
(b)a registration authority refers a proposed civil partnership to the Secretary of State under section 12A of the Civil Partnership Act 2004.
(2)The Secretary of State may—
(a)disclose relevant information to a registration official, or
(b)supply a document containing relevant information to a registration official.
(3)In this paragraph “relevant information” means any of the following information—
(a)the fact that the proposed marriage or civil partnership has been referred to the Secretary of State;
(b)the names of the parties to the proposed marriage or civil partnership;
(c)in the case of a proposed marriage—
(i)any information included with the referral in accordance with regulations under section 28H of the Marriage Act 1949;
(ii)any address of a party to the proposed marriage notified to the Secretary of State in accordance with such regulations or regulations under section 28D of the Marriage Act 1949;
(d)in the case of a proposed civil partnership—
(i)any information included with the referral in accordance with regulations under section 12A of the Civil Partnership Act 2004;
(ii)any address of a party to the proposed civil partnership notified to the Secretary of State in accordance with such regulations or regulations under section 9B of the Civil Partnership Act 2004;
(e)details of any immigration enforcement action taken by the Secretary of State in respect of a party to the proposed marriage or civil partnership (including any action taken after solemnization of the marriage or formation of the civil partnership);
(f)details of any immigration decision taken wholly or partly by reference to the marriage or civil partnership (whether while it was proposed or after it was solemnized or formed).
2(1)A registration official may—
(a)disclose any information held by the registration official, or
(b)supply any document held by the registration official,
to the Secretary of State, or to another registration official, for use for either of the following purposes.
(2)Those purposes are—
(a)immigration purposes;
(b)purposes connected with the exercise of functions relating to—
(i)the referral of proposed marriages to the Secretary of State under section 28H of the Marriage Act 1949, or
(ii)the referral of proposed civil partnerships to the Secretary of State under section 12A of the Civil Partnership Act 2004.
(3)In this paragraph “immigration purposes” means—
(a)the administration of immigration control under the Immigration Acts;
(b)the prevention, detection, investigation or prosecution of criminal offences relating to immigration;
(c)the imposition of penalties or charges under Part 3 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999;
(d)the provision of support for asylum-seekers and their dependants under Part 6 of that Act;
(e)such other purposes as may be specified by the Secretary of State by order.
3A registration official may disclose to another registration official—
(a)the fact that a suspicion about a marriage or civil partnership has been reported to the Secretary of State under section 24 or 24A of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, and
(b)the content of any such report,
(whether or not the suspicion was reported by the registration official making the disclosure).
4(1)The Secretary of State may—
(a)disclose any information held by the Secretary of State, or
(b)supply any document held by the Secretary of State,
to a registration official for use for verification purposes.
(2)In this paragraph “verification purposes” means—
(a)assisting in the verification of information provided to a relevant official by a person giving—
(i)notice of marriage under section 27 of the Marriage Act 1949, or
(ii)notice under section 8 of the Civil Partnership Act 2004;
(b)assisting in the verification of the immigration status of a person who contacts a relevant official in connection with the exercise of a function by a registration official;
(c)assisting in the verification of whether a person who contacts a relevant official in connection with the exercise of a function by a registration official—
(i)is suspected of involvement in crime relating to immigration, or
(ii)has been convicted of an offence relating to immigration.
(3)In this paragraph “relevant official” means—
(a)a registration official, or
(b)any other person employed to assist the exercise of functions by registration officials.
5(1)A registration official may—
(a)disclose any information held by the registration official, or
(b)supply any document held by the registration official,
to an eligible person, or to another registration official in England and Wales, for use for crime-fighting purposes.
(2)Information is disclosed, or a document is supplied, for use for crime-fighting purposes if condition A and condition B are met.
(3)Condition A is met if the registration official disclosing the information or supplying the document has reasonable grounds for suspecting that a criminal offence has been, is being, or is going to be committed.
(4)Condition B is met if the registration official discloses the information or supplies the document for use for one or both of these purposes—
(a)assisting in the verification of information supplied to that or any other registration official;
(b)assisting in the prevention, detection, investigation or prosecution of a criminal offence.
(5)In this section “eligible person” means—
(a)the Secretary of State;
(b)the Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs;
(c)a member of a police force operating in England and Wales or any part of it;
(d)a county council, a district council or a county borough council;
(e)the Greater London Authority, a London borough council or the Common Council of the City of London.
6This Schedule does not authorise—
(a)a disclosure, in contravention of any provisions of the Data Protection Act 1998, of personal data which are not exempt from those provisions, or
(b)a disclosure which is prohibited by Part 1 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000.
7A disclosure of information which is authorised by this Schedule does not breach—
(a)an obligation of confidence owed by the person making the disclosure, or
(b)any other restriction on the disclosure of information (however imposed).
8A person to whom a document is supplied under any provision of this Schedule may—
(a)retain the document;
(b)copy the document;
(c)dispose of the document in such manner as the person thinks appropriate.
9This Schedule does not limit any other power under which—
(a)information may be disclosed, or
(b)documents may be supplied.
10A “registration official” is any of the following—
(a)the Registrar General;
(b)a superintendent registrar;
(c)a registrar;
(d)a registration authority or a person exercising the functions of a registration authority;
(e)a civil partnership registrar (within the meaning of Chapter 1 of Part 2 of the Civil Partnership Act 2004 — see section 29 of that Act).