(1)A public authority may disclose information to the Secretary of State for the purpose of facilitating the exercise by the Secretary of State of functions under this Act.
(2)The Secretary of State may disclose information received under this Act to a public authority or an overseas public authority—
(a)for the purpose of facilitating the exercise by the Secretary of State of functions under this Act,
(b)for the prevention or detection of crime,
(c)for the purposes of a criminal investigation,
(d)for the purposes of criminal proceedings,
(e)for the purposes of civil proceedings under this Act, or
(f)for the purpose of protecting national security.
(3)The Secretary of State may also disclose such information to an overseas public authority for the purpose of the exercise of corresponding functions of overseas public authorities.
(4)A person who receives information under subsection (2) or (3) may not—
(a)use the information for a purpose other than the purpose for which it was disclosed, or
(b)further disclose the information,
except with the consent of the Secretary of State (which may be general or specific).
(5)Subsection (4) does not apply to information to which section 55 applies (information received from HMRC).
(6)In deciding whether to disclose information under this section, the Secretary of State must consider whether the disclosure would prejudice, to an unreasonable degree, the commercial interests of any person concerned.
(7)In deciding whether to disclose information to an overseas public authority under this section, the Secretary of State must have regard, in particular, to the following considerations—
(a)whether the law of the country or territory to whose authority the disclosure would be made provides protection against self-incrimination in criminal proceedings which corresponds to the protection provided in any part of the United Kingdom, and
(b)whether the matter in respect of which the disclosure is sought is sufficiently serious to justify making the disclosure.
(8)Except as provided by section 57, the disclosure of information under this section does not breach—
(a)any obligation of confidence owed by the person making the disclosure, or
(b)any other restriction on the disclosure of information (however imposed).
(9)In this section—
“overseas public authority” means a person in any country or territory outside the United Kingdom which appears to the Secretary of State to exercise functions of a public nature which—
“public authority” has the same meaning as in section 6 of the Human Rights Act 1998.