Information and consultation
C415 Confidentiality of information.
1
Information obtained by F20the Commissioner or his officers in the course of or for the purposes of an investigation shall not be disclosed except—
a
for the purposes of the investigation and any report to be made in respect of it,
F38aa
for the purposes of F39a matter which is being investigated by the Parliamentary Commissioner or a Local Commissioner (or both),
b
for the purposes of any proceedings for—
i
ii
an offence of perjury alleged to have been committed in the course of the investigation,
c
for the purposes of an inquiry with a view to the taking of such proceedings as are mentioned in paragraph (b), F1. . .
d
for the purposes of any proceedings under section 13 (offences of obstruction and contempt) F2or
e
F3where the information is to the effect that any person is likely to constitute a threat to the health or safety of patientsas permitted by subsection (1B).
F4F51A
Subsection (1B) applies where, in the course of an investigation, F21the Commissioner or any of his officers obtains information which—
a
does not fall to be disclosed for the purposes of the investigation or any report to be made in respect of it, and
b
is to the effect that a person is likely to constitute a threat to the health or safety of patients.
1B
In F6a case within subsection (1)(e) the Commissioner may disclose the information to any persons to whom he thinks it should be disclosed in the interests of the health and safety of patients F7; and a person to whom disclosure may be made may, for instance, be a body which regulates the profession to which the person mentioned in subsection (1A)(b) belongs or his employer or any person with whom he has made arrangements to provide services.
1C
If F22the Commissioner discloses information as permitted by subsection (1B) he shall—
F8a
where he knows the identity of the person mentioned in subsection (1)(e), inform that person that he has disclosed the information and of the identity of any person to whom he has disclosed it, and
b
inform the person from whom the information was obtained that he has disclosed it.
2
F103
F114
Information obtained from the Information Commissioner by virtue of section 76 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 shall be treated for the purposes of subsection (1) as obtained for the purposes of an investigation and, in relation to such information, the reference in paragraph (a) of that subsection to the investigation shall have effect as a reference to any investigation.
16 Information prejudicial to the safety of the State.
1
A Minister of the Crown may give notice in writing to F26the Commissioner with respect to any document or information specified in the notice that in the Minister’s opinion the disclosure of the document or information would be prejudicial to the safety of the State or otherwise contrary to the public interest.
2
Where such a notice is given to F26the Commissioner, nothing in this Act shall be construed as authorising or requiring him or any of his officers to communicate to any person or for any purpose any document or information specified in the notice.
3
References above to a document or information include references to a class of document or a class of information.
C117 Use of information by Commissioner in other capacity.
1
2
Where—
a
a person initiates a complaint to the Commissioner as the holder of the additional office, and
b
the complaint relates partly to a matter with respect to which that person has previously initiated, or subsequently initiates, a complaint to the Commissioner in his capacity as such,
information obtained by the Commissioner or his officers in the course of or for the purposes of the investigation of that other complaint may be disclosed for the purposes of carrying out his functions in relation to the complaint initiated to him as the holder of the additional office.
F293
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
C218 Consultation during investigations.
1
Where F30the Commissioner, at any stage in the course of conducting an investigation, forms the opinion that the complaint relates partly F19or wholly to a matter which could be the subject of an investigation—
F31a
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
F32ba
by the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales under the Public Services Ombudsman (Wales) Act 2005 F49or the Public Services Ombudsman (Wales) Act 2019,
d
F33e
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2
Where F34the Commissioner consults with another Commissioner F16, the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman or F18... F35the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales in accordance with this section, the consultations may extend to any matter relating to the complaint, including—
a
the conduct of any investigation into the complaint, and
b
the form, content and publication of any report of the results of such an investigation.
3
Nothing in section 15 (confidentiality of information) applies in relation to the disclosure of information F48... in the course of consultations held in accordance with this section.
18ZAF37Collaborative working between the Commissioner and other Commissioners
1
If at any stage in the course of conducting an investigation under this Act the Commissioner forms the opinion that the complaint relates partly to a matter within the jurisdiction of—
a
the Parliamentary Commissioner,
b
a Local Commissioner, or
c
both,
he may, subject to subsection (2), conduct an investigation under this Act jointly with that Commissioner or those Commissioners.
2
The Commissioner must obtain the consent of the person aggrieved or any person acting on his behalf in accordance with section 9(3) before agreeing to a joint investigation referred to in subsection (1).
3
If the Commissioner forms the opinion that F40matters which are the subject of an investigation by—
a
the Parliamentary Commissioner,
b
a Local Commissioner, or
c
both,
4
If the Commissioner conducts an investigation F43... jointly with another person, the requirements of section 14 (reports) (so far as relating to a case where the Commissioner conducts an investigation under this Act) may be satisfied by a report made jointly with that person.
5
Apart from identifying any body or provider investigated, a report prepared by virtue of subsection (4) by the Commissioner and a Local Commissioner shall not—
a
mention the name of any person, or
b
contain any particulars which, in the opinion of the Commissioner and the Local Commissioner, are likely to identify any person and can be omitted without impairing the effectiveness of the report,
unless, after taking into account the public interest as well as F44the interests of the complainant (if any) and of other persons, the Commissioner and the Local Commissioner consider it necessary to mention the name of that person or to include in the report any such particulars.
6
Nothing in subsection (5) of this section prevents a report—
a
mentioning the name of, or
b
containing particulars likely to identify,
the Mayor of London or any member of the London Assembly.
18AF13 Disclosure of information to Information Commissioner.
1
F36The Health Service Commissioner may disclose to the Information Commissioner any information obtained by, or furnished to, the Health Service Commissioner under or for the purposes of this Act if the information appears to the Health Service Commissioner to relate to—
a
a matter in respect of which the Information Commissioner could exercise any power conferred by—
F46i
sections 142 to 154, 160 to 164 or 174 to 176 of, or Schedule 15 to, the Data Protection Act 2018 (certain provisions relating to enforcement),
ii
section 48 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (practice recommendations), or
iii
Part IV of that Act (enforcement), or
F47b
the commission of an offence under—
i
a provision of the Data Protection Act 2018 other than paragraph 15 of Schedule 15 (obstruction of execution of warrant etc), or
ii
section 77 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (offence of altering etc records with intent to prevent disclosure).
3
Nothing in section 15 (confidentiality of information) applies in relation to the disclosure of information in accordance with this section.