Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006

36 Duty to share information

(1) This section applies to—

(a) the Secretary of State in so far as he has functions under the Immigration Acts,

(b) a chief officer of police, and

(c) Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs.

(2) The persons specified in subsection (1) shall share information to which subsection (4) applies and which is obtained or held by them in the course of their functions to the extent that the information is likely to be of use for—

(a) immigration purposes,

(b) police purposes, or

(c) Revenue and Customs purposes.

(3) But a chief officer of police in Scotland shall share information under subsection (2) only to the extent that it is likely to be of use for—

(a) immigration purposes,

(b) police purposes, in so far as they are or relate to reserved matters within the meaning of the Scotland Act 1998, or

(c) Revenue and Customs purposes other than the prosecution of crime.

(4) This subsection applies to information which—

(a) is obtained or held in the exercise of a power specified by the Secretary of State and the Treasury jointly by order and relates to—

(i) passengers on a ship or aircraft,

(ii) crew of a ship or aircraft,

(iii) freight on a ship or aircraft, or

(iv) flights or voyages, or

(b) relates to such other matters in respect of travel or freight as the Secretary of State and the Treasury may jointly specify by order.

(5) The Secretary of State and the Treasury may make an order under subsection (4) which has the effect of requiring information to be shared only if satisfied that—

(a) the sharing is likely to be of use for—

(i) immigration purposes,

(ii) police purposes, or

(iii) Revenue and Customs purposes, and

(b) the nature of the information is such that there are likely to be circumstances in which it can be shared under subsection (2) without breaching Convention rights (within the meaning of the Human Rights Act 1998 (c. 42)).

(6) Information shared in accordance with subsection (2)—

(a) shall be made available to each of the persons specified in subsection (1), and

(b) may be used for immigration purposes, police purposes or Revenue and Customs purposes (regardless of its source).

(7) An order under subsection (4) may not specify—

(a) a power of Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs if or in so far as it relates to a matter to which section 7 of the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005 (c. 11) (former Inland Revenue matters) applies, or

(b) a matter to which that section applies.

(8) An order under subsection (4)—

(a) shall be made by statutory instrument, and

(b) may not be made unless a draft has been laid before and approved by resolution of each House of Parliament.

(9) In this section—

• “chief officer of police” means—

  (a)

  in England and Wales, the chief officer of police for a police area specified in section 1 of the Police Act 1996 (c. 16),

  (b)

  in Scotland, the chief constable of a police force maintained under the Police (Scotland) Act 1967 (c. 77), and

  (c)

  in Northern Ireland, the chief constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland,

• “immigration purposes” has the meaning given by section 20(3) of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 (c. 33) (disclosure to Secretary of State),

• “police purposes” has the meaning given by section 21(3) of that Act (disclosure by Secretary of State), and

• “Revenue and Customs purposes” means those functions of Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs specified in section 21(6) of that Act.

(10) This section has effect despite any restriction on the purposes for which information may be disclosed or used.