Section 197 — Pensions Act 2004: Restricted information

Restricted information 197 1 Restricted information must not be disclosed—

a by the Board, or b by any person who receives the information directly or indirectly from the Board.

2 Subsection (1) is subject to—

a subsection (3),

and b sections 198 to 203 and 235.

3 Subject to section 202(4), restricted information may be disclosed with the consent of the person to whom it relates and (if different) the person from whom the Board obtained it.

4 For the purposes of this section and sections 198 to 203, “ restricted information ” means any information obtained by the Board in the exercise of its functions which relates to the business or other affairs of any person, except for information—

a which at the time of the disclosure is or has already been made available to the public from other sources, or b which is in the form of a summary or collection of information so framed as not to enable information relating to any particular person to be ascertained from it.

5 Any person who discloses information in contravention of this section is guilty of an offence and liable—

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

b on conviction on indictment, to a fine or imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or both.

6 Information which—

a is obtained under section 191 by a person authorised under subsection (2)(b) of that section, but b if obtained by the Board, would be restricted information, is treated for the purposes of subsections (1) and (3) and sections 198 to 203 as restricted information which the person has received from the Board.