Legislation – Data (Use and Access) Act 2025

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Part 2Digital verification services

Supplementary

51Power of Secretary of State to require information

(1)

The Secretary of State may by written notice require—

(a)

an accredited conformity assessment body, or

(b)

a person registered in the DVS register,

to provide the Secretary of State with information that the Secretary of State reasonably requires for the purposes of the exercise of the Secretary of State’s functions under this Part.

(2)

A notice under this section must state why the information is required for the purposes of the exercise of those functions.

(3)

A notice under this section—

(a)

may specify or describe particular information or a category of information;

(b)

may specify the form in which the information must be provided;

(c)

may specify the time at which, or the period within which, the information must be provided;

(d)

may specify the place where the information must be provided.

(4)

A notice under this section that is given to a person registered in the DVS register must provide information about the consequences under section 41 of failure to comply with the notice.

(5)

The Secretary of State may cancel a notice under this section by notice to the person to whom it was given.

(6)

A disclosure of information required by a notice 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).

(7)

But a notice under this section does not require a disclosure of information if the disclosure—

(a)

would contravene section 46, 47 or 48,

(b)

would contravene the data protection legislation (but in determining whether a disclosure would do so, the duty imposed by the notice is to be taken into account), or

(c)

is prohibited by any of Parts 1 to 7 or Chapter 1 of Part 9 of the Investigatory Powers Act 2016.

(8)

A notice under this section does not require a person to provide the Secretary of State with information in respect of a communication which is made—

(a)

between a professional legal adviser and the adviser’s client, and

(b)

in connection with the giving of legal advice to the client with respect to obligations, liabilities or rights under this Part.

(9)

In subsection (8), references to the client of a professional legal adviser include references to a person acting on behalf of the client.

(10)

A notice under this section does not require a person to provide the Secretary of State with information if doing so would, by revealing evidence of the commission of an offence, expose the person to proceedings for that offence.

(11)

The reference to an offence in subsection (10) does not include an offence under—

(a)

section 5 of the Perjury Act 1911 (false statements made otherwise than on oath);

(b)

section 44(2) of the Criminal Law (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 1995 (false statements made otherwise than on oath);

(c)

Article 10 of the Perjury (Northern Ireland) Order 1979 (S.I. 1979/1714 (N.I. 19)) (false statutory declarations and other false unsworn statements).

(12)

In this section, “the data protection legislation” has the same meaning as in the Data Protection Act 2018 (see section 3(9) of that Act).