Section 47 General functions of Commission.F18 I1 C1

United Kingdom

(1)

It shall be the duty of the F1Commission to promote the following of good practice by public authorities and, in particular, so to perform F2its functions under this Act as to promote the observance by public authorities of—

(a)

the requirements of this Act, and

(b)

the provisions of the codes of practice under sections 45 and 46.

(2)

The F3Commission shall arrange for the dissemination in such form and manner as F4the Commission considers appropriate of such information as it may appear to F5the Commission expedient to give to the public—

(a)

about the operation of this Act,

(b)

about good practice, and

(c)

about other matters within the scope of F6the Commission’s functions under this Act,

and may give advice to any person as to any of those matters.

(3)

The F7Commission may, with the consent of any public authority, assess whether that authority is following good practice.

(4)

The F8Commission may charge such sums as F9it may F10... determine for any F11relevant services provided by the Commission under this section.

F12(4A)

In subsection (4) “relevant services” means—

(a)

the provision to the same person of more than one copy of any published material where each of the copies of the material is either provided on paper, a portable disk which stores the material electronically or a similar medium,

(b)

the provision of training, or

(c)

the provision of conferences.

C2(4B)

The F13Minister for the Cabinet Office may by order amend subsection (4A).

(4C)

An order under subsection (4B) may include such transitional or saving provision as the Minister for the Cabinet Office considers appropriate.

(4D)

The Minister for the Cabinet Office must consult the F14Commission before making an order under subsection (4B).

(5)

The F15Commission shall from time to time as F16the Commission considers appropriate—

(a)

consult the Keeper of Public Records about the promotion by the Commission of the observance by public authorities of the provisions of the code of practice under section 46 in relation to records which are public records for the purposes of the M1Public Records Act 1958, and

(b)

consult the Deputy Keeper of the Records of Northern Ireland about the promotion by the Commission of the observance by public authorities of those provisions in relation to records which are public records for the purposes of the M2Public Records Act (Northern Ireland) 1923.

(6)

In this section “good practice”, in relation to a public authority, means such practice in the discharge of its functions under this Act as appears to the F17Commission to be desirable, and includes (but is not limited to) compliance with the requirements of this Act and the provisions of the codes of practice under sections 45 and 46.

Annotations

Commencement

I1: S. 47 wholly in force at 30.11.2002; s. 47(2)-(6) in force at Royal Assent, see s. 87(1)(d); s. 47(1) in force at 30.11.2002 by S.I. 2002/2812, art. 2(c)

Notes on Part III

Textual amendments

F1: Words in Pt. III heading substituted (9.12.2015) by virtue of The Transfer of Functions (Information and Public Records) Order 2015 (S.I. 2015/1897), art. 1(2), Sch. para. 2(6)
F2: Words in Pt. III heading substituted (9.11.2016) by The Transfer of Functions (Elections, Referendums, Third Sector and Information) Order 2016 (S.I. 2016/997), art. 1(2), Sch. 2 para. 14(2)(j) (with art. 12)
F3: Words in Pt. III heading substituted (30.9.2026) by The Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 (Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2026 (S.I. 2026/386), reg. 1(2), Sch. 2 para. 12(7); S.I. 2026/1015, reg. 2(c)

Section 47 General functions of Commission.F18I1C1

Annotations

Textual amendments

Marginal citations

Modifications

Commencement

Notes on Part III

Textual amendments

Section 47 General functions of Commission.F18 I1 C1