OpenLegislation

The Postal Services Act 2011 (Disclosure of Information) Order 2012

S.I. 2012/1128 · Made 19 April 2012 · Extends to United Kingdom

Up to date with all changes known to legislation.gov.uk, revised to 6 April 2026.

Postal Services

Made 19th April 2012

Coming into force in accordance with article 1

The Secretary of State makes the following Order in exercise of the powers conferred by section 56(2) and (3) of the Postal Services Act 2011f1.

In accordance with sections 56(4) and 89(4) of that Act a draft of this Order was laid before and approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament.

Annotations to the whole text

Footnotes

f1

2011 c.5.

Contents

  1. 1Citation and Commencement
  2. 2Interpretation
  3. 3Prescription of bodies and persons
  4. 4Prescription of enactments
  5. 5Prescription of other circumstances and purposes
  6. Signature
  7. Explanatory note

1Citation and CommencementI1

(1)

This Order may be cited as the Postal Services Act 2011 (Disclosure of Information) Order 2012.

(2)

This Order comes into force on the day following the day on which it is made.

2InterpretationI1

In this Order, “the Act” means the Postal Services Act 2011.

3Prescription of bodies and personsI1

Each of the following is a prescribed body or other person for the purposes of section 56(2)(d) of the Act—

  • F1 the Bank of England;

  • the Civil Aviation Authority;

  • the Coal Authority;

  • F2the Competition and Markets Authority;

  • the Consumer Panel (as established under section 16(2) of the Communications Act 2003f1);

  • any district council in Northern Ireland;

  • F3the Financial Conduct Authority;

  • the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority;

  • F4 the General Consumer Council for Northern Ireland;

  • the Health and Safety Executive;

  • the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland;

  • the Insolvency Practitioners Tribunal;

  • any local weights and measures authority in Great Britain;

  • any Minister of the Crown;

  • F5...

  • the National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux;

  • the Northern Ireland Authority for Utility Regulation;

  • any Northern Ireland department;

  • any Northern Ireland Minister;

  • F6 the Office for Nuclear Regulation;

  • F7...

  • F8the Office of Rail and Road;

  • any official receiver in England, Wales or Northern Ireland;

  • the Prudential Regulation Authority;

  • the Scottish Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux;

  • any Scottish Minister;

  • the Treasury;

  • the Water Appeals Commission for Northern Ireland;

  • the Water Services Regulation Authority.

4Prescription of enactmentsI1

Each of the following is a prescribed enactment for the purposes of section 56(2)(d) or (f) of the Act—

  • the Industrial and Provident Societies Act 1965f1;

  • the Industrial and Provident Societies Act 1967f2;

  • the Trade Descriptions Act 1968f3;

  • the Friendly and Industrial and Provident Societies Act 1968f4;

  • the Fair Trading Act 1973f5;

  • the Health and Safety at Work etc. Actf6;

  • the Consumer Credit Act 1974f7;

  • the Friendly Societies Act 1974f8;

  • the Industrial and Provident Societies Act 1975f9;

  • the Industrial and Provident Societies Act 1978f10;

  • the Credit Unions Act 1979f11;

  • the Estate Agents Act 1979f12;

  • the Competition Act 1980f13;

  • the Solicitors (Scotland) Act 1980f14;

  • the Telecommunications Act 1984f15;

  • the Companies Act 1985f16;

  • the Airports Act 1986f17;

  • the Gas Act 1986f18;

  • the Insolvency Act 1986f19;

  • the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986f20;

  • the Building Societies Act 1986f21;

  • the Consumer Protection Act 1987f22;

  • the Water Act 1989f23;

  • the Electricity Act 1989f24;

  • the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1990f25;

  • the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990f26;

  • the Broadcasting Act 1990f27;

  • F1...

  • the Water Industry Act 1991f28;

  • the Water Resources Act 1991f29;

  • the Friendly Societies Act 1992f30;

  • the Railways Act 1993f31;

  • the Coal Industry Act 1994f32;

  • the Employment Rights Act 1996f33;

  • the Competition Act 1998f34;

  • the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000f35;

  • the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000f36;

  • the Postal Services Act 2000f37;

  • the Utilities Act 2000f38;

  • Part I of the Transport Act 2000 f39;

  • the Insolvency Act 2000f40;

  • the Transport (Scotland) Act 2001f41;

  • the Industrial and Provident Societies Act 2002f42;

  • the Enterprise Act 2002f43;

  • the Communications Act 2003f44;

  • the Water Act 2003f45;

  • the Consumer Credit Act 2006f46;

  • the Companies Act 2006f47;

  • the Consumers, Estate Agents and Redress Act 2007f48;

  • the Legal Services Act 2007f49;

  • Schedule 7 to the Counter-Terrorism Act 2008f50;

  • F2 Parts 3 and 4 of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013;

  • F3 the Energy Act 2013;

  • F4the Water Act 2014;

  • F5Parts 1 and 2 and Chapter 5 of Part 3 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015;

  • F6the following provisions of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024—

    1. (a)

      Part 1;

    2. (b)

      Part 3;

    3. (c)

      F7... Part 4;

    4. (d)

      Chapter 2 of Part 5.

  • the Health and Safety at Work (Northern Ireland) Order 1978f51;

  • the Audit (Northern Ireland) Order 1987f52;

  • the Insolvency (Northern Ireland) Order 1989f53;

  • the EEC Merger Control (Distinct Market Investigations) Regulations 1990f54;

  • the Electricity (Northern Ireland) Order 1992f55;

  • Part IV of the Airports (Northern Ireland) Order 1994f56;

  • the Gas (Northern Ireland) Order 1996f57;

  • the Water (Northern Ireland) Order 1999f58;

  • F8...

  • F9...

  • ...

  • the Energy (Northern Ireland) Order 2003f59;

  • the Competition Act 1998 (Concurrency) Regulations 2004f60;

  • the Financial Services (Distance Marketing) Regulations 2004f61;

  • the Water Services etc. (Scotland) Act 2005 (Consequential Provisions and Modifications) Order 2005f62;

  • the Water and Sewerage Services (Northern Ireland) Order 2006f63;

  • the Money Laundering Regulations 2007f64;

  • the Business Protection from Misleading Marketing Regulations 2008f65;

  • F10...

  • the Payment Services Regulations F112017.

  • F12the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, so far as they apply to distance contracts;

5Prescription of other circumstances and purposesI1

Each of the following is a prescribed circumstance or purpose for the purposes of section 56(2)(h) of the Act—

(a)

the carrying out by the Comptroller and Auditor General, or the Comptroller and Auditor General for Northern Ireland, of any of their functions under any enactment;

(b)

complying with any international obligation of the United Kingdom;

(c)

the conduct of negotiations by the Secretary of State with representatives of the government of a country outside the United Kingdom;

(d)

the provision of information, by or with the consent of the Secretary of State, to any international organisation of which the United Kingdom is a member.

Signature

Mark Prisk

Minister of State for Business and Enterprise

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

19th April 2012

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Order)

Section 56 of the Postal Services Act 2011 (c.5) (“the Act”) imposes a general prohibition on the disclosure of information that relates to an individual or particular business and is obtained by virtue of Part 3 (Regulation of Postal Services) of the Act (“information”), except as permitted by the section.

Subsection (2) provides certain exemptions to the general prohibition. Subsections (2)(a), (b) and (c) have the effect of permitting disclosure of information with the consent of those concerned and to facilitate the carrying out of functions of OFCOM, the Secretary of State, the Treasury or the Competition Commission under the Act. Subsections (2)(d), (f) and (h) give the Secretary of State the power to prescribe, by Order, further persons, enactments, circumstances or purposes so as to permit disclosure of information under those subsections.

This Order provides that the Secretary of State prescribes bodies and other persons, enactments, circumstances or purposes for the purposes of disclosure of information permitted under section 56 of the Act.

Taken together with the exemptions to the general prohibition on disclosure provided in section 56(2), the provisions of this Order have the effect of creating a disclosure regime comparable to the (now repealed) permitted disclosure regime in Schedule 7 to the Postal Services Act 2000 (c.26).

Article 1 provides that the Order shall come into force on the day following that on which it is made.

Article 3 prescribes certain bodies and other persons (“prescribed persons”), with the effect that disclosure of information is permitted under section 56(2)(d) of the 2011 Act, for the purposes of facilitating their carrying out of any functions under enactments prescribed by article 4.

Article 4 prescribes enactments so as to permit, under section 56(2)(d), disclosure of information by prescribed persons to facilitate the carrying out of their functions under those enactments. Disclosure of information for the purposes of civil proceedings brought under those enactments is also permitted, under subsection (2)(f) of the Act.

Article 5 prescribes certain other circumstances and purposes, with the effect that disclosure of information in and for those circumstances and purposes is permitted under section 56(2)(h) of the Act.