Regulation 14 Protection of confidential material

(1)

This regulation applies to any information—

(a)

submitted or presented to the authority or authorities proposing to make the scheme in response to consultation carried out by virtue of section 125(3),

(b)

sent by the authority or authorities proposing to make the scheme to the board under section 126C(2),

(c)

submitted to the board following an invitation from the board under regulation 11(3)(a) or, as the case may be, regulation 12(3)(a), or

(d)

presented to the board in an oral evidence session held by virtue of regulation 11 or, as the case may be, regulation 12(3)(b),

to which the circumstances described in paragraph (2) apply.

(2)

The circumstances are that—

(a)

the person who supplied the information to the authority or authorities proposing to make the scheme or, as the case may be, to the board has requested that the information be held in confidence; and

(b)

a person would not be entitled to the information in response to a request made in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000 by virtue of the application of the exemptions in section 41 (information provided in confidence) or 43 (commercial interests) of that Act^f1.

(3)

Information to which this regulation applies must not, except in the circumstances prescribed in paragraph (4), be—

(a)

included in any interim report published by the board by virtue of regulation 15,

(b)

included in any report published by the board by virtue of section 126D(5), or

(c)

disclosed to any other party by the authority or authorities proposing to make the scheme or, as the case may be, the board,

without the consent of the person who supplied the information.

(4)

Nothing in this regulation affects—

(a)

the obligation imposed on the authority or authorities proposing to make the scheme by section 126C(2);

(b)

the obligation imposed on any person submitting evidence to the board by virtue of regulation 11(4) (obligation to copy evidence to authority);

(c)

any obligation on the authority or authorities proposing to make the scheme or, as the case may be, the board to disclose information in order to comply with an order of a court or a tribunal.

(5)

If—

(a)

the board holds an oral evidence session in accordance with regulation 11 or 12(3)(b), and

(b)

information to which the circumstances described in paragraph (2) apply is likely to be disclosed at that session,

the board must exclude persons other than representatives of the authority or authorities proposing to make the scheme from the part of the session at which such information is likely to be disclosed.

Annotations

Footnotes

f1: 2000 c. 36. The effect of section 41 is that information provided in confidence is exempt from disclosure. The effect of section 43 is that information which would, or would be likely to, prejudice a person’s commercial interests is exempt from disclosure, subject to satisfying the public interest test.