Airports Act 1986

74Restriction on disclosure of information

(1)Subject to the following provisions of this section, no information with respect to any particular business which has been obtained under or by virtue of the provisions of this Act shall, so long as the business continues to be carried on. be disclosed without the consent of the person for the time being carrying it on.

(2)Subsection (1) does not apply to any disclosure of information which is made—

(a)for the purpose of facilitating the performance of any functions under this Act or any of the enactments specified in subsection (3) of any Minister, any Northern Ireland department, the head of any such department, the CAA, the Commission, the Director General of Fair Trading or a local weights and measures authority in Great Britain;

(b)in connection with the investigation of any criminal offence or for the purposes of any criminal proceedings ;

(c)for the purposes of any civil proceedings brought under or by virtue of this Act or any of the enactments specified in subsection (3);

(d)in pursuance of any Community obligation.

(3)The enactments referred to in subsection (2) are—

(a)the [1968 c. 29.] Trade Descriptions Act 1968 ;

(b)the [1973 c. 41.] Fair Trading Act 1973 ;

(c)the [1974 c. 39.] Consumer Credit Act 1974 ;

(d)the [1976 c. 24.] Restrictive Trade Practices Act 1976 ;

(e)the [1976 c. 53.] Resale Prices Act 1976 ;

(f)the [1979 c. 38.] Estate Agents Act 1979 ;

(g)the [1980 c. 21.] Competition Act 1980 ; and

(h)the 1982 Act and any Order in Council made under section 60 of that Act (Air Navigation Orders).

(4)Nothing in subsection (1) shall be construed—

(a)as limiting the matters which may be included in, or made public as part of, a report of the Commission under section 45 ; or

(b)as applying to any information which has been made public as part of such a report.

(5)Any person who discloses any information in contravention of this section shall be guilty of an offence and liable—

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

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

(6)In this section " the Commission " means the Monopolies and Mergers Commission.