Part III General functions of F6F15Minister for the Cabinet Office, Secretary of State and Information Commissioner
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)
I345 Issue of code of practice F2by the Minister for the Cabinet Office.
C81
The F11Minister for the Cabinet Office shall issue, and may from time to time revise, a code of practice providing guidance to public authorities as to the practice which it would, in his opinion, be desirable for them to follow in connection with the discharge of the authorities’ functions under Part I.
2
The code of practice must, in particular, include provision relating to—
a
the provision of advice and assistance by public authorities to persons who propose to make, or have made, requests for information to them,
b
the transfer of requests by one public authority to another public authority by which the information requested is or may be held,
c
consultation with persons to whom the information requested relates or persons whose interests are likely to be affected by the disclosure of information,
d
the inclusion in contracts entered into by public authorities of terms relating to the disclosure of information,
F8da
the disclosure by public authorities of datasets held by them, and
e
the provision by public authorities of procedures for dealing with complaints about the handling by them of requests for information.
F122A
Provision of the kind mentioned in subsection (2)(da) may, in particular, include provision relating to—
a
the giving of permission for datasets to be re-used,
b
the disclosure of datasets in an electronic form which is capable of re-use,
c
the making of datasets available for re-use in accordance with the terms of a licence,
d
other matters relating to the making of datasets available for re-use,
e
standards applicable to public authorities in connection with the disclosure of datasets.
3
F5Any code under this section may make different provision for different public authorities.
C34
Before issuing or revising any code under this section, the F3Minister for the Cabinet Office shall consult the Commissioner.
C35
The F19Minister for the Cabinet Office shall lay before each House of Parliament any code or revised code made under this section.
I446 Issue of code of practice by F17Secretary of State.
C71
The F18Secretary of State shall issue, and may from time to time revise, a code of practice providing guidance to relevant authorities as to the practice which it would, in his opinion, be desirable for them to follow in connection with the keeping, management and destruction of their records.
2
For the purpose of facilitating the performance by the Public Record Office, the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland and other public authorities of their functions under this Act in relation to records which are public records for the purposes of the M1Public Records Act 1958 or the Public Records Act (Northern Ireland) 1923, the code may also include guidance as to—
a
b
the practice of reviewing records before they are transferred under those provisions.
C93
In exercising his functions under this section, the F21Secretary of State shall have regard to the public interest in allowing public access to information held by relevant authorities.
4
The code may make different provision for different relevant authorities.
C55
Before issuing or revising any code under this section the F13Secretary of State shall consult—
b
the Commissioner, and
c
in relation to Northern Ireland, the appropriate Northern Ireland Minister.
C56
The F4Secretary of State shall lay before each House of Parliament any code or revised code made under this section.
7
In this section “relevant authority” means—
a
any public authority, and
b
any office or body which is not a public authority but whose administrative and departmental records are public records for the purposes of the M4Public Records Act 1958 or the Public Records Act (Northern Ireland) 1923.
I1C147 General functions of Commissioner.
1
It shall be the duty of the Commissioner to promote the following of good practice by public authorities and, in particular, so to perform his 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 Commissioner shall arrange for the dissemination in such form and manner as he considers appropriate of such information as it may appear to him 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 his functions under this Act,
and may give advice to any person as to any of those matters.
3
The Commissioner may, with the consent of any public authority, assess whether that authority is following good practice.
4
F104A
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.
C44B
The F7Minister for the Cabinet Office may by order amend subsection (4A).
C44C
An order under subsection (4B) may include such transitional or saving provision as the F7Minister for the Cabinet Office considers appropriate.
C44D
The F7Minister for the Cabinet Office must consult the Commissioner before making an order under subsection (4B).
5
The Commissioner shall from time to time as he considers appropriate—
a
consult the Keeper of Public Records about the promotion by the Commissioner 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 M5Public Records Act 1958, and
b
consult the Deputy Keeper of the Records of Northern Ireland about the promotion by the Commissioner of the observance by public authorities of those provisions in relation to records which are public records for the purposes of the M6Public 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 Commissioner 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.
I2C248 Recommendations as to good practice.
1
If it appears to the Commissioner that the practice of a public authority in relation to the exercise of its functions under this Act does not conform with that proposed in the codes of practice under sections 45 and 46, he may give to the authority a recommendation (in this section referred to as a “practice recommendation”) specifying the steps which ought in his opinion to be taken for promoting such conformity.
2
A practice recommendation must be given in writing and must refer to the particular provisions of the code of practice with which, in the Commissioner’s opinion, the public authority’s practice does not conform.
3
Before giving to a public authority other than the Public Record Office a practice recommendation which relates to conformity with the code of practice under section 46 in respect of records which are public records for the purposes of the M7Public Records Act 1958, the Commissioner shall consult the Keeper of Public Records.
4
Before giving to a public authority other than the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland a practice recommendation which relates to conformity with the code of practice under section 46 in respect of records which are public records for the purposes of the Public Records Act (Northern Ireland) 1923, the Commissioner shall consult the Deputy Keeper of the Records of Northern Ireland.
F1449 Reports to be laid before Parliament.
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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)