PART 2UK law-enforcement bodies’ duties in respect of Level 2 disclosures
Duty to provide information in response to section 14A request
6.—(1) The chief officer of a UK law-enforcement body must comply with a request for information made under section 14A of the Disclosure Act in relation to a disclosure application as soon as practicable after receiving it.
(2) A chief officer must not provide information in accordance with this article if the chief officer thinks that disclosing the information would be contrary to the interests of the prevention or detection of crime.
(3) Section 33 of the Disclosure Act applies in relation to a chief officer considering a request under section 14A of that Act as it does to the chief constable of the Police Service of Scotland considering a request under section 14 of that Act.
(4) For the avoidance of doubt, information mentioned in paragraph (1) may include information with respect to relevant behaviour within the meaning of section 5(1)(a) of the 2019 Act.
(5) However, a chief officer may provide information in accordance with this article that relates to a time when the applicant for the disclosure was under 12 years of age only where—
(a)the independent reviewer determines, on a review under section 18 of the 2019 Act, that the information ought to be included in the disclosure and—
(i)no appeal under section 20 of that Act is taken, or
(ii)such an appeal having been taken, the sheriff confirms the determination under section 20(3)(a) of that Act, or
(b)the sheriff, on an appeal under section 20 of that Act, determines under subsection (3)(b) of that section that the information ought to be included in the disclosure.
(6) In this article—
“2019 Act” means the Age of Criminal Responsibility (Scotland) Act 2019(1);
“disclosure application” means an application made under section 11 of the Disclosure Act for a disclosure;
“independent reviewer” means the independent reviewer appointed under section 12 of the 2019 Act.
Duty to carry out section 23 review
7.—(1) The chief officer of a UK law-enforcement body must, if requested to do so by the Scottish Ministers under section 23 of the Disclosure Act, carry out a review of the information provided by the chief officer for the purpose of a disclosure.
(2) In the review the chief officer must decide—
(a)whether the chief officer still reasonably believes the information to be relevant for the purpose of the disclosure, and
(b)whether the chief officer is still of the opinion that the information ought to be included in the disclosure.
(3) In carrying out the review, the chief officer must—
(a)by notice give the person to whom the disclosure relates an opportunity to make representations, and
(b)have regard to any representations made by that person.
(4) A notice under paragraph (3)(a) must specify the time period within which the person may make representations.
(5) The following enactments apply in relation to the chief officer making a decision under paragraph (2) as they do in relation to the chief constable of the Police Service of Scotland making a decision under section 23(4) of the Disclosure Act—
(a)section 33 of that Act;
(b)regulations under section 37 of that Act.
(6) The chief officer must notify the Scottish Ministers of—
(a)the chief officer’s decision under paragraph (2), and
(b)the chief officer’s reason for the decision.
Duty to provide information to the independent reviewer
8.—(1) In carrying out a review under Part 1 of the Disclosure Act in respect of a Level 2 review application, the independent reviewer may by notice require any person mentioned in paragraph (2) to provide the reviewer information which the reviewer—
(a)believes the person holds, and
(b)considers is necessary to carry out the review.
(2) The persons referred to in paragraph (1) are—
(a)the chief officer of a UK law-enforcement body;
(b)the Secretary of State;
(c)the Department of Justice in Northern Ireland;
(d)any other person whom the reviewer considers appropriate and whom the reviewer could not require to provide the information under section 28(1)(b) of the Disclosure Act.
(3) The chief officer of a UK law-enforcement body must not provide information in accordance with this article if the chief officer thinks that disclosing the information would be contrary to the interests of the prevention or detection of crime.
(4) A notice under paragraph (1) must specify the information sought and the period within which it must be provided.
(5) In this article—
“independent reviewer” has the meaning given in article 6;
“Level 2 review application” means an application under section 20(1) of the Disclosure Act.