Clause 59
Energy Bill
6:00 pm
Malcolm Wicks (Minister of State (Energy), Department for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform; Croydon North, Labour)
This clause refers to co-operation and information sharing between the Secretary of State and the interested bodies. When information is relevant to a programme, the clause sets out the framework for the sharing of information that relates to a person—such as a site operator or persons with obligations under a programme, such as trustees, or a body corporate associated with the operator—between the Secretary of State and the interested bodies.
The clause also sets out the framework for those relevant bodies to provide assistance. It will limit the circumstances in which the Secretary of State and the regulatory bodies can share information. It will also apply if the Secretary of State is considering whether to make a modification, deciding whether or not to approve a programme under clause 41 or deciding whether to make a modification under clause 44. It will also apply where a proposal to make a modification to an already approved programme would result in a new obligation being imposed on a body corporate.
Information can only be shared between the Secretary of State and the interested bodies if the Secretary of State thinks that the information is relevant to certain statutory duties of one or more of those bodies. Likewise, the interested bodies can only share information with the Secretary of State if they think that the information is relevant to a function of the Secretary of State under this chapter. The clause will apply regardless of any statutory or other restriction that seeks to prevent a disclosure of information. Any information shared between the Secretary of State and the relevant interested bodies will be subject to the Freedom of Information Act 2000.