Health and Social Care Bill (HL Bill 119)

(b) request any other person to provide it with such information.

(2) Those persons are—

(a) 5a health or social care body;

(b) any person (other than a public body) who provides health services, or
adult social care in England, pursuant to arrangements made with a
public body exercising functions in connection with the provision of
such services or care.

(3) 10A requirement under subsection (1)(a) must be complied with by providing the
information to the Information Centre in such form and manner, and within
such period, as the Centre may specify.

(4) If the Information Centre considers it appropriate to do so, the Centre may
make a payment to any person who has provided information to the Centre
15pursuant to a request made under subsection (1)(b) in respect of the costs to
that person of doing so.

(5) The Information Centre must publish a procedure for notifying persons of
requirements imposed, and requests made, under subsection (1).

(6) In imposing requirements under this section the Information Centre must co-
20operate with any other person who is authorised to require the provision of
information by a person mentioned in subsection (2).

(7) The provision of information under this section—

(a) does not breach any obligation of confidence owed by the person
providing it, but

(b) 25is subject to any express restriction on disclosure imposed by or under
another Act (other than any restriction which allows disclosure if
authorised by or under an Act).

(8) In this Chapter “health or social care body” means a public body which
exercises functions in connection with the provision of health services or of
30adult social care in England.

258 Publication of information

(1) The Information Centre must publish all information which it collects
pursuant to a direction under section 253 or a request under section 254 unless
the information falls within subsection (2); and, subject to subsection (3), if the
35information falls within that subsection, the Centre must not publish it.

(2) Information falls within this subsection if—

(a) the information is in a form which identifies any relevant person to
whom the information relates or enables the identity of such a relevant
person to be ascertained and the Centre, after taking into account the
40public interest as well as the interests of the relevant person, considers
that it is not appropriate for the information to be published,

(b) the information is in a form which identifies any individual to whom
the information relates who is not a relevant person or enables the
identity of such an individual to be ascertained,

(c) 45the Centre considers that—

(i) the information fails to meet the information standards
published under section 249 (so far as they are applicable), and

(ii) it would not be in the public interest to publish the information,
or

(d) 5the information is of a description specified in a direction given to the
Centre by the Secretary of State or the Board.

(3) A direction under section 253 may provide that the obligation to publish
imposed by subsection (1) applies to information falling within subsection
(2)(a) which is collected pursuant to the direction.

(4) 10Where the Information Centre publishes information which it collects
pursuant to a direction under section 253 or a mandatory request under section
254, the Centre—

(a) must comply with the requirements (if any) specified in the direction or
mandatory request as to the form, manner and timing of publication of
15the information, and

(b) may publish the information in such other form and such other
manner, and at such other times, as it considers appropriate.

(5) Where the Information Centre publishes information which it collects
pursuant to a request under section 254 other than a mandatory request, the
20Centre—

(a) may act in accordance with such provision (if any) as may be included
in the request as to the form, manner and timing of publication of the
information, and

(b) may publish the information in such other form and such other
25manner, and at such other times, as it considers appropriate.

(6) In considering the appropriate form, manner and timing of publication of
information under this section, the Information Centre must have regard to—

(a) the need for the information to be easily accessible,

(b) the persons who the Centre considers likely to use the information, and

(c) 30the uses to which the Centre considers the information is likely to be
put.

(7) In this Chapter “relevant person” means—

(a) any person who provides health care or adult social care, or

(b) any body corporate not falling within paragraph (a).

259 35Other dissemination of information

(1) The Information Centre may disseminate (other than by way of publication), to
any such persons and in such form and manner and at such times, as it
considers appropriate any information—

(a) which it collects pursuant to a direction under section 253 or a request
40under section 254, and

(b) which falls within subsection (2).

(2) Information falls within this subsection if—

(a) the information is required to be published under section 258;

(b) the information is in a form which identifies any relevant person to
45whom the information relates or enables the identity of such a relevant
person to be ascertained and the Centre, after taking into account the

public interest as well as the interests of the relevant person, considers
that it is appropriate for the information to be disseminated;

(c) the Centre is prohibited from publishing the information only by virtue
of it falling within section 258(2)(c) and the Centre considers it would
5be in the public interest for the information to be disseminated;

(d) the Centre is prohibited from publishing the information only by virtue
of a direction given under section 258(2)(d) and that direction provides
that the power in subsection (1) applies to the information.

(3) A direction under section 258(2)(d) may require the Information Centre to
10disseminate information which the Centre is prohibited from publishing only
by virtue of the direction.

(4) A direction under section 253 may require, and a request under section 254
may request, the Information Centre to exercise—

(a) the power conferred by subsection (1) in relation to information which
15it collects pursuant to the direction or request, or

(b) any other power it has to disseminate such information under or by
virtue of any other provision of this or any other Act.

(5) A direction under section 253 may require, and a request under section 254
may request, the Information Centre not to exercise the power conferred by
20subsection (1) in relation to information which it collects pursuant to the
direction or request.

(6) Nothing in this section prevents the Information Centre from disseminating
information (otherwise than by publishing it) pursuant to the exercise of any
function conferred by or under any other provision of this or any other Act.

(7) 25A requirement imposed on, or a request made to, the Information Centre in
accordance with this section to disseminate information may include a
requirement or request about the persons to whom the information is to be
disseminated and the form, manner and timing of dissemination.

260 Information Register

30The Information Centre must maintain and publish a register containing
descriptions of the information which has been collected by virtue of this
Chapter.

261 Advice or guidance

(1) The Information Centre—

(a) 35may give advice or guidance to any person mentioned in subsection (2)
on any matter relating to the collection, analysis, publication or other
dissemination of information, and

(b) must, if requested to do so by the Secretary of State or the Board, give
advice or guidance on any such matter as may be specified in the
40request to—

(i) the Secretary of State or (as the case may be) the Board;

(ii) such other persons as may be specified in the request.

(2) Those persons are—

(a) the Secretary of State,

(b) 45the Board,

(c) any person who makes, or is proposing to make, a request under
section 254,

(d) any health or social care body, and

(e) any person (including a devolved authority) who collects, or is
5proposing to collect, information which relates to the provision of
health care or adult social care.

(3) The Secretary of State must, at least once in any review period, exercise the
power under subsection (1)(b) by requesting the Information Centre to give the
Secretary of State advice about ways in which the burdens relating to the
10collection of information imposed on health or social care bodies and other
persons may be minimised.

(4) For the purposes of subsection (3) a review period is—

(a) the period of 3 years beginning with the day on which this section
comes into force, and

(b) 15each subsequent period of 3 years.

(5) A health or social care body to whom advice or guidance is given under this
section must have regard to the advice or guidance in exercising functions in
connection with the provision of health services or of adult social care in
England.

(6) 20A person, other than a public body, who provides health services, or adult
social care in England, pursuant to arrangements made with a public body
exercising functions in connection with the provision of such services or care
must, in providing those services or that care, have regard to any advice or
guidance given to the person under this section.

25Functions: quality of health and social care information

262 Assessment of quality of information

The Information Centre must from time to time—

(a) assess the extent to which information it collects pursuant to a direction
under section 253 or a request under 254 meets the information
30standards published under section 249 (so far as they are applicable),
and

(b) publish a record of the results of the assessment.

263 Power to establish accreditation scheme

(1) Regulations may make provision for the establishment and operation of a
35scheme for the accreditation of information service providers (“the
accreditation scheme”).

(2) The regulations may provide that the accreditation scheme is to be established
and operated by the Information Centre or such other person as the Secretary
of State may specify in the regulations (the “operator”).

(3) 40The regulations may, in particular, confer power on the operator—

(a) to establish the procedure for accrediting information service providers
under the scheme,

(b) to set the criteria to be met by a provider in order to be accredited (“the
accreditation criteria”),