Serious Crime Bill [HL]

House of Commons

Session 2006 - 07
Internet Publications
Other Bills before Parliament

Serious Crime Bill [HL]

Serious Crime Bill [HL]
Part 2 — Encouraging or assisting crime
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59
Repeal of offence of enabling unauthorised access to computer material
(1)
The Police and Justice Act 2006 (c. 48) is amended as follows.
(2)
In section 35 (unauthorised access to computer material), omit subsection (2).
(3)
In section 36 (unauthorised acts with intent to impair operation of computer,
etc.), in the section to be substituted for section 3 of the Computer Misuse Act
5
1990 (c. 18)—
(a)
in subsection (2)—
(i)
at the end of paragraph (b), insert “or”; and
(ii)
omit paragraph (d) and the word “or” preceding it;
(b)
in subsection (3) for “to (d)” substitute “to (c)”.
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(4)
In section 38 (transitional and saving provision), omit subsection (1).
(5)
In Schedule 14 (minor and consequential amendments), omit paragraphs 19(2)
and 29(2).
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No individual liability in respect of corporate manslaughter
In section 18 of the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007
15
(c. 00) (no individual liability for offences under that Act) after subsection (1)
insert—
“(1A)
An individual cannot be guilty of an offence under Part 2 of the Serious
Crime Act 2007 (encouraging or assisting crime) by reference to an
offence of corporate manslaughter.”
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61
Consequential amendments: Part 2
(1)
In the provisions listed in Part 1 of Schedule 6, any reference however
expressed to (or to conduct amounting to) the offence abolished by section 57
has effect as a reference to (or to conduct amounting to) the offences under this
Part.
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(2)
Part 2 of Schedule 6 contains other minor and consequential amendments.
(3)
The Secretary of State may by order amend Part 1 of Schedule 6 by adding or
removing a provision.
Interpretation: Part 2
62
Encouraging or assisting the commission of an offence
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A reference in this Part to encouraging or assisting the commission of an
offence is to be read in accordance with section 45.
63
Being capable of encouraging or assisting
(1)
A reference in this Part to a person’s doing an act that is capable of encouraging
the commission of an offence includes a reference to his doing so by
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threatening another person or otherwise putting pressure on another person to
commit the offence.

Serious Crime Bill [HL]
Part 3 — Other measures to prevent or disrupt serious and other crime
Chapter 1 — Prevention of fraud
36

(2)
A reference in this Part to a person’s doing an act that is capable of encouraging
or assisting the commission of an offence includes a reference to his doing so
by—
(a)
taking steps to reduce the possibility of criminal proceedings being
brought in respect of that offence;
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(b)
failing to take reasonable steps to discharge a duty.
(3)
But a person is not to be regarded as doing an act that is capable of encouraging
or assisting the commission of an offence merely because he fails to respond to
a constable’s request for assistance in preventing a breach of the peace.
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Indirectly encouraging or assisting
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If a person (D1) arranges for a person (D2) to do an act that is capable of
encouraging or assisting the commission of an offence, and D2 does the act, D1
is also to be treated for the purposes of this Part as having done it.
65
Course of conduct
A reference in this Part to an act includes a reference to a course of conduct, and
15
a reference to doing an act is to be read accordingly.
Part 3
Other measures to prevent or disrupt serious and other crime
Chapter 1
Prevention of fraud
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Sharing information with anti-fraud organisations
66
Disclosure of information to prevent fraud
(1)
A public authority may, for the purposes of preventing fraud or a particular
kind of fraud, disclose information as a member of a specified anti-fraud
organisation or otherwise in accordance with any arrangements made by such
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an organisation.
(2)
The information—
(a)
may be information of any kind; and
(b)
may be disclosed to the specified anti-fraud organisation, any members
of it or any other person to whom disclosure is permitted by the
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arrangements concerned.
(3)
Disclosure under this section does not breach—
(a)
any obligation of confidence owed by the public authority disclosing
the information; or
(b)
any other restriction on the disclosure of information (however
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imposed).
(4)
But nothing in this section authorises any disclosure of information which—
(a)
contravenes the Data Protection Act 1998 (c. 29); or

Serious Crime Bill [HL]
Part 3 — Other measures to prevent or disrupt serious and other crime
Chapter 1 — Prevention of fraud
37

(b)
is prohibited by Part 1 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act
2000 (c. 23).
(5)
Nothing in this section authorises any disclosure by a relevant public authority
of information whose subject-matter is a matter about which provision would
be within the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament if it were
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included in an Act of that Parliament.
(6)
In subsection (5) “relevant public authority” means a public authority which
has (whether alone or in addition to other functions) functions which are
exercisable within devolved competence (within the meaning given by section
54 of the Scotland Act 1998 (c. 46)).
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(7)
This section does not limit the circumstances in which information may be
disclosed apart from this section.
(8)
In this section—
“an anti-fraud organisation” means any unincorporated association, body
corporate or other person which enables or facilitates any sharing of
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information to prevent fraud or a particular kind of fraud or which has
any of these functions as its purpose or one of its purposes;
“information” includes documents;
“public authority” means any public authority within the meaning of
section 6 of the Human Rights Act 1998 (c. 42) (acts of public
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authorities); and
“specified” means specified by an order made by the Secretary of State.
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Offence for certain further disclosures of information
(1)
A person (“B”) commits an offence, subject as follows, if—
(a)
B discloses protected information which has been disclosed by a public
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authority—
(i)
as a result of the public authority being a member of a specified
anti-fraud organisation; or
(ii)
otherwise in accordance with any arrangements made by such
an organisation;
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(b)
the information—
(i)
has been so disclosed by the public authority to B; or
(ii)
has come into B’s possession as a result (whether directly or
indirectly) of such a disclosure by the public authority to
another person; and
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(c)
B knows or suspects, or has reasonable grounds for suspecting, that the
information is information of the kind mentioned in paragraphs (a) and
(b).
(2)
Subsection (1) does not apply to a disclosure made by B—
(a)
where B is acting (whether as an employee or otherwise) on behalf of
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the person to whom the information was disclosed by the public
authority concerned and the disclosure by B is to another person acting
(whether as an employee or otherwise) on behalf of that person;
(b)
for the purposes of the detection, investigation or prosecution of an
offence in the United Kingdom;
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(c)
with the consent of the public authority concerned; or

Serious Crime Bill [HL]
Part 3 — Other measures to prevent or disrupt serious and other crime
Chapter 1 — Prevention of fraud
38

(d)
in pursuance of a Community obligation or a duty imposed by an
enactment;

but it does apply to a disclosure made by B which does not fall within
paragraphs (a) to (d) above but which (but for the offence) would have been
permitted by a power conferred by an enactment.
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(3)
Subsection (1) does not apply to a disclosure made by B of information—
(a)
which has been disclosed by a relevant public authority; and
(b)
whose subject-matter is a matter about which provision would be
within the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament if it were
included in an Act of that Parliament;
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and subsection (6) of section 66 applies for the purposes of this subsection as it
applies for the purposes of subsection (5) of that section.
(4)
It is a defence for a person charged with an offence under this section to prove
that the person reasonably believed—
(a)
that the disclosure was lawful; or
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(b)
that the information had already and lawfully been made available to
the public.
(5)
In this section “protected information” means—
(a)
any revenue and customs information disclosed by Revenue and
Customs and revealing the identity of the person to whom it relates; or
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(b)
any specified information disclosed by a specified public authority.
(6)
For the purposes of this section—
(a)
“revenue and customs information” means information about,
acquired as a result of or held in connection with the exercise of a
function of the Commissioners of Revenue and Customs or an officer of
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Revenue and Customs in respect of a person;
(b)
revenue and customs information reveals a person’s identity if—
(i)
it specifies his identity; or
(ii)
his identity can be deduced from it; and
(c)
revenue and customs information relates to a person if he is the person
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in respect of whom the function mentioned in paragraph (a) is
exercised.
(7)
In this section—
“Commissioners of Revenue and Customs” means Commissioners for
Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs;
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“enactment” has the same meaning as in section 14;
“public authority” has the same meaning as in section 66;
“Revenue and Customs” means—
(a)
the Commissioners of Revenue and Customs;
(b)
an officer of Revenue and Customs; or
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(c)
a person acting on behalf of the Commissioners or an officer of
Revenue and Customs;
“specified anti-fraud organisation” means any person which is a specified
anti-fraud organisation for the purposes of section 66;
“specified information” means information specified or described in an
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order made by the Secretary of State; and
“specified public authority” means a public authority specified or
described in an order made by the Secretary of State.