Digital Switchover (Disclosure of Information) (Jersey) Law 2010

Revised Edition

06.125

Showing the law as at 1 January 2011

This is a revised edition of the law

Digital Switchover (Disclosure of Information) (Jersey) Law 2010

Arrangement

Article

1            Interpretation

2            Disclosure of information

3            Offences

4            Orders

5            Citation

Supporting Documents

Endnotes

Table of Legislation History

Table of Renumbered Provisions

Table of Endnote References



Digital Switchover (Disclosure of Information) (Jersey) Law 2010

A LAW to enable the disclosure of information for the purposes of a digital switchover help scheme.

Commencement [see endnotes]

1      Interpretation

In this Law, unless the context otherwise requires –

“BBC” means the British Broadcasting Corporation;

“BBC Charter and Agreement” means the following documents, or any one or more of them, so far as they are for the time being in force –

(a)     a Royal Charter for the continuance of the BBC;

(b)     supplemental Charters obtained by the BBC under such a Royal Charter;

(c)     an agreement between the BBC and the Secretary of State entered into (whether before or after the passing of this Law) for purposes that include the regulation of activities carried on by the BBC;

“broadcasting” means broadcasting by wireless telegraphy (as defined by section 116 of the Wireless Telegraphy Act 2006 of the United Kingdom, as that Act has effect in Jersey) otherwise than by satellite;

“care home” means –

(a)     a home to which the Nursing and Residential Homes (Jersey) Law 1994[1] applies, within the meaning of that Law; or

(b)     any hospital, establishment, or premises, that, but for the operation of Article 3(2)(a) or (c) of the Nursing and Residential Homes (Jersey) Law 1994, would be a home to which that Law applies, within the meaning of that Law,

and includes (for the avoidance of doubt) a hospital to the extent that it accommodates a long-stay patient within the meaning of the Hospital Charges (Long-Stay Patients) (Jersey) Law 1999[2];

“digital switchover” means the replacement of the broadcast of television services in Jersey in analogue form with their broadcast in digital form;

“Minister” means the Minister for Economic Development;

“prescribed” means prescribed by Order made by the Minister;

“relevant person” means –

(a)     the BBC;

(b)     any company in respect of which any one or more of the following –

(i)     the BBC,

(ii)    the Secretary of State, or

(iii)   a nominee of the BBC or the Secretary of State,

hold at least 51% of the issued ordinary share capital or possess at least 51% of the voting rights; or

(c)     any person who is engaged by the BBC, the Secretary of State or any company falling within paragraph (b) –

(i)     to provide any service connected with switchover help functions,

(ii)    to carry out a switchover help function, or

(iii)   to carry out any function connected with switchover help functions;

“Secretary of State” means –

(a)     Her Majesty’s Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport; or

(b)     Her Majesty’s Secretary of State for any government department (or any other Minister of the Crown) to whom the functions of the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport are transferred;

“switchover help function” means –

(a)     the identification of persons who may be eligible for help under a switchover help scheme;

(b)     making contact with those persons with a view to the provision of such help; and

(c)     the establishment of any person’s entitlement to such help;

“switchover help scheme” means any scheme that applies to or in relation to Jersey for the provision of help to individuals in connection with digital switchover, being a scheme that is agreed between the BBC and the Secretary of State in pursuance of the BBC Charter and Agreement, as the scheme has effect from time to time.

2      Disclosure of information

(1)    The Minister for Social Security may, at the request of a relevant person, supply a relevant person with social security information for use (by the person to whom it is supplied or by another relevant person) in connection with switchover help functions.

(2)    The Minister for Health and Social Services may, at the request of a relevant person, supply a relevant person with care home residency information for use (by the person to whom it is supplied or by another relevant person) in connection with switchover help functions.

(3)    A person registered under the Nursing and Residential Homes (Jersey) Law 1994 to carry on a care home, being a home to which that Law applies, may, at the request of a relevant person, supply a relevant person with care home residency information in relation to that care home for use (by the person to whom it is supplied or by another relevant person) in connection with switchover help functions.

(4)    The Jersey Blind Society may, at the request of a relevant person, supply a relevant person with visual impairment information for use (by the person to whom it is supplied or by another relevant person) in connection with switchover help functions.

(5)    Any person prescribed for the purposes of this paragraph may, at the request of a relevant person, supply a relevant person with information of a prescribed description for use (by the person to whom it is supplied or by another relevant person) in connection with switchover help functions.

(6)    In this Article –

“care home residency information” means information of a prescribed description –

(a)     held by or on behalf of the Minister for Health and Social Services and obtained as a result of, or for the purpose of, the exercise of his or her functions in relation to care homes; or

(b)     held by or on behalf of a person registered under the Nursing and Residential Homes (Jersey) Law 1994 to carry on a care home, being a home to which that Law applies, and relating to the patients in the care home;

“social security information” means information of a prescribed description held by or on behalf of the Minister for Social Security and obtained as a result of, or for the purpose of, the exercise of that Minister’s functions including, without limitation, his or her functions under any of the following –

(a)     the Income Support (Jersey) Law 2007[3];

(b)     the Social Security (Jersey) Law 1974[4];

(c)     any Regulation, Order, or other enactment, made under an enactment referred to in sub-paragraph (a) or (b);

“visual impairment information” means information of a prescribed description about persons who are registered as blind or partially sighted in a register maintained by or on behalf of the Jersey Blind Society.

3      Offences

(1)    A relevant person shall not disclose without lawful authority any information supplied to him or her or another relevant person under Article 2.

(2)    A person who –

(a)     is or has been employed by a relevant person;

(b)     is or has been engaged –

(i)     in the provision of services to a relevant person in connection with the carrying out of a switchover help function, or

(ii)    to carry out any switchover help function, or to carry out any function in connection with the carrying out of a switchover help function; or

(c)     is or has been employed by, or is or has been engaged in the provision of services to, or to carry out a function for, a person engaged as mentioned in paragraph (b),

shall not disclose without lawful authority information supplied to a relevant person under Article 2.

(3)    A person who contravenes paragraph (1) or (2) shall be guilty of an offence and liable to imprisonment for a term of 2 years and to a fine.

(4)    It shall not be an offence under this Article –

(a)     to disclose information in the form of a summary, or collection of information, so framed as not to enable information supplied under Article 2 relating to any particular person to be ascertained from it; or

(b)     to disclose information that has previously been disclosed to the public with lawful authority.

(5)    It is a defence for a person charged with an offence under this Article to prove that –

(a)     at the time of the alleged offence he or she believed that –

(i)     he or she was making the disclosure in question with lawful authority, or

(ii)    the information in question had previously been disclosed to the public with lawful authority; and

(b)     he or she had no reasonable cause to believe otherwise.

(6)    For the purposes of this Article, a disclosure is to be regarded as made with lawful authority only if it is made –

(a)     for the purpose of carrying out a switchover help function, or for doing anything connected with the carrying out of a switchover help function;

(b)     in accordance with any enactment or court order;

(c)     for the purpose of instituting, or otherwise for the purposes of, proceedings before a court; or

(d)     with the consent of the person to whom the information relates or of any person authorized to act on that person’s behalf.

4      Orders

(1)    The Minister may by Order make provision for the purpose of carrying this Law into effect and, in particular, but without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, for prescribing any matter that may be prescribed under this Law by Order.

(2)    Orders under this Law may contain such consequential, incidental, supplemental and transitional provisions as may appear to the Minister to be necessary or expedient.

5      Citation

This Law may be cited as the Digital Switchover (Disclosure of Information) (Jersey) Law 2010.



Endnotes

Table of Legislation History



Legislation



Year and No



Commencement



Digital Switchover (Disclosure of Information) (Jersey) Law 2010



L.8/2010



13 August 2010



Table of Renumbered Provisions



Original



Current



5(1)



5



5(2)



Spent, omitted



Table of Endnote References



[1]



chapter 20.725



[2]



chapter 20.550



[3]



chapter 26.550



[4]



chapter 26.900