Constitutional Law PART 1 Introductory CHAPTER 1 Formal provisions Citation 1 This Order may be cited as the Disclosure (Scotland) Act 2020 (Consequential Provisions and Modifications) Order 2025. Commencement and extent 2 1 This Order comes into force on 1st April 2025. 2 Subject to paragraph (3), this Order extends to England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. 3 An amendment, repeal or revocation made by this Order has the same extent as the provision being amended, repealed or revoked. Amendments to primary and secondary legislation 3 1 Schedule 1 contains amendments to enactments in connection with Part 2. 2 Schedule 2 contains amendments to enactments in connection with the Disclosure Act. CHAPTER 2 Interpretation Meaning of “disclosure” and “Disclosure Act” 4 In this Order— “ disclosure ” means a Level 2 disclosure as defined in section 8 of the Disclosure Act; “ Disclosure Act ” means the Disclosure (Scotland) Act 2020 . Meaning of UK law-enforcement body, chief officer and payable institution 5 In this Order, a reference to— a a UK law-enforcement body is to a body specified in the first column of the following table; b the chief officer of a UK law-enforcement body is to the person specified in the corresponding entry in the second column of the table; c the payable institution in relation to a UK law-enforcement body is to the person specified in the corresponding entry in the third column of the table. UK law-enforcement body Chief officer Payable institution a police force in England and Wales within the meaning of section 101(1) of the Police Act 1996 the chief officer of police as defined by section 101(1) of the Police Act 1996 the local policing body as defined by section 101(1) of the Police Act 1996 the Police Service of Northern Ireland the body’s chief constable the Northern Ireland Policing Board the Royal Navy Police the body’s Provost Marshal the body’s Provost Marshal the Royal Military Police the body’s Provost Marshal the body’s Provost Marshal the Royal Air Force Police the body’s Provost Marshal the body’s Provost Marshal the Ministry of Defence Police the body’s chief constable the Ministry of Defence Police Committee the British Transport Police the body’s chief constable the British Transport Police Authority the Civil Nuclear Constabulary the body’s chief constable the Civil Nuclear Police Authority the Commissioners for His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs any of the Commissioners the Commissioners for His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs the National Crime Agency the body’s Director general the body the tri-service serious crime unit (as defined in section 375(1A) of the Armed Forces Act 2006 the Provost Marshal for serious crime the Provost Marshal for serious crime PART 2 UK 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 ; “ 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. PART 3 Further duties to provide information for the Disclosure Act’s purposes Duty to provide information in response to section 49(2) request 9 1 The chief officer of a UK law-enforcement body must, as soon as practicable after receiving it, comply with a request made under section 49(2) of the Disclosure Act (which allows information to be requested for the purpose of determining whether a person is suitable to have access to disclosure information). 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. Duty to make central records available 10 1 A person who holds central records must make those records available to the Scottish Ministers for the purposes of enabling or assisting them to perform their functions under Part 1 of the Disclosure Act. 2 Paragraph (1) does not apply to records that must be made available to the Scottish Ministers by virtue of section 65(1) of the Disclosure Act. 3 For the purposes of this article, “ central records ” has the same meaning as it has for the purpose of section 65(1) of the Disclosure Act. Duty to provide personal data for checking identity 11 1 A personal data holder must, on request, provide the Scottish Ministers with the information described in paragraph (2) to enable the Scottish Ministers to exercise their function under section 58 of the Disclosure Act (power to use personal data to check identity). 2 The information referred to in paragraph (1) is information that— a the personal data holder thinks it appropriate to provide in response to the request, and b is held by a personal data holder. 3 In this article, “ personal data holder ” means a person mentioned in section 58(2)(b) or (c) of the Disclosure Act. Duty to make fingerprint records available 12 1 Any person who holds records of fingerprints for the use of police forces generally must make those records available to the Scottish Ministers for the purposes of section 59 of the Disclosure Act (power to use fingerprints to check identity). 2 Paragraph (1) does not apply to records that must be made available to the Scottish Ministers by virtue of section 59(5) of the Disclosure Act. 3 For the purposes of paragraph (1), “ police forces ” has the same meaning as it has for the purposes of section 59(5) of the Disclosure Act. Duty to provide other information requested by the Scottish Ministers 13 1 The Scottish Ministers may by notice require any person mentioned in paragraph (2) to provide them with information which they— a believe the person holds, and b consider is necessary to carry out their functions under Part 1 of the Disclosure Act. 2 The persons referred to in paragraph (1) are— a the chief officer of a UK law-enforcement body; b a local authority in England and Wales within the meaning of section 1(4) of the Local Authorities (Goods and Services) Act 1970 ; c the Secretary of State; d the Disclosure and Barring Service; e the Department of Justice in Northern Ireland; f any other person the Scottish Ministers consider appropriate whom they could not require to provide the information under section 65(2) of the Disclosure Act. 3 The chief officer of a UK law-enforcement body must not provide information by virtue of a notice under paragraph (1) if the chief officer thinks that disclosing the information would be contrary to the interests of the prevention or detection of crime. PART 4 Miscellaneous provisions Payment for exercise of functions under this Order 14 1 Where the chief officer of a UK law-enforcement body performs a function mentioned in paragraph (3), the Scottish Ministers must pay the appropriate fee to the payable institution in relation to the body. 2 The appropriate fee for a function’s performance is to be determined by— a the Secretary of State, in respect of the performance of a function by the chief officer of any body other than the Police Service of Northern Ireland; b the Department of Justice in Northern Ireland, in respect of the performance of a function by the chief officer of the Police Service of Northern Ireland. 3 The functions referred to in paragraph (1) are— a providing information in accordance with article 6; b carrying out a review in accordance with article 7; c providing information in accordance with article 9; d providing information in accordance with article 13. Scottish Ministers not liable for inaccuracies 15 No proceedings are competent against the Scottish Ministers by reason of inaccuracy in the information made available or provided to them in accordance with or in pursuance of any power or duty under this Order to provide information to the Scottish Ministers in relation to their functions under Part 1 of the Disclosure Act. Guidance for chief officers of UK law-enforcement bodies 16 1 The Scottish Ministers must issue guidance to the chief officers of UK law-enforcement bodies about the exercise of the chief officer’s functions under this Order. 2 The Scottish Ministers may from time to time issue revised guidance, and references in this article to guidance include revised guidance. 3 The guidance may in particular include provision about the conduct of reviews under section 23 of the Disclosure Act. 4 The chief officer of a UK law-enforcement body must have regard to guidance issued under this article in exercising functions under this Order. Kirsty McNeill Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Scotland Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland Office Dover House, London At 10.05 a.m. on 1st April 2025