The position is governed by the Enterprise Act 2002, a major piece of legislation that not only transformed the UK’s approach to bankruptcy and corporate rescue, and gave new powers to consumers, but also clarified how public authorities were to deal with information, such as product test results and company addresses, obtained in the course of carrying out the functions of the authority.
At present, this information can only be released where certain conditions are met, including:
However, information cannot currently be released for the purpose of private civil proceedings – a fact that has upset consumer groups and intellectual property rights holders.
They are concerned that consumers who have been injured by an unsafe product, or businesses that have had intellectual property rights stolen and wish to take action against traders in Civil Courts, are unable to obtain potentially vital information.
Businesses, on the other hand, are concerned that fewer restrictions on the release of information could result in the disclosure of confidential and commercially sensitive information to rivals.
The Government is therefore consulting on whether changes are necessary to the Act.
The consultation will run for 13 weeks and closes on 18th November.
