Part 1: Victims of Criminal Conduct Non-disclosure agreements and confidentiality clauses Section 17: Disclosures by victims that cannot be precluded by agreement
Subsection (1) voids the portion of confidentiality clauses that purport to preclude victims from making a disclosure falling under subsection (2). This means a confidentiality clause could not be legally enforced against a victim for making a permitted disclosure under subsection (2) in the context of a claim against a victim for breach of contract by the other party to the agreement.
	Subsection (2) specifies the permitted disclosures that a victim, or a person who reasonably believes they are a victim, can make:
to any person who has law enforcement functions, for the purpose of those functions being exercised in relation to relevant conduct;
to a qualified lawyer, for the purpose of seeking legal advice about relevant conduct;
to any individual who is entitled to practise a regulated profession, for the purpose of obtaining professional support in relation to relevant conduct;
to any individual who provides a service to support victims, for the purpose of obtaining support from that service in relation to relevant conduct;
to a regulator of a regulated profession for the purpose of co-operating with the regulator in relation to relevant conduct;
to a person who is authorised to receive information on behalf of a person mentioned in paragraph (a), (b), (c), (d) or (e) for the purpose mentioned in that paragraph;
to a child, parent or partner of the person making the disclosure, for the purpose of obtaining support in relation to relevant conduct.
	Subsection (3) provides that a confidentiality clause would not be void under these provisions if the victim makes a disclosure to anyone listed under subsection (2) for the primary purpose of releasing the information into the public domain. This aims to protect the legitimate uses of non-disclosure agreements. This provision does not conflict with whistleblowing legislation under the Employment Rights Act 1996. The Act allows workers to make a protected disclosure, which can involve the release of information into the public domain, if the relevant criteria in that legislation is met. In those cases, confidentiality clauses would be voided by virtue of the Employment Rights Act provision instead.
	Subsections (4) and (5) provide that the Secretary of State may by regulations subject to the affirmative resolution procedure amend the list of permitted disclosures under subsection (2) and extend the application of subsection (1) to specific obligations or liabilities in non-disclosure agreements so that they cannot be legally enforced in relation to the permitted disclosures.
	Subsection (6) defines "law enforcement functions" as functions for the purposes of the investigation or prosecution of criminal offences or the execution of criminal penalties and sets out that "qualified lawyer" means a person who is an authorised person in relation to a reserved legal activity for the purposes of the Legal Services Act 2007.
	Subsection (6) also defines "entitled to practise" in relation to a regulated profession as to be read in accordance with section 19(2) of the Professional Qualifications Act 2022 and provides that "regulated profession" and "regulator" have the same meanings as in the Professional Qualifications Act 2022.
	Subsection (6) specifies that a person is a "partner" of another person if they are married to each other, in in a civil partnership with each other, or in an intimate personal relationship with each other which is of significant duration. "Relevant conduct" is also defined as conduct by virtue of which the person making the permitted disclosure is or reasonably believes they are a victim.