615.This Part requires the Authority to compile and maintain a public record of authorised persons.  It also imposes safeguards for the protection of confidential information.
616.The Authority, together with the competent authority for listing and the Secretary of State, will necessarily require access to confidential information.  The Act provides them with powers to obtain this.  It also contains safeguards to ensure that this information remains confidential, subject to allowing information to pass between them and other regulatory authorities where this is necessary for the performance of specific public functions (for example, to assist in the investigation and prosecution of crime).  The passage of information between authorities is subject to conditions relating to the purpose of disclosure and, in some cases, the identity of the person to whom the information is disclosed.  These conditions are often referred to as “gateways”.  This area is already subject to detailed constraints under EC law.  The Act, together with the regulations to be made under the powers conferred by these provisions, will create a confidentiality regime very similar to those under the predecessor legislation.  The creation of a single regulator will however allow some rationalisation of the existing structure.
Commentary on Sections Part Xxiii: Public Record, Disclosure of Information and Co-Operation