Commentary on provisions of Act Section 35: Extension of unauthorised disclosure offence
This section provides for Part 2 of Schedule 4 to the Social Security Administration Act 1992 to be amended.
	Section 123 of the Social Security Administration Act 1992 contains an offence of the unauthorised disclosure of information. It applies to (amongst others) those individuals who are or have been employed in social security administration.
	So far as civil servants in the Scottish Administration are concerned, they are only covered by the offence to the extent that their functions are, or are connected with, functions of the First-tier Tribunal or Upper Tribunal (established under the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007) which relate to social security or to occupational or personal pension schemes or to war pensions or functions of the Chief, or any other Social Security Commissioner.
	Once responsibility for additional social security functions is devolved to the Scottish Ministers, the limited application of this offence to employees of the Scottish Administration will not be appropriate.
	Therefore section 35 amends the scope of the offence so that it also applies to those civil servants in the Scottish Administration whose functions relate to social security administration generally. It does this by amending the definition of Scottish Administration contained in Part 2 of Schedule 4 to the Social Security Administration Act 1992.