57.Part 4 makes provision about information that is to be provided to the Welsh Ministers, and information that is to be made available to members of the public.
58.Section 27 enables the Welsh Ministers to give notice requiring operators and former operators of certain services (local bus services, section 19 services, and Part 3 of Schedule 1 services) to provide information to the Welsh Ministers. The information that is required to be provided must be of a type specified in regulations under the section; and the Welsh Ministers must consider that it is needed for the purposes of the exercise of their functions under Part 2 or 3 of the Act, or other functions of theirs that are exercisable in respect of a local bus service contract or a local bus service permit, or a service relied on by them under section 19 (an example might be monitoring the punctuality of service provided under a local bus service contract, for contractual purposes) It is envisaged that the data collected under this provision will, in particular, assist with the development and revision of the Plan. Information cannot be requested if it relates to a period ending more than 5 years before, or to a date that is more than 5 years before, the date on which the notice is given.
59.Examples of the possible types of information that may be specified in regulations under the section are given in the section, although no duty to specify these specific types of information is imposed, and the list of examples is not exhaustive.
60.Regulations made under section 27 must also make provision about appeals and may make provision about disclosure of information. This power could be used for instance to make provision about how information obtained under this section is to be used.
61.Section 28 enables the Welsh Ministers to give notice to local authorities or community councils requiring them to provide information specified in the notice. The information required must be of a type specified in regulations under this section, and the Welsh Ministers must consider that it is required for the exercise of their functions under Part 2. The intention is to use this power to require the provision of information that is available to local authorities and community councils, relating to matters such as bus routes, bus stops and infrastructure, which will be relevant for the development and management of the Plan, and assist with securing services. Examples of the possible types of information that may be specified in regulations under the section are given in the section, although no duty to specify these specific types of information is imposed, and the list of examples is not exhaustive.
62.Section 29 places a duty on the Welsh Ministers to make arrangements to secure that information specified in regulations under this section is made available to the public. The regulations must also specify how and when the information is to be provided to the public. The intention is to ensure that information is made available to the public in whatever way is most effective and appropriate for the type of information concerned. Examples of the possible types of information that may be specified in regulations under the section are given in the section, although no duty to specify these specific types of information is imposed, and the list of examples is not exhaustive.
63.Section 30 enables the Welsh Ministers to make regulations requiring operators of certain services (local bus services, section 19 services that are relied on as described in section 19 of the Act, and Part 3 of Schedule 1 services that are relied on as described in section 19 of the Act) to provide information to the Welsh Ministers. The information specified in the regulations must be information that the Welsh Ministers consider is required for the purposes of their duty under section 29 to make arrangements to secure that information is available to the public. Regulations made under section 30 must specify how and when information is to be provided.
64.Section 31 excludes from the information sharing requirements in sections 27, 28 and 30 any information that would be subject to legal privilege in legal proceedings.
65.Under section 32, if a traffic commissioner is satisfied that a person has, without reasonable excuse, failed to provide information in accordance with a section 27 notice or regulations made under section 30, the traffic commissioner may impose a monetary penalty not exceeding 110% of the upper limit (as defined in the section) (section 32(2)(a)) and/or make one or more orders of any other description prescribed by the Welsh Ministers in regulations (section 32(2)(b)). Where an operator fails to comply with an order under section 32(2), and either the order has been upheld on appeal or the period within which an appeal can be brought has elapsed and no appeal has been made, an additional monetary penalty, again not exceeding 110% of the upper limit (as defined in the section) can be imposed by a traffic commissioner (section 32(3)). (Although this is not referred to in the section, the effect is that in a case where more than one order is made under section 32(2), and not complied with, the traffic commissioner can potentially impose an additional penalty in respect of each order that has not been complied with.)
66.The upper limit for an operator who is licensed to use vehicles under a PSV operator’s licence is the sum calculated by multiplying the total number of vehicles used under all the PSV licences held by that operator (at the time the notice is given under section 27 or the operator fails to provide information requested under section 28) by an amount specified in regulations by the Welsh Ministers or, if no amount is specified, by £550. The upper limit for an operator who is not licensed to use vehicles under a PSV licence is an amount specified in regulations by the Welsh Ministers or, if no amount is specified, £550.
67.Section 33 enables appeals to be made to the Upper Tribunal, against an order made by a traffic commissioner under section 32(2) or (3), and enables the Upper Tribunal to uphold the order in respect of which the appeal was brought, or to quash it, or to substitute another order for it.
Commentary on Sections Part 4 - Information and data