Commentary on Sections Power of judicial factor to require information
35.Section 15(1) grants to judicial factors the power to serve notice on any person requesting that the person supply information which the judicial factor reasonably considers relevant to their functions – this might include, for example, requests being made to banks for financial information relating to the estate. Subsection (3) places a requirement on persons receiving notice under subsection (1) to comply with the notice, unless, as set out in subsection (4) they are a reserved body by virtue of paragraph 3 of Part III of schedule 5 of the Scotland Act 1998, a Minister of the Crown, a department of the Government of the United Kingdom, or a public body operating wholly in relation to a reserved matter in accordance with the Scotland Act 1998. Such persons may choose to supply the information requested, but are not required to do so under the Act.
36.Subsection (5) provides that if the information can be obtained by the judicial factor under any other enactment, a person who receives notice sent under subsection (1) can, instead of supplying the information, direct the judicial factor to the other means by which the judicial factor can obtain the information, either free of charge or under another enactment, or both. For example, by accessing publicly available information registered with Companies House. Subsection (6) makes clear that, while this section does not authorise a person to charge a fee for supplying information in compliance with a notice sent under subsection (1), if another enactment authorises the charging of a fee for supplying that information then that fee may be charged. Subsections (7) and (8) make clear that this section does not override the provisions of data protection legislation as defined in the Data Protection Act 2018, meaning that a person is not required to supply information where to do so would be in breach of a provision of that legislation – but the provisions of the Act are relevant in determining whether or not that is the case.