Section 11: Meaning of "excluded material".

Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 · 1984 c. 60View on legislation.gov.uk

Part II: Powers of Entry, Search and Seizure

Subject to the following provisions of this section, in this Act "excluded material" means—

personal records which a person has acquired or created in the course of any trade, business, profession or other occupation or for the purposes of any paid or unpaid office and which he holds in confidence;
human tissue or tissue fluid which has been taken for the purposes of diagnosis or medical treatment and which a person holds in confidence;
journalistic material which a person holds in confidence and which consists—
of documents; or
of records other than documents.

A person holds material other than journalistic material in confidence for the purposes of this section if he holds it subject—

to an express or implied undertaking to hold it in confidence; or
to a restriction on disclosure or an obligation of secrecy contained in any enactment, including an enactment contained in an Act passed after this Act.

A person holds journalistic material in confidence for the purposes of this section if—

he holds it subject to such an undertaking, restriction or obligation; and
it has been continuously held (by one or more persons) subject to such an undertaking, restriction or obligation since it was first acquired or created for the purposes of journalism.

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Reuse reviewed 21 August 2026 under Open Government Licence v3.0.