Notifying suspects
If the Service receives information that may lead to enforcement action against a business, officers will notify that business as soon as is practicable of any intended enforcement action, unless doing so could prejudice an investigation, present risk to an individual such as an informant or witness, or because the need for action is such that there should be no delay.
Where the enforcement action takes the form of a prosecution, in some cases suspects will only learn of the enforcement action once they receive a summons to appear in court.
Confidentiality will be maintained and personal information about individuals will only be released to a court or other agency when necessary. GDPR does not apply to the Service in terms of its law enforcement functions, and instead Part 3 of the Data Protection Act 2018 applies.