66.— (1) In this section—

“national postcode system” has the meaning given to it by subsection (2);

“postcode” means a code consisting of numbers or other characters or both numbers and other characters that identifies the locality of an address and, where appropriate, the geographic location of an address;

“public body” means—

(a) a Department of State,

(b) a local authority,

(c) a body established by any enactment.

(2) The Minister may, with the prior consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, enter into a contract with one or more than one person for the development, implementation and maintenance of a system (in this section referred to as the “national postcode system”) for the allocation, dissemination and management of postcodes for the purposes of, or relating to, the provision of postal services and the use of the national postcode system by other persons for such other purposes as the Minister considers appropriate.

(3) The contract referred to in subsection (2) shall specify the terms and conditions relating to the development, implementation and maintenance of the national postcode system and, in particular, shall specify—

(a) the conditions subject to which postcodes may be made available,

(b) the conditions relating to the protection of intellectual property rights, and

(c) the conditions (including conditions as to the making of charges) subject to which the national postcode system may be made available to any person who may wish to use it.

(4) While the contract referred to in subsection (2) remains in force, the person or persons with whom the Minister so contracts shall provide such information as the Minister requires for the purposes of this section.

(5) Nothing in subsection (3) shall be read so as to prevent—

(a) the sharing of the national postcode system with public bodies free of charge for the purposes of the performance of their functions,

(b) the requirement, subject to such terms and conditions as the contract may specify, for the adoption of a differential charging policy for commercial and non-commercial use of the national postcode system by other persons.