Police Reform Act 2002

[F128B(1)A person to whom a recommendation under paragraph 28A is made must provide to the [F2Director General] a response in writing stating—E+W

(a)what action the person has taken or proposes to take in response to the recommendation, or

(b)why the person has not taken, or does not propose to take, any action in response.

(2)The person must provide the response to the [F2Director General] before the end of the period of 56 days beginning with the day on which the recommendation was made, unless sub-paragraph (3) applies.

(3)The [F2Director General] may extend the period of 56 days following an application received before the end of the period; and if the [F2Director General] grants an extension, the person must provide the response before the end of the extended period.

(4)But if proceedings for judicial review of the [F3Director General's] decision to make a recommendation are started during the period allowed by sub-paragraph (2) or (3), that period is extended by however many days the proceedings are in progress.

(5)On receiving a response, the [F2Director General] must, within the period of 21 days beginning with the day on which the [F2Director General] received it—

(a)publish the response, and

(b)send a copy of it to any person who was sent a copy of the recommendation under paragraph 28A(6)(b),

unless the person giving the response has made representations under sub-paragraph (6).

(6)The person giving the response may, at the time of providing it to the [F2Director General], make representations to the [F2Director General] asserting that the requirements of publication and disclosure under sub-paragraph (5) should not apply to the response, or to particular parts of it.

(7)On receiving such representations, the [F2Director General] may decide—

(a)that the response should not be published, or that only parts of it should be published;

(b)that the response should not be disclosed, or that only parts of the response should be disclosed.

(8)Where, following a decision on representations, the [F2Director General] decides to publish or disclose a response (in whole or in part), [F4the Director General] must do so only after the person giving the response has been informed of the [F3Director General's] decision, and—

(a)in a case where the [F2Director General] has decided to accept all of the representations, [F4the Director General] must do so within the period of 21 days beginning with the day on which [F4the Director General] received the response;

(b)in a case where the [F2Director General] has decided to reject any of the representations, [F4the Director General] must do so—

(i)within the period of 21 days beginning with the day on which the person was informed of the [F3Director General's] decision on the representations, but

(ii)not before the end of the period of 7 days beginning with that day.

(9)But if proceedings for judicial review of the [F3Director General's] decision to reject a representation are started during the period of 7 days referred to in sub-paragraph (8)(b)(ii)—

(a)the [F2Director General] must not publish or disclose the response while the proceedings are in progress;

(b)if the court upholds the [F3Director General's] decision to reject a representation, the [F2Director General] must publish and disclose the response (in whole or in part, as appropriate) before the end of the period of 7 days beginning with the day on which the proceedings are no longer in progress.

(10)Where a local policing body or a chief officer makes a response under this paragraph, the body or officer must, at the time the [F2Director General] publishes the response, also publish the response (to the same extent as published by the [F2Director General]) and the recommendation under paragraph 28A.

(11)For the purposes of this paragraph—

(a)“disclosing” a response means sending a copy of it as mentioned in sub-paragraph (5)(b);

(b)the period during which judicial review proceedings are in progress includes any day on which an appeal is in progress or may be brought.]

[F5(12)This paragraph does not apply, or ceases to apply, in relation to a recommendation made by virtue of paragraph 28A(1) if the [F2Director General] determines under section 13B that the complaint, recordable conduct matter or DSI matter that the [F2Director General] received a report on [F6(or otherwise completed one on in relation to an investigation carried out under paragraph 19 by the Director General personally)] is to be re-investigated.]