Article 12 Representatives of government departments at inquiry

Where any government department has expressed a view such as is mentioned in rule 5(2) and the Secretary of State has included its terms in a statement served in accordance with that rule or rule 6(9), a representative of the government department concerned shall be made available to attend the inquiry.

A person attending an inquiry as a representative in pursuance of this rule shall state the reasons for the expression of view in question and shall give evidence and be subject to cross-examination to the same extent as any other witness.

Nothing in paragraph (2) shall require a representative of a government department to answer any question which in the opinion of the inspector is directed to the merits of government policy.