Article 16 Duty to respond to consultation: annual reports

(1)

Each consultee who is, by virtue of section 229 of the 2011 Act and Article 15, under a duty to respond to a consultation request shall give to the Department, not later than 1st July in each year, a report as to that consultee's compliance with section 229(3) of the 2011 Act.

(2)

The report shall relate to the period of 12 months commencing on 1st April in the preceding year (“the report year”).

(3)

The report shall contain, in respect of the report year—

(a)

a statement as to the number of occasions on which the consultee was consulted by the council or, as the case may be, the Department pursuant to section 229 of the 2011 Act and Article 13;

(b)

a statement as to the number of times a substantive response was given to the council or, as the case may be, the Department within the period referred to in Article 15(2)(a) and (b);

(c)

in relation to occasions on which the consultee has given a substantive response outside any period referred to in Article 15(2)(a) and (b), a summary of the reasons why the consultee failed to comply with the duty to respond within those periods; and

(d)

any other information as the Department may direct.