Inquiry Reports
Section 24: Submission of reports
61.Section 24 places a duty on the chairman of an inquiry to report its conclusions to the Minister. If an inquiry has been brought to an end early under section 14(1)(b), the chairman does not have to produce a report but he can do so if he wishes. In the unlikely event that a member of the inquiry panel disagrees with the general conclusions to such a great extent that no amount of modification under section 24(5) will produce a report that he is content to sign, he can release himself from the obligation, under subsection (4), to sign it by resigning from the panel.
Section 25: Publication of reports
62.Subsection (4)(a) would allow, for example, the person publishing the report to redact personal information (such as medical reports) as required by the Data Protection Act 1998. The factors that the person publishing the report must take into account, when considering whether any redaction is in the public interest under subsection (4)(b), are equivalent to those for restriction notices and restriction orders (see section 19(4)), except for the references to cost, effectiveness and efficiency of the inquiry, which are no longer relevant in the context of reports.
Section 26: Laying of reports before Parliament or Assembly
63.The report published under section 25 will be the same version required to be laid before the relevant Parliament or Assembly.