Schedules Schedule 6: Permitted disclosures of information Part 1 - Disclosures that are permitted Disclosure of sensitive information notified in advance to the Secretary of State
Paragraph 4(1) sets out that the ICRIR may disclose sensitive information so long as the Commissioner for Investigations notifies the Secretary of State that they intend to make the disclosure, and the Secretary of State notifies the Commissioner for Investigation that the disclosure is permitted during the relevant decision period. It is established at paragraph 4(3) that the Secretary of State may only prohibit the disclosure if, in their view, it could harm national security interests.
	Further, paragraph 4(4) sets out that in such cases the Secretary of State is required to provide the reasons for prohibiting disclosure, so long as these do not themselves risk harming national security interests. A definition for the ‘relevant decision period’ is provided at paragraph 6.