Commentary on Sections Reporting Section 21: Requirement to respond to reports
35.Section 21 provides that where the Commissioner’s report under section 20 includes a recommendation addressed to a person in relation to whom the Commissioner has functions under section 2(1), and that recommendation relates to technologies used or capable of being used to acquire, retain, use or destroy biometric data, the Commissioner must impose on the person a requirement to respond to that recommendation.
36.Where a report includes a recommendation that does not relate to technologies used or capable of being used to acquire, retain, use or destroy biometric data, the Commissioner can choose whether or not to impose a requirement to respond to that recommendation.
37.Where a requirement to respond to a recommendation in a report is imposed by the Commissioner, the Commissioner must give a copy of the report to the relevant person, and the person must respond in writing by the deadline set by the Commissioner. The written response must set out the actions which the person has taken, or will take, to respond to the recommendation, or the reasons why the person has decided not to implement the recommendation (in cases where the recommendation is not being implemented either in full or in part).