Part 2: Police Complaints, Discipline and Inspection Chapter 6: Inspection Section 36: Powers of inspectors to obtain information, access to police premises etc
Section 54(2) of the 1996 Act provides for HMIC to inspect and report on the efficiency and effectiveness of police forces in England and Wales. Schedule 4A to the 1996 Act gives the inspectors of constabulary powers to require information from a chief officer and access to force premises in support of this function.
	Subsection (1) replaces paragraphs 6A and 6B of Schedule 4A to the 1996 Act and inserts in their place, new paragraphs 6A to 6F. The existing paragraph 6A requires the chief officer of a police force to provide information to inspectors of constabulary for the purposes of a section 54 inspection. Similarly, paragraph 6B requires the chief officer of a police force to allow inspectors access to any premises occupied by the force for the purposes of a section 54 inspection.
	The revised paragraph 6A extends the inspectors of constabulary’s ability to obtain information that they reasonably require for the purposes of a section 54 inspection from any person by serving them with a notice requiring the provision of that information. This is intended to reflect the fact that policing is delivered in increasingly diverse ways by multiple organisations, including in partnership with other local agencies, private sector companies and potentially in future by staff in PCCs’ offices.
	The revised paragraph 6B extends the types of premises to which the inspectors of constabulary can require access, to include the premises of persons providing services to assist the police force under a contractual arrangement, and to the premises of local policing bodies, in so far as the inspectors of constabulary can reasonably require such access for the purposes of the section 54 inspection.
	The revised paragraphs 6A(11) and 6B(5) extend the definition of 'inspector' to include a person authorised by an inspector of constabulary to act on their behalf, for example, a member of staff of HMIC.
	New paragraph 6C enables HMCIC to certify to the High Court that a person has failed to comply with a notice under revised paragraphs 6A or 6B. It enables the High Court to inquire into the matter and, where appropriate, deal with the person as if they had committed a contempt of court. Under the Contempt of Court Act 1981 the maximum penalty for contempt of court is two years’ imprisonment.
	New paragraph 6D provides that a person, other than the police bodies listed, on whom a notice is served under paragraph 6A, may appeal to the First-tier Tribunal against that notice on the ground that the notice is not in accordance with the law. If an appeal is brought, the notice has no effect until the appeal is withdrawn or determined. The Tribunal may quash the notice, or give directions regarding the service of a further notice. The right of appeal does not extend to those involved in delivering policing functions as set out in new paragraph 6D(2A).
	New paragraph 6E sets out that, should an inspector receive sensitive information, they must not disclose that information or the fact that they have received it without the relevant authority’s consent. The new paragraph 6E also sets out the type of information that the restrictions relate to. These restrictions apply equally to an inspector of constabulary and to any person authorised by an inspector to receive information on his or her behalf.
	New paragraph 6F requires a person who provides an inspector with intelligence service information to make the inspector aware that the information is intelligence service or protected information relating to a relevant warrant, or to provide the inspector with enough information to identify the authority responsible for the information.