Part 13: General Schedule 7: Plan making Section 15AG: Withdrawal before strategy becomes operative Effect
Subsection (1) and (2) sets out that a participating authority may withdraw from the joint SDS agreement at any point before a draft strategy is published for consultation.
	Subsection (3) sets out that a participating authority may withdraw from a joint SDS agreement after a joint strategy has been published for consultation but only after providing a minimum of 12 weeks’ notice to the other participating authorities.
	Subsection (4) (read with subsection (1)) provides that a participating authority may withdraw from a joint SDS agreement after it has passed a motion to adopt the strategy and before the joint SDS becomes operative, but only if they have rescinded the motion to adopt the strategy.
	Subsection (5) provides that an authority must give notice of its intention to withdraw from the joint SDS agreement under subsections (2) or (3) to all of the other participating authorities. It is expected that this notice is in writing.
	Subsection (6) (read with subsection (1)) provides that if all of the participating authorities are in agreement, they can cancel the agreement to produce a joint SDS at any point prior to the joint SDS becoming operative.
	Subsection (7) provides that, if participating authorities withdraw from the agreement to produce a joint SDS, such that there are fewer than two remaining participating authorities, the joint SDS agreement is deemed to have been cancelled.
	Subsections (8) and (9) provide that a joint SDS may be withdrawn during consultation by the participating authorities and they must do so if the preparation agreement has been cancelled. When withdrawing a proposed strategy copies made available for inspection must be withdrawn and notice of withdrawal given to all persons listed in section 15AB(1)(c) and any person who made representations during consultation. Subsection (10) clarifies that where subsections (8) and (9) are being applied in the instance of a joint SDS agreement being cancelled, the ‘participating authorities’ mean the authorities that were the participating authorities immediately before the cancellation.
	Subsection (11) makes provision such that, if following the withdrawal of one or more participating authorities from the agreement, the remaining participating authorities intend to continue with a joint SDS, but that SDS would be substantially different to the version previously published for consultation, then the remaining participating authorities must withdraw the proposed SDS (and therefore publish a new joint SDS for consultation and examination should they wish to do so).
	Subsection (12) provides that, when a draft joint SDS is made available for inspection under section 15AB(1)(b) or sent to any person under section 15AB(1)(c), it is considered "published for consultation."
	Subsection (13) provides that, if all participating authorities agree to withdraw the draft joint SDS, even once consultation has begun, or been completed, then the requirement in section 15AG(3) to provide 12 weeks’ notice can be ignored.