Schedule 1, Paragraph 27: Part 6, Chapter 4: Examination of applications under Chapter 2 or 3 Section 98: Timetable for examining, and reporting on, application
179.This section imposes a duty on the Examining authority to complete its examination of an application within six months of the last day of the preliminary meeting held pursuant to section 88. The Examining authority must decide the application or (where the Secretary of State or the Commission’s Council is responsible for taking the decision) report to the Secretary of State or the Council within nine months of this date.
180.Subsection (4) gives the chair (or a deputy chair) of the Commission the power to extend these deadlines at any time. If the deadlines are extended, he must inform the Secretary of State of this decision, along with his justification for doing so. Any such change of date must be included in the Commission’s annual report with an explanation of why the decision was taken.