Commentary on Sections Reporting authorities: non-devolved functions Section 61: Guidance by Secretary of State to reporting authorities
265.This section gives the Secretary of State a power to issue guidance to “reporting authorities”. The term “reporting authority” is defined in section 70(1) to mean any person or body with functions of a public nature, and statutory undertakers.
266.Subsection (1) gives the Secretary of State the power to issue guidance. It provides that the guidance may deal with how reporting authorities should assess the current and predicted impact of climate change, how they should prepare proposals and policies to adapt to climate change and how they should co-operate with other reporting authorities when assessing the impact of climate change and preparing those proposals and policies.
267.Subsection (2) means that the guidance will not apply to a reporting authority’s “devolved functions”. Section 70 sets out how to determine what a reporting authority’s “devolved functions” are – see the notes on that section for more detail.