Commentary on Sections Supervision of operation of Act Section 23: Reports by Commissioner
146.Under subsection (1) the Commissioner is under a duty to report after the end of each calendar year to the Secretary of State. There is also provision at subsection (2) for the Commissioner to report at any other time regarding any matter related to the carrying out of his functions.
147.Under subsection (3) the Secretary of State is under a duty to lay before Parliament every report received from the Commissioner. Where the publication of a particular matter in a report would be prejudicial to national security or the prevention and detection of crime, the Secretary of State may, after consultation with the Commissioner, exclude it from the report laid before Parliament (subsection (4)). In those circumstances, in accordance with subsection (5), the Secretary of State would need to lay a statement before Parliament that a matter had been excluded.