Part 2: Functions of the IMA Reports following an inquiry
Paragraph 27 requires the IMA to prepare a written report, including its conclusions and any recommendations to be made to a relevant public authority to promote the adequate and effective implementation or application of Part 2 following the conclusion of an inquiry. A report following an inquiry must then be published as soon as is reasonably practicable after preparing it.
	Sub-paragraph (3) places a duty on the IMA to give the Secretary of State an opportunity to require the IMA to remove from a report any material relating to border security or terrorism (including individual cases) that in the Secretary of State’s opinion should not be published on the grounds that its publication would be undesirable for reasons of national security or might jeopardise a person’s safety. For example, it may be necessary to remove information that could compromise or expose an ongoing counter-terrorism investigation.
	Sub-paragraph (4) sets out when an IMA report should be published and to whom it should be sent. A report should be published as soon as is reasonably practicable and must then be sent to:
the Secretary of State, the Scottish Ministers, the Welsh Ministers, and the Executive Office of Northern Ireland;
any relevant public authority which was invited to make representations in relation to the inquiry;
any relevant public authority of which a recommendation is made in the report; and
any other relevant public authority the IMA considers appropriate (for example if they have similar responsibilities).
	Paragraph 28 provides that where a report includes recommendations to a relevant public authority, the authority must have regard to the recommendations and publish a response expeditiously and in any event within three months beginning with the day on which the IMA published its report. The public authority must explain what it proposes to do in relation to each recommendation, giving reasons, including if it intends to take no action (for example because an issue identified has already been addressed).