14.—(1) The function of making a decision on an application or proposal published pursuant to regulation 10 is hereby prescribed for the purposes of section 7(1) of the Act, and for the purposes of making such a decision and of conducting a hearing pursuant to regulation 13 a quorum of the Authority shall be two members:
Provided that the quorum shall be one member, if the persons having the right to be heard in connection with the case have so consented.
(2) Hearings shall be conducted by the Authority, sitting with such employees of the Authority acting as advisers as it thinks fit.
(3) At a hearing every party to the case may appear in person or be represented by any other person whom he may have authorised to represent him and may produce oral and written evidence and may examine any other party to the case, any person whom the Authority hears pursuant to regulation 13(2) and any witnesses produced by any such party or person: the Authority may, to such extent as it thinks fit, permit any person heard by it pursuant to regulation 13(2) to exercise at the hearing the rights set out in this paragraph of a party to the case.
(4) Any person who has served an objection or representation pursuant to regulation 11 but who does not wish to be heard, may make a written submission which he shall serve on the Authority not less than 3 working days before the date fixed for the hearing of the case.
(5) Every hearing shall be held in public unless the Authority shall otherwise decide in relation to the whole or part of a particular case F1....
(6) The failure of the Authority or of any person to give notice or publish any particulars in the time or manner provided for in these Regulations or any other procedural irregularity shall not invalidate the action taken by the Authority; and the Authority may, and shall if it considers that any person may have been prejudiced, take such steps as it thinks fit before reaching its decision to cure the irregularity, whether by the giving of notice or otherwise.
(7) All the proceedings at a hearing of the Authority in connection with the case shall be recorded by a shorthand writer or by some other means, and if any person requests a record of the proceedings the Authority shall cause a mechanical recording or transcript of the shorthand or other record to be made available for purchase by that person at a reasonable price:
Provided that—
(a)the Authority shall not be required to make available a mechanical recording or transcript of the record of the proceedings at any time after the expiry of one year from the day of publication of its decision of the case; and
(b)a mechanical recording or transcript of the record of proceedings conducted otherwise than in public shall only be required to be made available for purchase by any party to the case or by any other person heard by the Authority at those proceedings.
(8) The Authority shall furnish a statement of its reasons for the decision to the parties to the case and to any person whom it has heard in connection with the case:
Provided that no statement of reasons need be furnished when an application is granted on the application of the holder of the licence to which the decision relates and no objections or representations have been served pursuant to regulation 11.
(9) The Authority may exclude from its statement of reasons furnished to any person (hereinafter referred to as “the relevant person” any matter if it considers it necessary to do so for the purpose of withholding from the relevant person information which in the opinion of the Authority relates to the commercial or financial affairs of another person and cannot be disclosed to the relevant person without disadvantage to the other person which, by comparison with the advantage to the public and the relevant person of disclosure to him, is unwarranted.
(10) The Authority may publish in such manner as it thinks fit particulars of, and its reasons for, any decision taken by it with respect to an application published pursuant to regulation 10.
Textual Amendments
F1Words in reg. 14(5) omitted (3.11.2008) by virtue of The Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 (Transitional and Consequential Provisions) Order 2008 (S.I. 2008/2683), art. 1, Sch. 1 para. 47
Commencement Information