(1)Before exercising with respect to a company any power or powers conferred by sections 38 to 45 above on the ground that he would be prohibited from issuing an authorisation to the company because of the unfitness of a person for the position held by him (not being that of controller of the company), the Secretary of State shall serve on that person a written notice stating—
(a)that the Secretary of State is considering exercising a power or powers conferred by those sections and the ground on which he is considering the exercise of the power or powers ; and
(b)that the person on whom the notice is served may, within the period of one month from the date of service of the notice, make written representations to the Secretary of State and, if that person so requests, oral representations to an officer of the Department of Trade appointed for the purpose by the Secretary of State.
(2)Unless the Secretary of State, after considering any representations made in accordance with subsection (1) above by the person served with a notice under that subsection, decides not to exercise the power or powers in relation to which the notice was served, he shall before exercising the power or powers serve on the company a written notice—
(a)containing the matters mentioned in paragraphs (a) and (b) of that subsection, taking references to the person there mentioned as references to the company; and
(b)specifying the power or powers which he proposes to exercise and, if the power or one of them is that conferred by section 45 above, specifying the manner of its proposed exercise.
(3)A notice under this section shall give particulars of the ground on which the Secretary of State is considering the exercise of the power or powers in question.
(4)Where representations are made in accordance with this section the Secretary of State shall take them into consideration before exercising the power or powers in question.
(5)A requirement imposed on a company in the exercise of any power or powers to which this section applies may be framed so as to come into effect after the expiration of a specified period (or such longer period as the Secretary of State may allow) unless before the expiration of that period the person whose fitness is in question has ceased to hold the position concerned.