5(1)It shall be the duty of the public gas supplier to provide the Secretary of State with all such information and other assistance as he may require for the purposes of or in connection with the exercise of any function conferred on him by paragraph 3 or paragraph 4(1) to (4) above.E+W+S
(2)The Secretary of State shall not exercise any function conferred on him by paragraph 3 or paragraph 4(1) to (4) above except after consultation with the public gas supplier.