9Annual report to Secretary of State
(1)The Commission must prepare a report for each financial year.
(2)Each report under this section must—
(a)deal with the activities of the Commission in the financial year for which it is prepared, including the matters mentioned in subsection (3),
(b)include the report prepared under paragraph 20(5) of Schedule 1 by the committee established under that paragraph.
(3)The matters referred to in subsection (2)(a) are—
(a)the strategic direction of the Commission and the manner in which it has been kept under review;
(b)the Commission’s objectives and targets, the steps taken to meet them and the extent to which they have been met;
(c)the steps taken to monitor the performance of the Commission in ensuring that its functions are exercised effectively and efficiently;
(d)the extent to which the Commission has relied on sections 7(1) and 8(1).
(4)The Commission must—
(a)send each report to the Secretary of State as soon as practicable after the end of the financial year for which it is prepared, and
(b)publish the report in such manner as the Commission considers appropriate.
(5)The Secretary of State must lay before Parliament a copy of every report received under this section.
(6)In this section, “financial year” means—
(a)the period beginning with the date on which the Commission is established and ending with the next following 31st March, and
(b)each successive period of 12 months.