(1)The appropriate licensing authority may cause an inquiry to be held in connection with the determination of an application for a marine licence.
(2)Subsection (1) is subject to the following provisions of this section.
(3)Subsections (2) to (5) of section 250 of the Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) apply to any inquiry which the Secretary of State or the Welsh Ministers may cause to be held under subsection (1) as they apply to inquiries under that section.
(4)Subsections (2) to (8) of section 210 of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 (c. 65) apply to any inquiry which the Scottish Ministers may cause to be held under subsection (1) as they apply to inquiries under that section.
(5)Schedule A1 to the Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954 (c. 33) applies to any inquiry which the Department of the Environment in Northern Ireland may cause to be held under subsection (1) as it applies to a local inquiry held under an enactment passed or made as mentioned in section 23 of that Act.
(6)Where—
(a)an inquiry is caused by a licensing authority to be held under subsection (1), and
(b)in the case of some other matter required or authorised to be the subject of an inquiry (“the other inquiry”), it appears to the relevant authority or authorities that the matters are so far cognate that they should be considered together,
the relevant authority or authorities may direct that the two inquiries be held concurrently or combined as one inquiry.
(7)In subsection (6) “the relevant authority or authorities” means the licensing authority or, where causing the other inquiry to be held is the function of some other person or body, the licensing authority and that other person or body acting jointly.
(8)If, in the case of any particular application, the Secretary of State certifies that it would in the opinion of the Secretary of State be contrary to the interests of national security—
(a)if an inquiry under subsection (1) were to be held, or
(b)if any members of the public, or any specified persons, were to be admitted to the inquiry or some specified part of it,
the inquiry is not to be held or, as the case may be, the public is not, or those persons are not, to be admitted to the inquiry or that part of it.
(9)In subsection (8) “specified” means—
(a)specified in the certificate, or
(b)of a description specified in the certificate.