4 July 2006
18.This section requires the Authority to submit a draft 'annual plan' to the Scottish Ministers at least 3 months before the beginning of each financial year. The annual plan must include:
any strategic priorities determined by the Scottish Ministers and any directions issued by the Scottish Ministers;
the objectives which the Authority has determined for itself, and how it intends to meet them;
a statement of the financial resources that will be available to the Authority over the course of that year and how the Authority intends to allocate the funding.
19.Subsection (4) requires the Authority to consult people who represent the interests of chief constables, unitary police authorities and joint police boards and any other appropriate organisations in preparing its annual plan. Subsection (5) requires the Scottish Ministers to approve the plan either as submitted or with such modifications as they consider appropriate within 2 months of the plan being submitted to them. Subsections (6) and (7) require the Authority to publish the plan once approved by Scottish Ministers and to send it to specified persons and bodies.