(1)The Scottish Ministers may remove an accredited body from the register of accredited bodies on any of the grounds mentioned in subsection (2) or (3).
(2)The grounds are that the Scottish Ministers consider that—
(a)the accredited body is no longer likely to be acting in relation to a disclosure request,
(b)the accredited body has breached any condition of the body’s registration that is imposed on the body by virtue of section 54 or under section 55(7),
(c)the accredited body, its lead signatory or countersignatory or a disclosure information recipient has failed to comply with the code of practice published under section 55.
(3)In the case of an accredited body that is a body corporate or unincorporated or a statutory office-holder, further grounds are that the accredited body does not have a lead signatory.
(4)Where an accredited body has registration of the type mentioned in section 47(1)(c), the Scottish Minsters may remove the accredited body from the register of accredited bodies under subsection (1) in relation to either or both of—
(a)the making of applications for Level 1 disclosures under section 2 on behalf of an individual,
(b)the countersigning of applications for Level 2 disclosures under section 11.
(5)Before removing an accredited body from the register of accredited bodies under subsection (1), the Scottish Ministers must—
(a)notify the accredited body—
(i)that they are considering whether to remove the accredited body from the register of accredited bodies, and
(ii)of the reasons for considering that removal, and
(b)give the accredited body an opportunity to make representations.
(6)In subsection (2)(c), a “disclosure information recipient”, in relation to an accredited body, is a person mentioned in section 56(1)(b)(i) to whom the accredited body has provided disclosure information.