18.—(1) In relation to any part of an application made under this Schedule, the Secretary of State has the right to request such further information from the undertaker as is necessary to enable the Secretary of State to consider the application.
(2) In the event that the Secretary of State considers such further information to be necessary, the Secretary of State must, within 21 business days of receipt of the application, notify the undertaker in writing specifying the further information required and (if applicable) to which part of the application it relates. In the event that the Secretary of State does not give such notification within this 21 day period the Secretary of State is deemed to have sufficient information to consider the application and is not subsequently entitled to request further information without the prior agreement of the undertaker.
(3) Where further information is requested under this paragraph in relation to part only of an application, that part is treated as separate from the remainder of the application for the purposes of calculating the time periods referred to in paragraph 17 and in this paragraph.
(4) In this paragraph, “business day” means a day other than Saturday or Sunday which is not Christmas Day, Good Friday or a bank holiday under section 1 (bank holidays) of the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971(1);