28.—(1) (a) It shall be the duty of the Advisory Committee to make recommendations to the Agency or to the Minister relating to the functions of the Agency.

(b) The Agency or the Minister, as may be appropriate, shall have regard to any recommendations made by the Advisory Committee.

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), the Advisory Committee may make recommendations—

(a) to the Agency in relation to—

(i) general staff requirements of the Agency but excluding decisions in relation to particular posts, individual employees, pay, grading and conditions,

(ii) the provision of services, including laboratory facilities, required by the Agency,

(iii) the provision of services, including laboratory facilities, by the Agency,

(iv) standards, guidelines and codes of practice in relation to environmental protection F52[or radiological protection],

(v) the research programme of the Agency, its financing and priorities,

(vi) the annual work programme of the Agency and priorities for different elements of the work programme,

(vii) the organisation and promotion of training conferences and related matters for the purposes of environmental protection F53[or radiological protection],

(viii) any other matters related to the functions of the Agency,

(b) to the Minister in relation to—

(i) the assignment of specific functions to the Agency,

(ii) the financing of the Agency,

(iii) the activities or classes of activities for which the Agency should have licensing functions under Part IV,

(iv) the assignment to the Agency of responsibility for specific environmental matters F54[or matters relating to radiological protection],

(v) any other matter which, in the opinion of the Advisory Committee, is relevant to the effective performance by the Agency of its functions.

(3) The Minister may consult the Advisory Committee on any matter arising in relation to his functions with respect to environmental protection F55[or radiological protection].

(4) The Advisory Committee shall be entitled to be informed at its meetings by the Director General, or a person appointed by him for the purpose, about the work of the Agency but (subject to section 110) not in relation to the detail of particular cases, and provided always that disclosure of such information shall not be in breach of section 39.

(5) Subject to section 110, the Advisory Committee shall not as of right be entitled—

(a) to receive specific information in relation to the processing of an application for, or the review of, an individual licence or revised licence under Part IV, or

(b) to have any recommendations regarding such a licence taken into account.