The Examining authority must make such an initial assessment of the principal issues arising on the application as the Examining authority thinks appropriate.
After making that assessment, the Examining authority must hold a meeting.
The Examining authority must invite to the meeting—
the applicant, ...
each other interested party,
each statutory party, and
each local authority that is within section 88A,
whether or not the Examining authority is required by rules under section 97, or chooses, also to invite other persons.
In subsection (3)(c) "statutory party" means a person specified in, or of a description specified in, regulations made by the Secretary of State.
The purposes of the meeting are—
to enable invitees present at the meeting to make representations to the Examining authority about how the application should be examined,
to discuss any other matter that the Examining authority wishes to discuss, and
any other purpose that may be specified in rules under section 97.
Subsections (2) to (4) do not prevent the Examining authority holding other meetings.
Rules under section 97—
may (in particular) make provision supplementing subsections (1) to (4), and
must make provision as to when the assessment under subsection (1) is to be made and as to when the meeting required by subsection (2) is to be held.