Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Decisions, Documents and Meetings) (Wales) Regulations 2001
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | SI 2001/2290 |
| Year | 2001 |
2001 No. 2290 (W. 178)
LOCAL GOVERNMENT, WALES
Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Decisions, Documents and Meetings) (Wales) Regulations 2001
Made 21th June 2001
Coming into force 28th July 2001
The National Assembly for Wales makes the following Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred upon it by sections 22(6), (7), (8), (9), (10), (11) and (12), 105 and 106 of the Local Government Act 20001:
PART I
GENERAL
Name, commencement and application
1.—(1) The name of these Regulations is the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Decisions, Documents and Meetings) (Wales) Regulations 2001 and they shall come into force on 28th July 2001.
(2) These Regulations apply to Wales only.
Interpretation
2. In these Regulations—
“the 1972 Act” (“Deddf 1972”) means the Local Government Act 19722;
“the 2000 Act” (“Deddf 2000”) means the Local Government Act 2000;“background papers” (“papurau cefndir”), in relation to a report, means those documents, other than published works, that—
(a) relate to the subject matter of the report; and
(b) in the opinion of the proper officer—
(i) disclose any facts or matters on which the report or an important part of the report is based, and
(ii) were relied on to a material extent in preparing the report;
“confidential information” (“gwybodaeth gyfrinachol”) means—
(a) information furnished to the authority by the National Assembly for Wales or by a Government department upon terms (however expressed) which forbid the disclosure of the information to the public; and
(b) information the disclosure of which to the public is prohibited by or under any enactment or by the order of a court,
and in either case, a reference to the obligation of confidence is to be construed accordingly;
“copy” (“copi”), in relation to any document, includes a copy made from a copy;
“decision-maker” (“penderfynwr”) means the decision making body by which, or the individual member by whom, an executive decision is made;
“decision making body” (“corff penderfynu ”) in relation to an executive decision means—
(a) the executive of a local authority;
(b) a committee of a local authority executive;
(c) a joint committee, where all the members of the joint committee are members of a local authority executive; or
(d) a sub-committee of a joint committee, where all the members of the joint committee are members of a local authority executive, which is authorised to discharge the function to which the executive decision relates in accordance with the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Discharge of Functions) (Wales) Regulations 20013;
“document” (“dogfen”) means any report or background paper, other than one which is only in a draft form, taken into consideration in relation to an executive decision;
“executive decision” (“penderfyniad gweithrediaeth”) means a decision made or to be made by a decision-maker in connection with the discharge of a function which is the responsibility of the executive of a local authority;
“exempt information” (“gwybodaeth esempt”) has the meaning given by section 100I of the 1972 Act (exempt information and power to vary Schedule 12A)4;
“information” (“gwybodaeth”) includes an expression of opinion, recommendation and any decision made;
“joint committee” (“cyd-bwyllgor”) means a committee appointed under section 102(1) of the 1972 Act (appointment of committees) in accordance with regulations made under section 120 of the 2000 Act5;
“local authority"(“awdurdod lleol”) means a county council or a county borough council which is operating executive arrangements in accordance with the 2000 Act;"meeting” (“cyfarfod”), means a meeting of the executive of the authority, or of a committee or sub-committee of that executive, in accordance with these regulations;
“newspaper” (“papur newydd”) includes—
(a) a news agency which systematically carries on the business of selling and supplying reports or information to newspapers; and
(b) any organisation which is systematically engaged in collecting news—
(i) for sound or television broadcasts; or
(ii) for inclusion in programmes to be included in any programme service within the meaning of the Broadcasting Act 1990 other than a sound or television broadcasting service within the meaning of Part III or Part I of that Act respectively6; or
(iii) for use in electronic or any other format to provide news to the public by means of the Internet .
“overview and scrutiny committee” (“pwyllgor trosolygu a chraffu”), means a committee appointed in pursuance of section 21 of the 2000 Act (overview and scrutiny committees);
“political adviser or assistant” (“cynghorydd neu gynorthwyydd gwleidyddol”) means a person appointed in pursuance of section 9 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 (assistants for political groups)7or paragraph 6 of Schedule 1 to the 2000 Act (mayor’s assistant);
“proper officer” (“swyddog priodol”) has the same meaning as in section 270(3) of the 1972 Act (general provisions as to interpretation);
“relevant local authority” (“awdurdod lleol perthnasol”) means the local authority whose executive is responsible for the discharge of the function to which the executive decision relates;
“report” (“adroddiad”) in relation to an executive decision does not include a report in draft form;
“standards committee” (“pwyllgor safonau”) means the standards committee of the relevant local authority as established under section 53 of the 2000 Act (standards committees).
PART II
ADMISSION TO MEETINGS OF LOCAL AUTHORITY EXECUTIVES AND THEIR COMMITTEES AND PROVISIONS IN CONNECTION WITH EXECUTIVE DECISIONS
Meetings of local authority executives and their committees to be held in public
3. Subject to regulation 4, a meeting of the executive of a local authority, or of a committee or sub-committee of such an executive, shall be held in public.
Admission of the public to meetings of local authority executives and their committees
4.—(1) A meeting shall be open to the public except to the extent that the public are excluded (whether during the whole or part of the proceedings) under paragraph (2) or by resolution under paragraph (3) (including that paragraph as applied by paragraph (4)).
(2) The public shall be excluded from a meeting during an item of business whenever it is likely, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings, that, if members of the public were present during that item, confidential information would be disclosed to them in breach of the obligation of confidence; and nothing in these Regulations shall be taken to authorise or require the disclosure of confidential information in breach of the obligation of confidence.
(3) A local authority executive may pass a resolution to exclude the public from a meeting of the executive during an item of business whenever it is likely, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings, that if members of the public were present during that item there would be disclosure to them of exempt information.
(4) Paragraph (3) shall apply in relation to a committee of a local authority executive and a meeting of that committee as it applies in relation to a local authority executive and a meeting of the executive.
(5) A resolution under paragraph (3) (including that paragraph as applied by paragraph (4)) shall—
(a)
(a) identify the proceedings, or the part of the proceedings, to which it applies, and
(b)
(b) state, by reference to the descriptions in Schedule 12A to the 1972 Act8, the description of exempt information giving rise to the exclusion of the public.
(6) The following provisions shall apply in relation to a public meeting—
(a)
(a) public notice of the time and place of the meeting shall be given—
(i) by posting it at the principal offices of the authority three clear days at least before the meeting; or
(ii) where the meeting is convened at shorter notice by posting it at the principal offices of the authority at the time that the meeting is convened; and
(b)
(b) while the meeting is open to the public—
(i) the executive or, as the case may be, the committee, shall not have power to exclude members of the public from the meeting; and
(ii) duly accredited representatives of newspapers attending the meeting for the purpose of reporting the proceedings for those newspapers shall, so far as practicable, be afforded reasonable facilities for taking their report and, unless the meeting is held in premises not belonging to the authority or not on the telephone, for telephoning the report at their own expense.
(7) Nothing in this regulation shall require an executive or committee to permit the taking of photographs of any proceedings, or the use of any means to enable persons not present to see or hear any proceedings (whether at the time or later), or the making of any oral report on any proceedings as they take place.
(8) This regulation is without prejudice to any power of exclusion to suppress or prevent disorderly conduct or other misbehaviour at a meeting.
Access to agenda and connected reports for public meetings
5.—(1) Copies of the agenda for a meeting and, subject to paragraph (2), copies of every report for the meeting shall be open to inspection by members of the public at the principal offices of the authority in accordance with paragraph (3).
(2) If the proper officer thinks fit, there may be excluded from the copies of reports provided in pursuance of paragraph (1) the whole of any report which, or of any...
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