Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973

[F1 50D Inspection of background papers. S

(1) Subject, in the case of section 50C(1), to subsection (2) below, if and so long as copies of the whole or part of a report for a meeting of a local authority are required by section 50B(1) or 50C(1) above to be open to inspection by members of the public—

(a) copies of a list, compiled by the proper officer, of the background papers for the report or the part of the report, and

(b) at least one copy of each of the documents included in that list,

shall also be open to such inspection at the offices of the authority.

(2) Subsection (1) above does not require a copy of the list, or of any document included in the list, to be open for inspection after expiration of the period of four years beginning with the date of the meeting.

(3) Where a copy of any of the background papers for a report is required by subsection (1) above to be open to inspection by members of the public, the copy shall be taken for the purposes of this Part to be so open if arrangements exist for its production to members of the public as soon as is reasonably practicable after the making of a request to inspect the copy.

(4) Nothing in this section—

(a) requires any document which discloses exempt information to be included in the list referred to in subsection (1) above; or

(b) without prejudice to the generality of subsection (2) of section 50A above, requires or authorises the inclusion in the list of any document which, if open to inspection by the public, would disclose confidential information in breach of the obligation of confidence, within the meaning of that subsection.

(5) For the purposes of this section the background papers for a report are those documents relating to the subject matter of the report which—

(a) disclose any facts or matters on which, in the opinion of the proper officer, the report or an important part of the report is based, and

(b) have, in his opinion, been relied on to a material extent in preparing the report,

but do not include any published works.]

Textual Amendments

F1 Pt. IIIA (ss. 50A–50K) inserted by Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985 (c. 43, SIF 81:1, 2), ss. 2(1), 3

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1 S. 50D applied (temp. from 6.4.1995 until 1.4.1996) by S.I. 1995/789, art. 2, Sch. para. 3