The Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2000

Documents to be available for inspection at the offices of the local authority

22.—(1) Any document required by regulation 5, 6 or 11 to be available for inspection by members of the public shall be available for inspection—

(a) at all reasonable hours at the offices of the local authority; and

(b) in the case of documents to be available for inspection pursuant to regulation 6, upon payment by the person seeking to inspect the documents of any reasonable fee required by the local authority.

(2) Subject to paragraph (3), where a document is to be available for inspection by a person under any provision in these Regulations, the person may—

(a) make a copy of the whole or part of the document; or

(b) require the person having custody of the document to supply him with a copy of the whole or part of the document,

upon payment by the person requiring the copy of any reasonable fee required by the local authority.

(3) Paragraph (2) does not require or authorise the doing of any act which infringes the copyright in any work except that, where the owner of the copyright is the local authority, nothing done pursuant to that paragraph shall constitute an infringement of the copyright.

(4) Where any document required by these Regulations to be open to inspection by the public—

(a) is supplied to, or available for inspection by members of the public; or

(b) is supplied for the benefit of any newspaper, pursuant to regulation 11(7),

the publication thereby of any defamatory matter contained in the document shall be privileged unless the publication is proved to be made with malice.

(5) Any written record of an executive decision or any report required by regulation 5 to be available for inspection by the members of the public, shall be retained by the local authority and made available for inspection by the public for a period of at least six years beginning on the date on which the decision to which the record or report relates, was made.

(6) Any background papers required by regulation 6 to be available for inspection by members of the public shall be retained by the local authority and be available for inspection by the public for a period of at least four years beginning on the date on which the decision, to which the background papers relate, was made.

(7) The rights conferred on any person by these Regulations to inspect, copy or be supplied with documents are in addition to any such rights that he may have apart from those under these Regulations.