Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Decisions, Documents and Meetings) (Wales) Regulations 2001

PART IV E+W FURTHER PROVISIONS

Local authorities to publish additional information E+W

12.—(1) A local authority shall maintain a register—

(a) stating the name and address of every member of the authority’s executive for the time being and the ward or division (if any) which that member represents;

(b) stating the name and address of every member of each committee of the authority’s executive for the time being;

(c) specifying the functions of the executive which, for the time being, are exercisable by individual members of the executive; and

(d) stating, as respects each such function, the name of the member by whom it is exercisable.

(2) There shall be kept at the principal office of every local authority a written summary of the rights—

(a) to attend meetings of a local authority executive and of committees of such an executive, and

(b) to inspect and copy documents and to be furnished with documents,

which are conferred by these Regulations.

(3) The register maintained under paragraph (1), and the summary kept under paragraph (2) shall be open to inspection by the public at the principal office of the authority.

Supplementary provision E+W

13.—(1) A document directed by any provision of these Regulations to be open to inspection shall be available for inspection—

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

(b) in the case of documents to be available for inspection pursuant to regulation 9, 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 open to inspection by a person under any provision of 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 to the person requiring inspection a photographic copy of or of extracts from the document,

upon payment of such reasonable fee as may be 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 a local authority, nothing done in pursuance of 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 open to inspection by, members of the public, or

(b) is supplied for the benefit of any newspaper, in pursuance of regulation 5 or 8,

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 8 to be available for inspection by 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 9 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 furnished with documents are in addition to any such rights that person may have apart from this regulation.

Part II offences E+W

14.—(1) A person who has custody of a document which is required by regulation 5, 8 or 9 to be available for inspection by the public, commits an offence if, without reasonable excuse that person—

(a) intentionally obstructs the exercise by any person of a right conferred by these Regulations to inspect, or to make a copy of, the whole or part of a document; or

(b) refuses to supply a copy of the whole or part of the document in accordance with regulation 13(2).

(2) A person who commits an offence under paragraph (1) shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 1 on the standard scale.