Part 9 - Summary of the Public's Rights to Attend Meetings and to Inspect and Copy Documents

Summary of the Public’s Rights to Attend Meetings and to Inspect and Copy Documents

1. Introduction

1.1 The following is a summary of the main rights afforded to the public under the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements)(Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2000, the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Access to Information) (England) Amendment Regulations 2002, the Local Authorities (Access to Meetings & Documents) (Period of Notice) (England) Order 2002, various statutory instruments introduced in March 2006 and the Constitution of Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council to attend meetings of the Council and to inspect and copy documents including Forward Plans. Details of other documents available for public inspection are attached as an Appendix.

2. Attendance at Meetings

2.1 Members of the public may attend all meetings of the Council, Overview and Scrutiny Committees, Area Committees (if any), Standards Committee, regulatory Committees and public meetings of the Cabinet (together called meetings) subject only to the exceptions set out in 2.2 and 2.3 below.

(At least five clear days notice of any meeting will be given by the posting of details at
The Guildhall, Frankwell Quay, Shrewsbury.)

2.2 The public must be excluded from meetings whenever it is likely in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings that confidential information will be disclosed.

Confidential information means information given to the Council by a Government Department on terms which forbid its public disclosure or information which cannot be publicly disclosed by Court Order.

2.3 The public may be excluded from meetings whenever it is likely in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings that exempt information would be disclosed.

(Where the meeting will determine any person’s civil rights or obligations, or adversely affect their possessions, Article 6 of the Human Rights Act 1998 has established a presumption that the meeting will be held in public unless a private hearing is necessary for one of the reasons specified in Article 6.)

Exempt information means information falling within 10 specific categories. These categories are set out in Part 4 (Rules of Procedure) of the Council’s Constitution a copy of which is available for inspection at the Guildhall.

3. Access to Agendas and Reports

3.1 Copies of agenda and reports for meetings will be made available for inspection by the public, except for the whole, or any part, of a report that relates to an item during which the meeting is not likely to be open to the public. Documents will be made available for inspection when they are made available to members of the decision making body concerned, or at least five clear days before the meeting, or as soon as the meeting is convened, or the item added to the agenda, if that is less than five days. The papers will be available for inspection at The Guildhall, Frankwell Quay, Shrewsbury during normal working hours.

3.2 A reasonable number of copies of agenda and reports will be made available for the public present at a meeting.

4. Inspection of Minutes etc

4.1 As soon as reasonably practicable after a meeting a copy of the minutes will be made available for public inspection at The Guildhall during normal working hours. In respect of a Cabinet meeting where a decision has been taken, the copy of the minutes or a written statement will include a record of any executive decision taken, reasons for that decision, details of any alternative options considered and rejected, conflicts of interest declared by members and any dispensations granted by the Standards Committee. The minutes or statement of any meeting will exclude any part of the minutes of proceedings when the meeting was not open to the public or which disclose exempt or confidential information.

A summary of any proceedings not open to the public where the minutes open to inspection would not provide a reasonably fair and coherent record, the agenda for the meeting and reports relating to items when the meeting was open to the public will also be made available for public inspection at The Guildhall during normal working hours.

4.2 This right of inspection exists for six years from the date of the meeting.

5. Background Papers

5.1 Members of the public may also inspect a list of the background papers prepared for any report and set out therein, and a copy of each of the documents included in that list. This right of inspection exists for four years from the date of the meeting.

Background papers are documents which relate to the subject matter of a report, disclose any facts or matters on which the report, or an important part of the report is based, and have been relied on to a material extent in preparing the report. It does not include any published works or those which disclose exempt or confidential information and in respect of Cabinet reports, the advice of a political advisor, if any.

5.2 Requests for inspection of such documents should be made to the Borough Council officer in whose name the report is prepared.

6. Fees/Copying of Documents

6.1 No payment is required for inspecting the above mentioned documents.

6.2 Subject to copyright rules a person who is entitled to inspect a document may make a copy of the whole or part of the document or require the person having custody of the document to supply him/her with a photographic copy of the whole or part of the document. In the latter case, this will be subject to the payment of the Council’s photocopying charges.

7. Forward Plans/Additional Documents

7.1 Members of the public have the right to inspect free of charge the Council’s Forward Plans at The Guildhall during normal working hours. Each Forward Plan will be made available at least 14 days before the start of the period covered. The dates in each month in the following twelve months on which each Forward Plan will be published and made available to the public will be published annually in at least one local newspaper. The publication will take place on a date at least 14 days, but not more than 21 days before the first Forward Plan of each year comes into effect.

Each plan contains a list of the documents submitted to the decision makers for consideration in relation to the key decisions in the plan. Subject to any prohibition or restriction on their disclosure, members of the public are entitled to request copies of, or extracts from, any document listed in the Forward Plan as they become available.

7.2 Copies of various other documents are also available for public inspection during normal working hours. A list of the documents available is attached to this summary (Annex A). Requests to inspect and copy these documents should be made to the section concerned.

ANNEX A

DOCUMENTS AVAILABLE FOR PUBLIC INSPECTION

Document:		Section:
Accounts		Financial Services
Advertisement Register		Planning Development Control
Agenda for meetings		Democratic Services
Air Quality Review & Assessment		Environmental Health
Allocation Policy	- Housing	Housing Services
Applicants for Housing	- Information	Housing Services
Background papers		Relevant Service
Boundary/Electoral Arrangements		Democratic Services
Building Control Initial Notices/Register		Building Control
Byelaws		Legal Services
Caravan Sites Register		Environmental Health
Cemeteries	- Fees & Charges - Register of Burial and other rights	Crematorium & Cemetery
Claims	- Register of Electors	Democratic Services
Committees	- Agenda - Delegated Powers	Democratic Services
Common Lodging Houses Register		Environmental Health
Community Safety Strategy		Community Development
Constitution Document		Democratic Services
Council	- Agenda	Democratic Services
Councillors	- List of addresses details by Wards and Committee Membership	Democratic Services
Council Tax	- Banding details	Council Tax
Council Tax Benefit	- Regulations	Council Tax
Delegated Powers	- Officers	Democratic Services
Economic Development Plan		Economic Development
Election documents and returns		Democratic Services
Electors	- Register of - Claims	Democratic Services
Enforcement Notices Register		Planning Development Control
Entertainment Licences		Environmental Health
Environmental Protection	- Prescribed Processes	Environmental Health
Food Premises Register		Environmental Health
Hackney Carriage Licences		Licensing
Hazardous Substances Register		Planning Development Control

Health & Safety At Work Register		Environmental Health

Housing

- Allocation Policies - Management Consultation - Tenant Information

Housing Services

Industrial Pollution	- Applications	Environmental Health
List of Listed Buildings		Planning Policy
List of Background Papers		Democratic Services
Litter Control Areas		Cleansing & Recycling
Local Land Charges		Legal Services
Local Plans		Planning Policy
Lotteries	- Returns	Licensing
Members	- List of addresses - Wards and Committees	Democratic Services
Members	- Interests - Expenses	Democratic Services Financial Services
Minutes	- Council & Committees	Democratic Services
Money	- Orders for payment	Financial Services
Noise Level Register		Environmental Health
Ombudsman Reports		Monitoring Officer
Payment of Money Orders		Financial Services
Personal Data	- Housing - General	Housing Services
Planning	- Applications/ Decisions - Appeals	Planning Development Control
Politically Restricted posts		Personnel
Private Hire Licences		Licensing
Public Rights of Way	- Orders	Planning Policy
Radioactive Substances		Environmental Health
Rag, Flock and other filling materials		Environmental Health
Register of: -Advertisements -Caravan Sites -Common Lodging Houses -Electors -Enforcement Notices -Food Premises -Hackney Carriage Licences -Hazardous Substances -Health & Safety at Work -Litter control Areas -Local Land Charges -Local Plans -Members Interests -Noise Level -Planning Appeals -Planning Applications/ Decisions -Private Hire Licences -Radioactive Substances -Rag, Flock etc -Stray Dogs -Stop Notices -Structure Plans -Trees Works		Planning Development Control Environmental Health Environmental Health Democratic Services Planning Development Control Environmental Health Licensing Planning Development Control Environmental Health Cleansing Legal Services Planning Policy Democratic Services Environmental Health Planning Development Control Planning Development Control Licensing Environmental Health Environmental Health Environmental Health Planning Development Control Planning Policy Planning Policy

Rights of way		Planning Policy
Secure Tenancies Information		Housing Services
Society Lotteries	- Returns	Licensing

Staffing Statistics		Personnel
Stop Notices		Planning Development Control
Structure Plans		Planning Policy
Summary of Citizens Rights		Democratic Services
Tree Preservation Orders		Planning Policy
Trees	- Proposed Works Register	Planning Policy
Ward Members/Details		Democratic Services