Part 4 - Rules of access to information about the County Council's formal business
Below are the rules of access to information about the County Council's formal business.
- 1 - Introduction
- 2 - The public's right to attend meetings
- 3 - The public’s right to obtain copies of the agenda to meetings and reports and documents that are to be discussed at meetings
- 4 - Sub-committees, panels and groups
- 5 - Decisions by the Leader of the Council, Cabinet Members and Officers
- 6 - Minutes of meetings and executive decisions
- 7 - Charges for the supply of agenda, reports and background papers
- 8 - The special rules that apply to “key decisions”
- 9 - Exceptions to the need to publish notice of a key decision 28 days in advance
- 10 - The general exception rule
- 11 - The special urgency rule
- 12 - Scrutiny committees
- 13 - Elected Members’ additional rights of access to information
- 14 - Additional rights of access to information by Scrutiny Committees
- 14 - Elected Members’ duty of confidence
- Appendix to rules on the public's right of access to information about the council's formal business
- Scrutiny Committees play an important role in ensuring that key decisions are well publicised. Thus, if a Scrutiny Committee decides a key decision was taken by the Cabinet, Leader of the Council, Cabinet Member or an Officer but was not treated as such nor taken under the general exception or the special urgency procedure the committee may require the Leader of the Council to submit a report to the full Council. The report must describe the decision that was made and give the reasons for the decision. The report must also explain why the Cabinet, Leader of the Council, Cabinet Member or Officer believes the decision was not a key decision. Alternatively, if the Cabinet, Leader of the Council, Cabinet Member or Officer accepts the decision was a key decision, the report should explain why it was not publicised as required nor dealt with as urgent business.
Page updated:
25/01/2022