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
27. Parliament has decided that Scrutiny Committees should have additional rights of access to information to help them carry out their duty of holding the executive to account. To this end they are entitled to copies of executive documents that contain material relating to any business that has been carried out at a Cabinet meeting, documents that relate to a decision made by the Leader of the Council or Cabinet Member under delegated powers or documents that relate to a decision made by an Officer under delegated powers. Such documents should be provided as soon as reasonably practicable and in any event within 10 clear days of the request. This right does not, however, allow a Scrutiny Committee to look at the advice of a political adviser, or any part of a document that contains exempt or confidential information, unless that information is relevant to an action or decision they are reviewing, scrutinising or intend to scrutinise. If the request is refused then written reasons should be provided to the Scrutiny Committee.