Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021

CHAPTER 4 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MEETINGS

46 Electronic broadcasts of meetings of certain local authorities

(1) A principal council must make and publish arrangements for the purpose of ensuring that—

(a) a broadcast of proceedings at a meeting to which subsection (2) applies is available electronically so that members of the public not in attendance at the meeting can see and hear the proceedings;

(b) the proceedings are broadcast as they take place, subject to any specified exceptions;

(c) the broadcast is available electronically for a specified period after the meeting.

(2) This subsection applies to proceedings at a meeting, or any part of a meeting, which is open to the public of—

(a) a principal council;

(b) any of the following specified bodies—

(i) the executive of a principal council;

(ii) a committee or sub-committee of an executive of a principal council;

(iii) a committee or sub-committee of a principal council;

(iv) a joint committee, or a sub-committee of a joint committee, of two or more principal councils.

(3) The Welsh Ministers may by regulations make further provision in connection with the broadcast of proceedings at a meeting to which subsection (2) applies.

(4) In subsections (1) and (2), “specified” means specified in regulations made by the Welsh Ministers.

(5) If a principal council revises or replaces arrangements made under subsection (1), it must publish the revised or new arrangements.

(6) A principal council making arrangements required by subsection (1) must have regard to any guidance about the exercise of that function issued by the Welsh Ministers.

(7) The validity of any proceedings to which subsection (2) applies is not affected by the availability or otherwise of a broadcast (whether as the proceedings take place or afterwards).

(8) The Welsh Ministers may by regulations make provision for and in connection with ensuring that proceedings at a meeting of an authority listed in subsection (9), or at a meeting of a committee or sub-committee of such an authority, are broadcast electronically.

(9) The authorities are—

(a) a fire and rescue authority for an area in Wales;

(b) a National Park authority for a National Park in Wales;

(c) a joint committee of one or more principal councils and one or more authorities described in paragraph (a) or (b);

(d) a joint board which—

(i) is constituted under any enactment as a body corporate, and

(ii) discharges functions of two or more principal councils.

(10) Regulations under subsection (3) or (8) may include provision amending, modifying, repealing or revoking any enactment.

47 Attendance at local authority meetings

(1) A local authority must make and publish arrangements for the purpose of ensuring that local authority meetings are able to be held by means of any equipment or other facility which—

(a) enables persons who are not in the same place to attend the meetings, and

(b) satisfies the conditions in subsection (2).

(2) The conditions are that the equipment or other facility enables persons—

(a) in the case of local authority meetings that do not fall within paragraph (b), to speak to and be heard by each other (whether or not the equipment or facility enables those persons to see and be seen by each other), and

(b) in the case of meetings of a principal council required to be broadcast under section 46 (electronic broadcasts), or any other local authority meetings required to be broadcast by regulations made under that section, to speak to and be heard by each other and to see and be seen by each other.

(3) In the case of meetings of a joint committee of two or more local authorities, the authorities must make and publish arrangements under subsection (1) jointly.

(4) If a local authority revises or replaces arrangements made under subsection (1), it must publish the revised or new arrangements.

(5) A local authority making arrangements required by subsection (1) must have regard to any guidance about the exercise of that function issued by the Welsh Ministers.

(6) In this section—

• “local authority” (“awdurdod lleol”) means—

  (a)

  a principal council;

  (b)

  a community council;

  (c)

  a fire and rescue authority for an area in Wales;

  (d)

  a National Park authority for a National Park in Wales;

  (e)

  a port health authority for a port health district in Wales constituted under section 2 of the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984 (c. 22);

• “local authority meeting” (“cyfarfod awdurdod lleol”) means a meeting of—

  (a)

  a local authority;

  (b)

  where the local authority is a principal council, its executive;

  (c)

  a joint committee of two or more local authorities;

  (d)

  a committee or sub-committee of anything within paragraphs (a) to (c),

  and, for the avoidance of doubt, includes a hearing held by a principal council’s licensing committee established under section 6 of the Licensing Act 2003 (c. 17) or a sub-committee established by a licensing committee.

(7) A reference in any enactment to—

(a) the attendance, presence or appearance of a person at a local authority meeting includes, in relation to a meeting held by the means described in subsection (1), attendance, presence or appearance by use of those means;

(b) the place at which a local authority meeting is held is not to be read as limited to a single physical location.

(8) The Welsh Ministers may by regulations amend this section so as to—

(a) add to, amend or omit the conditions in subsection (2);

(b) add to the definition of “local authority” in subsection (6) a joint board which—

(i) is constituted under any enactment as a body corporate, and

(ii) discharges functions of two or more principal councils.

(9) Part 2 of Schedule 4 makes consequential amendments.

48 Participation at meetings of community councils

In Part 4 of Schedule 12 to the 1972 Act (meetings and proceedings of community councils), after paragraph 27 insert—

“27A (1) This paragraph applies in respect of a meeting or part of a meeting of a community council which is open to the public.

(2) The person presiding over the meeting must give members of the public in attendance a reasonable opportunity to make representations about any business to be transacted at the meeting, unless that person considers that doing so is likely to prejudice the effective conduct of the meeting.

(3) In complying with sub-paragraph (2), the person presiding over the meeting must have regard to any guidance issued by the Welsh Ministers about the function in that sub-paragraph.”

49 Notices etc. of local authority meetings

Part 1 of Schedule 4 makes amendments to the 1972 Act and other Acts, concerning notices and other documents relating to meetings of local authorities.

50 Regulations about conduct of local authority meetings, documents relating to meetings and publication of information

(1) The Welsh Ministers may by regulations make provision for and in connection with requirements concerning notices and other documents relating to local authority meetings and concerning the conduct of such meetings.

(2) Regulations under subsection (1) may, in particular, include provision about—

(a) the production of notices and other documents relating to local authority meetings;

(b) the publication and dissemination of such notices and documents;

(c) the content of such notices and documents;

(d) rights of access to such notices and documents;

(e) the keeping of documents relating to local authority meetings;

(f) arrangements relating to the holding of local authority meetings;

(g) the recording of decisions made at such meetings.

(3) The Welsh Ministers may also by regulations make provision for and in connection with the publication by local authorities of, and rights of access to, information setting out details about—

(a) members of the authority and its committees and sub-committees;

(b) rights to attend local authority meetings and to access documents;

(c) the exercise of powers of a local authority by its officers.

(4) Regulations under this section may amend, modify, repeal or revoke any enactment.

(5) In this section—

• “local authority” (“awdurdod lleol”) means—

  (a)

  a principal council;

  (b)

  a community council;

  (c)

  a fire and rescue authority for an area in Wales;

  (d)

  a National Park authority for a National Park in Wales;

  (e)

  a joint board which—

  (i)

  is constituted under any enactment as a body corporate, and

  (ii)

  discharges functions of two or more principal councils;

  (f)

  a port health authority for a port health district in Wales constituted under section 2 of the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984 (c. 22);

• “local authority meeting” (“cyfarfod awdurdod lleol”) means a meeting of—

  (a)

  a local authority;

  (b)

  where the local authority is a principal council, its executive;

  (c)

  a joint committee of two or more local authorities;

  (d)

  a committee or sub-committee of anything within paragraphs (a) to (c).

51 Regulations about community meetings

In Part 5 of Schedule 12 to the 1972 Act (community meetings), after paragraph 36 insert—

“36A (1) The Welsh Ministers may by regulations make provision for and in connection with requirements concerning notices and other documents relating to community meetings and concerning the holding of such meetings and their conduct.

(2) Regulations under sub-paragraph (1) may, in particular, include provision about—

(a) arrangements relating to the holding of community meetings attended by persons who are not in the same place;

(b) the convening of community meetings;

(c) the production, publication, dissemination and content of notices of community meetings;

(d) the recording of decisions made at community meetings;

(e) the functions of principal councils and community councils in relation to community meetings;

(f) eligibility to attend and to vote at community meetings.

(3) Regulations under sub-paragraph (1) may include supplementary, incidental, consequential, transitional, transitory or saving provision (including provision amending, modifying, repealing or revoking any enactment (including this Act)).

(4) A statutory instrument containing regulations under sub-paragraph (1) must not be made unless a draft of the instrument has been laid before and approved by resolution of Senedd Cymru.

36BA principal council and a community council exercising functions in relation to community meetings must have regard to any guidance about the exercise of those functions issued by the Welsh Ministers.”