Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021

98 Auditor General’s powers of entry and inspection etc.

(1) An inspector may at any reasonable time enter any premises of a principal council and do anything that the inspector considers necessary for the purposes of a special inspection of that council, including inspecting a document held by the council.

(2) An inspector may require a principal council to provide the inspector with any of the following that the inspector considers necessary for the purposes of a special inspection of that council—

(a) a document held by the council;

(b) facilities and assistance.

(3) If an inspector considers a person may be able to provide information, an explanation or a document that the inspector considers necessary for the purposes of a special inspection, the inspector may require that person to attend before the inspector at any reasonable time to provide the information, explanation or document.

(4) An inspector may—

(a) copy a document inspected under subsection (1) or provided under subsection (2)(a) or (3);

(b) require a principal council to provide the inspector with a legible copy, including a legible electronic copy, of a document inspected under subsection (1) or provided under subsection (2)(a);

(c) retain a document inspected under subsection (1) or provided under subsection (2)(a) or (3), but only for as long as is necessary for the purposes of the special inspection.

(5) In this section and sections 99 and 100, “inspector” means the Auditor General for Wales or a person exercising a function of the Auditor General for Wales under this Chapter by virtue of a delegation made under section 18 of the Public Audit (Wales) Act 2013 (anaw 3).