Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 2014

Additional rights of access to documents for members of councils

48.—(1) Any document which is in the possession or under the control of a council and contains material relating to any business to be transacted at a meeting of the council or a committee or sub-committee of the council must, subject to subsections (2) to (4), be open to inspection by any member of the council.

(2) Subsection (1) does not require the document to be open to inspection if it appears to the clerk of the council that it discloses exempt information.

(3) But subsection (1) does require (despite subsection (2)) the document to be open to inspection if the information is information of a description for the time being falling within—

(a) paragraph 3 of Schedule 6 (except to the extent that the information relates to any terms proposed or to be proposed by or to the council in the course of negotiations for a contract); or

(b) paragraph 6 of Schedule 6.

(4) In subsection (3), “the council” has the meaning given in paragraph 10(2) of Schedule 6.

(5) The Department may by order amend subsections (2) to (4)—

(a) by adding to the descriptions of exempt information to which those subsections refer for the time being; or

(b) by removing any description of exempt information to which those subsections refer for the time being.

(6) The accounts of a council must be open to inspection by any member of the council and nothing in subsections (1) to (5) affects the right conferred by this subsection on a member of the council.

(7) The rights conferred by this section on a member of a council are in addition to any other rights which the member may have apart from this section.