The Local Authorities (Committee System) (England) Regulations 2012

Confidential and exempt information

8.—(1) This regulation applies to—

(a) the publication under regulation 7 of any document comprising—

(i) a report or recommendations of an overview and scrutiny committee; or

(ii) a response of a local authority to any such report or recommendations; and

(b) the provision of a copy of such a document—

(i) to a member of a local authority; or

(ii) to a relevant partner authority,

by an overview and scrutiny committee or a local authority.

(2) The overview and scrutiny committee or the local authority, in publishing the document or providing a copy of the document to a relevant partner authority—

(a) must exclude any confidential information; and

(b) may exclude any relevant exempt information.

(3) The overview and scrutiny committee, or the local authority, in providing a copy of a document to a member of the local authority, may exclude any confidential information or relevant exempt information.

(4) Where information is excluded under paragraphs (2) or (3), the overview and scrutiny committee or the local authority, in publishing, or providing a copy of, the document—

(a) may replace so much of the document as discloses the information with a summary which does not disclose that information; and

(b) must do so if, in consequence of excluding the information, the document published, or copy provided, would be misleading or not reasonably comprehensible.

(5) If by virtue of paragraphs (2), (3) or (4) an overview and scrutiny committee, in publishing or providing a copy of a report or recommendations—

(a) excludes information; or

(b) replaces part of the report or the recommendations with a summary,

it is nevertheless to be taken for the purposes of regulation 7(2) to have published the report or recommendations.

(6) In this regulation—

“confidential information” has the meaning given by section 100A(3) of the 1972 Act (1)(admission to meetings of principal councils);

“exempt information” has the meaning given by section 100I of that Act(2); and

“relevant exempt information” means—

(a)

in relation to a report or recommendations of an overview and scrutiny committee, exempt information of a description specified in a resolution of the overview and scrutiny committee under section 100A(4) of the 1972 Act which applied to the proceedings, or part of the proceedings, at any meeting of the overview and scrutiny committee at which the report was, or recommendations were, considered; and

(b)

in relation to a response of the authority, exempt information of a description specified in such a resolution of the authority which applied to the proceedings, or part of the proceedings, at any meeting of the authority at which the report or response was, or recommendations were, considered.

(7) In this regulation, references to an overview and scrutiny committee include references to a sub-committee of such a committee.

(1)

Section 100A was inserted by section 1(1) of the Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985 (c.43) and subsequently amended by S.I. 2002/715.

(2)

Section 100I was inserted by section 1(1) of the Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985, and subsequently amended by S.I. 2006/88.