The Combined Authorities (Overview and Scrutiny Committees, Access to Information and Audit Committees) Order 2017

Confidential and exempt information

8.—(1) This article applies in relation to—

(a) the publication of any document as a result of a reference made in accordance with article 7 (duty of combined authority and the mayor to respond to overview and scrutiny committee) comprising—

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

(ii) a response of a combined authority or the mayor to any such report or recommendations; and

(b) the provision of a copy of such a document to a member of a combined authority or to a member of a constituent council or a non-constituent council, by an overview and scrutiny committee or a combined authority or the mayor.

(2) The overview and scrutiny committee or the combined authority, or the mayor in publishing the document—

(a) must exclude any confidential information; and

(b) may exclude any relevant exempt information.

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

(4) Where information is excluded under paragraph (2) or (3), the overview and scrutiny committee or the combined authority, or the mayor , 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 paragraph (2), (3) or (4) an overview and scrutiny committee or the combined authority, or the mayor , 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 to have published the report or recommendations.

(6) In this article—

“confidential information” has the meaning given by section 100A(3) of the Local Government Act 1972(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 Local Government Act 1972 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 or of the mayor, 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 article, 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 of the Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985 (c. 43) and amended by S.I. 2002/715 and by S.I. 2014/2095.

(2)

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