The Local Access Forums (England) Regulations 2007

Inspection of minutes and other documents after meetings of a local access forum

8.—(1) After a meeting of a local access forum the following documents must be open to inspection by members of the public at the offices of the appointing authority until the expiration of the period of two years beginning with the date of the meeting, namely—

(a) the minutes, or a copy of the minutes, of the meeting;

(b) a copy of the agenda for the meeting; and

(c) a copy of any report for the meeting.

(2) If and so long as copies of a report for a meeting of a local access forum are required by regulation 7(3) or paragraph (1) to be open to inspection by members of the public—

(a) copies of a list, compiled by the secretary to the forum, of any background papers for the report, and

(b) at least one copy of each of the documents included in that list,

must also be open to their inspection at the offices of the appointing authority.

(3) Any document required by paragraph (1) or (2) to be open to inspection by members of the public shall be taken to be so open if arrangements exist for its production to members of the public as soon as is reasonably practicable after the making of a request to inspect it.

(4) For the purposes of paragraph (2) the background papers for a report are those documents relating to the subject-matter of the report which, in the opinion of the secretary to the local access forum—

(a) disclose any facts or matters on which the report or an important part of the report is based, and

(b) have been relied on to a material extent in preparing the report,

but do not include any published works.