Summary of rights to attend meetings of Ceredigion County Council
Ceredigion County Council - Summary of Rights to Inspect Documents (18 September 2002)
Summary Of Rights To Attend Meetings Of Ceredigion County Council, Its Cabinet, Committees And Sub-Committees And To Inspect And Copy Documents Under Part Va Part Xi And Schedule 12a Of The Local Government Act 1972 (As Amended) And In Accordance With The Council's Constitution.
Access To Meetings
- Meetings of the Full Council of Ceredigion County Council and its Cabinet, Committees and Sub-committees (as shown in Appendix I) are open to the public, subject to paragraph 2 and 3 below.
- The public are required to be excluded from a meeting during any item of business whenever it is likely that, if they were present, confidential information would be disclosed in breach of the obligation of confidence. Confidential information means information given to the Council by a Government Department on terms which forbid its public disclosure and information which cannot be publicly disclosed by an Act or Court Order.
- The public may be excluded by resolution during an item of business whenever it is likely that there would be disclosure of "exempt information". Exempt information is defined to cover such matters as personal information, financial and business affairs of people or companies with whom the Council has dealings, action taken or to be taken in relation criminal proceedings, industrial relations, consultations and negotiations and advice relating to legal proceedings. The full 15 categories are listed in Appendix II.
Access to Agenda and Connected Reports
- Copies of agendas and reports for a meeting of the Full Council of Ceredigion County Council and its Cabinet, Committees and Sub-committees are open for inspection by the public, except for any report on an item during which the meeting is not open to the public (such Reports will have been marked “Not for Publication” together with the category of information likely to be disclosed). Documents are available three working days before the meeting or as soon as the meeting is convened or as soon as the item is added to the agenda, if that is less than three days. The papers are available for inspection at the Department of Corporate and Legal Services, Neuadd Cyngor Ceredigion, Penmorfa, Aberaeron SA46 0PA between the hours of 9.00 am and 4.30 pm on weekdays (Telephone 01545 572031/572034).
- Copies of agendas and reports are made available for members of the public present at a meeting. A programme of meetings for the current municipal year can be found using the link on the right or again by telephoning the Department.
Inspection of Minutes
- After a meeting of the Full Council, the Cabinet, a Committee and Sub-committee, a copy of the minutes or a summary of what took place in private will be available for public inspection at the Department of Corporate and Legal Services, Neuadd Cyngor Ceredigion, Penmorfa, Aberaeron between the hours of 9.00 am and 4.30 pm on weekdays. This right of inspection exists for six years from the date on which the meeting was convened.
Inspection of Background Papers
- Members of the public may also inspect a list of the background papers for any report and a copy of each of the documents included in that list. This right is available as soon as the agenda is published and continues for four years from the date of the meeting. Background papers disclosing confidential or exempt information are not open to inspection.
- Background papers are documents which relate to the subject matter of a report, disclose any facts or matters on which the report is based and have been relied on to a material extent in preparing the report, but exclude any published work. Requests for inspection for such document should again be made to the Director of Corporate and Legal Services at Neuadd Cyngor Ceredigion, Penmorfa, Aberaeron.
Lowri Edwards
Corporate Lead Officer: Democratic Services
Ceredigion County Council
Neuadd Cyngor Ceredigion
ABERAERON
Ceredigion SA46 0PA
Appendix I
Cabinet
Committees:-
Development Control and Licensing Committee
Shortlisting Committee
Standards Committee and Sub-Committee
Overview and Scrutiny Committees:-
Co-ordinating Committee
Economic Development, Tourism, Europe and Training
Education, Culture and Leisure
Environmental Services and Housing
Finance and Personnel
Highways, Property and Works
Social Services
Other Committees:-
Ceredigion Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education
Appendix II
Meaning of exempt information
Exempt information means information falling within the following 15 categories (Subject to any condition):
| Category | Condition |
|---|---|
| 1. Information relating to a particular employee, former employee or applicant to become an employee of, or a particular office-holder, former office-holder or applicant to become an office-holder under, the authority | Information is not exempt information unless it relates to an individual of that description in the capacity indicated by the description, i.e. it must relate to and be recognisable as referring to a particular individual in the roles indicated |
| 2. Information relating to a particular employee, former employee or applicant to become an employee of, or a particular office-holder, former office-holder or applicant to become an office-holder under, a magistrates' court Committee or probation Committee | Information is not exempt information unless it relates to an individual of that description in the capacity indicated by the description, i.e. it must relate to and be recognisable as referring to a particular individual in the roles indicated |
| 3. Information relating to any particular occupier or former occupier of, or applicant for, accommodation provided by or at the expense of the authority | Information is not exempt information unless it relates to an individual of that description in the capacity indicated by the description, i.e. it must relate to and be recognisable as referring to a particular individual in the roles indicated |
| 4. Information relating to any particular applicant for, or recipient or former recipient of any service provided by the authority | Information is not exempt information unless it relates to an individual of that description in the capacity indicated by the description, i.e. it must relate to and be recognisable as referring to a particular individual in the roles indicated |
| 5. Information relating to any particular applicant for, or recipient or former recipient of, any financial assistance provided by the authority | Information is not exempt information unless it relates to an individual of that description in the capacity indicated by the description, i.e. it must relate to and be recognisable as referring to a particular individual in the roles indicated |
| 6. Information relating to the adoption, care, fostering or education of any particular child | Child means a person under 18 and anyone who is 18 and is still registered as a school pupil, or is the Subject of a care order, within the meaning of section 31 Children Act 1989 |
| 7. Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (other than the authority) | Information within paragraph 7 is not exempt if it must be registered under various statutes, such as the Companies Act or Charities Act. To be exempt the information must relate to a particular third person who must be identifiable |
| 8. The amount of any expenditure proposed to be incurred by the authority under any particular contract for the acquisition of property or the supply of goods or services | Information within paragraph 8 is only exempt if, and for so long as, disclosure of the amount involved would be likely to give an advantage to a person entering into or seeking to enter into a contract with the authority in respect of the advantage would arise as against the authority or as against other such persons. |
| 9. Any terms proposed or to be proposed by or to the authority in the course of negotiations for a contract for the acquisition or disposal of property or the supply of goods or services | Information within paragraph 9 is only exempt if, and for so long as, disclosure to the public of the terms would prejudice the authority in those or any other negotiations concerning that property or those goods or services. (The disposal of property includes granting an interest in or right over it) |
| 10. The identity of the authority (as well as of any other person, by virtue of paragraph 7 above) as the person offering any particular tender for a contract for the supply of goods or services | For the purposes of this paragraph “tender” includes a DLO/DSO written bid |
| 11. Information relating to any consultations or negotiations, or contemplated consultations or negotiations, in connection with any labour relations matters arising between the authority or a Minister of the Crown and employees of, or officer-holders under the authority | Information within paragraph 11 is only exempt if and for so long as its disclosure to the public would prejudice the authority in those or any other consultations or negotiations in connection with a labour relations matter “Labour relations matters” are as specified in paragraphs (a) to (g) of section 29(1) of the Trade Unions and Labour Relations Act 1974, i.e. matters which may be the Subject of a trade dispute |
| 12. Any Instructions to counsel and any opinion of counsel (whether or not in connection with any proceedings), and any advice received, information obtained or action to be taken in connection with: (a) any legal proceedings by or against the authority; or (b) the determination of any matter affecting the authority; whether, in either case, proceedings have been commenced or are in contemplation. | |
| 13. Information which, if disclosed to the public, would reveal that the authority proposes– (a)to give under any enactment a notice under or by virtue of which requirements are imposed on a person; or (b)to make an order or direction under any enactment | Information within paragraph 13 is exempt only if and so long as disclosure to the public might afford an opportunity to a person affected by the notice, order or direction to defeat the purpose or one of the purposes for which the notice, order or direction is to be given or made |
| 14. Any action taken or to be taken in connection with the prevention, investigation or prosecution of crime | |
| 15. The identity of a protected informant | A “protected informant” means a person giving the authority information which tends to show that (a) a criminal offence; (b) a breach of statutory duty; (c) a breach of planning control; or (d) a nuisance, has been, or is being, or is about to be committed |
Information falling within any of paragraphs 1-15 is not exempt by virtue of that paragraph if it relates to proposed development for which the local planning authority can grant itself planning permission under Regulation 3 of the Town and Country Planning General Regulations 1992.
Other Information
The following information is also available from the Council:-
- Details of the County Councillors
- Membership of the Cabinet and Committees
- Programme of Meetings for the current municipal year
- List of Clerks of Community Councils within the County of Ceredigion
The following documents are also open for inspection at the Department of Corporate and Legal Services at Neuadd Cyngor Ceredigion, Penmorfa, Aberaeron
- A record of payments of Members' Allowances made under Regulation 18 of the Local Authorities (Allowances for Members of the County and County Borough Councils and National Park Authorities) (Wales) Regulations 2002.
- A Register of Members Interests as required by the Local Authorities (Members Interests) Regulations 1992.