These rules apply to all meetings of the Council, select committees, area committees, the Standards Committee, the Regulatory Committees and public meetings of the Executive (together called meetings).
These rules do not affect any more specific rights to information contained elsewhere in this Constitution or the law.
Members of the public may attend all meetings subject only to the exceptions in these rules.
The Council will give at least five clear days notice of any meetings by posting details of the meeting at the Council Offices, Hayfield Road, Chapel-en-le-Frith, the designated office.
The Council will make copies of the agenda and reports open to the public available for inspection at the designated office at least five clear days before the meeting. If an item is added to the agenda later, the revised agenda will be open to inspection from the time the item was added to the agenda (where reports are prepared after the summons has been sent out, the designated officer shall make each report available to the public as soon as the report is completed and sent to councillors).
The Council will supply copies of:
to any person on payment of a charge for postage and copying.
The Council will make available copies of the following for six years after a meeting:
The Executive Directors will ensure that each report sets out a list of those documents (called background papers) relating to the subject matter of the report which in his/her opinion:
but does not include published works or those which disclose exempt or confidential information (as defined in Rule 10) and in respect of Executive reports, the advice of a political adviser.
The Council will make available for public inspection for four years after the date of the meeting one copy of each of the documents on the list of the background papers.
A written summary of the public’s rights to attend meetings and to inspect and copy documents is contained in the Guide to the Constitution which is available from the Monitoring Officer at the Council Offices, Hayfield Road, Chapel-en-le-Frith, High Peak, SK23 0QJ.
The public must be excluded from meetings whenever it is likely, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings, that confidential information would be disclosed.
The public may be excluded from meetings whenever it is likely, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings, that exempt information would be disclosed.
Where the meeting will determine any persons’ civil rights or obligations, or adversely affect their possessions, Article 6 of the Human Rights Act 1998 establishes a presumption that the meeting will be held in public unless a private hearing is necessary for one of the reasons specified in Article 6.
Confidential information means information given to the Council by a Government Department on terms which forbid its public disclosure or information which cannot be publicly disclosed by Court Order.
See attached Appendix.
If the Monitoring Officer thinks fit, the Council may exclude access by the public to reports which, in his or her opinion, relate to items during the discussion of which the meeting is likely not to be open to the public. Such reports will be marked “Not for publication” together with the category of information likely to be disclosed.
Rules 13 – 24 apply to the Executive and its sub-groups. If the Executive or any of its sub-groups meet to take a key decision then it must also comply with Rules 1 – 11 unless Rule 15 (general exception) or Rule 16 (special urgency) apply. A key decision is defined in Article 12.4 of this Constitution.
If the Executive or its sub-groups meet to discuss a key decision to be taken collectively, with an officer (other than a political assistant) present, within 28 days of the date according to the forward plan by which it is to be decided, then it must also comply with Rules 1 – 11 unless Rule 15 (general exception) or Rule 16 (special urgency) apply. A key decision is as defined in Article 12.4 of this Constitution. This requirement does not include meetings, whose sole purpose is for officers to brief members.
Subject to Rule 15 (general exception) and Rule 16 (special urgency), a key decision may not be taken unless:
Forward plans will be prepared by the Leader to cover a period of four months, beginning with the first day of any month. They will be prepared on a monthly basis and subsequent plans will cover a period beginning with the first day of the second month covered in the preceding plan.
The forward plan will contain matters which the Leader has reason to believe will be the subject of a key decision to be taken by the Executive, a sub-group of the executive, individual members of the Executive, officers, area committees or under joint arrangements in the course of the discharge of an executive function, during the period covered by the plan. It will describe the following particulars in so far as the information is available or might reasonably be obtained:
If a matter which is likely to be a key decision has not been included in the forward plan, then subject to Rule 16 (special urgency), the decision may still be taken if:
Where such a decision is taken collectively, it must be taken in public.
If by virtue of the date by which a decision must be taken Rule 15 (general exception) cannot be followed, then the decision can only be taken if the decision taker, whether an individual, the Executive or one of its sub-groups, obtains the agreement of the Chairman of the relevant select committee that the taking of the decision cannot be reasonably deferred. If there is no Chairman of a relevant select committee, or if the Chairman of each relevant select committee is unable to act, then the agreement of the Mayor of the Council, or in his/her absence Deputy Mayor will suffice.
If a Select Committee thinks that a key decision has been taken which was not:
The committee may require the Executive to submit a report to the Council within such reasonable time as the committee specifies. The power to require a report rests with the committee, but is also delegated to the Monitoring Officer, who shall require such a report on behalf of the committee when so requested by the Chairman or any 5 members. Alternatively the requirement may be raised by resolution passed at a meeting of the relevant select committee.
The Executive will prepare a report for submission to the next available meeting of the Council. However, if the next meeting of the Council is within 7 days of receipt of the written notice, or the resolution of the committee, then the report may be submitted to the meeting after that. The report to Council will set out particulars of the decision, the identity of the decision taker, and, if the Leader is of the opinion that it was not a key decision, the reasons for that opinion.
In any event, the Leader will submit reports to the Council on any Executive decisions taken in the circumstances set out in Rule 16 (special urgency) since the last Council meeting. The report will include the number of decisions so taken and a summary of the matters in respect of which those decisions were taken.
After any meeting of the Executive or any of its sub-groups, whether held in public or private, the Monitoring Officer or, where no officer was present, the person presiding at the meeting, will produce a record of every decision taken at that meeting as soon as practicable. The record will include a statement of the reasons for each decision and any alternative options considered and rejected at that meeting.
The Executive will decide whether meetings relating to matters which are not key decisions will be held in public or private.
Members of the Executive or its sub-groups will be entitled to receive five clear working days notice of a meeting to which they are summoned, unless the meeting is convened at shorter notice as a matter of urgency.
Attendance at any private meetings of the Executive will be at the discretion of the Leader of the Council.
Where an individual member of the Executive receives a report which he/she intends to take into account in making any key decision, then he/she will not make the decision until at least 5 clear days after receipt of that report.
On giving of such a report to an individual decision maker, the person who prepared the report will give a copy of it to the Chairman of every relevant select committee as soon as reasonably practicable, and make it publicly available at the same time.
Within five days after an Executive decision has been taken by an individual member of the Executive or a key decision has been taken by an officer, he/she will instruct the proper officer to prepare, a record of the decision, a statement of the reasons for it and any alternative options considered and rejected. The provision of Rules 7 and 8 (inspection of documents after meetings) will also apply to the making of decisions by individual members of the Executive. This does not require the disclosure of exempt or confidential information or advice from a political assistant.
Subject to Rule 23.2 below, a Select Committee (including its sub-committees) will be entitled to copies of any document which is in the possession or control of the Executive or its sub-groups and which contains material relating to:
A Select Committee will not be entitled to:
All members will be entitled to inspect any document which is in the possession or under the control of the Executive or its sub-groups and contains material relating to any business previously transacted at a private meeting unless either (a) or (b) below applies:
All members of the Council will be entitled to inspect any document (except those available only in draft form) in the possession or under control of the Executive or its sub-groups which relates to any key decision unless paragraph (a) or (b) above applies.
These rights of a member are additional to any other right he/she may have.
No member of the Council, nor any co-opted member of any committee or sub-committee shall, without the permission of the Council or the Executive (in respect of executive functions) or the appropriate committee or sub-committee (in respect of functions which are not executive functions) disclose any exempt or confidential matter unless that matter is has been placed in the public domain by the Council, the Executive or the appropriate committee or sub-committee.
There is no legal definition of what the public interest is but the following are some of the relevant considerations.
When applying the public interest test, ask yourself the following questions:
There will be difficult decisions where you will need to decide where the balance lies.
The report writer initially and they need to be clear about their reasons and include these in the body of the report. It will then be up to whoever considers the report to decide whether they agree. This could be the Executive, a member of the Executive, a committee, sub-committee or panel.
Openness is in the public interest. There is a presumption that all information will be public.
It is not often that the whole of a report is exempt. Where there is exempt information it should be put in a separate schedule to the report so that if a freedom of Information request is received, the exempt material can be easily identified.
