Tim Prater

Words I didn't expect to say: I Agree With Eric.

The below press release from the Department of Communities and Local Government sets out a series of measures designed to open up local government, make decisions more open and reduce restrictions on reporting from meetings by the public. All seems to be good stuff - but the devil will be in the detail.

A few thoughts: restrictions on people in the public gallery at meetings tweeting, blogging or even recording meetings has always been crazy. I hope that these changes fully, comprehensively and fully ensure no-one is barred from doing so in future. I've been to too many meetings - and Shepway District Council has been a repeat offender on this - where the Chairman has attempted to stop people tweeting from the public gallery. Just because someone doesn't have "press accreditation" should not remove their right to comment and report. If you could set your phones to silent though, that would be considerate.

"Private" meetings are far less used / common than you may think - can't actually remember an instance where I've been aware of a Council holding a fully private meeting (although, maybe that would be the point). Although making it more difficult to hold them is therefore fine, it fails to deal with the main problem: LOTS of business is conducted at Council meetings under "Exclusion of Press and Public" on the grounds that there may be personal or commercially confidential information discussed on a specific item.

The problem with that is that it covers a multitude of sins: what is "personal" or "commercially confidential" enough to make it reasonable to exclude the public? Unsurprisingly, Councils tend to think more items are than others perhaps would - I've challenged "exclusions" on a number of occasions, as I believe as many items as possible should be discussed in open. Making the rules much tighter on what type of items should be covered under "exclusion" will be the key point - I look forward to seeing the detail of that legislation and whether it actually does so.

The improved access for Councillors to papers is also really good news. Councils DO refuse to give papers / reports sometimes: a recent example was where Kent refused to disclose a report that had been commissioned and published in September 2011 - but only to a very limited number of people. That report was leaked to the press, earlier this year, but even when Councillors asked to see it, they were refused - despite it being with the local press! I have since been given a copy of that report by the Council, and had a useful briefing on what they plan to do with it, but withholding that report from Councillors is a clear example of an action that should not be allowed - and hopefully will no longer be under the new rules. About time too.

Deptartment of Communities and Local Government Press Release: Town Hall doors unlocked to social media and bloggers - 23rd August

New law changes to introduce greater openness and transparency in executive councils meetings will mean all decisions including those affecting budgets and local services will have to be taken in an open and public forum, Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles announced today.

Ministers have put new regulations before Parliament that would come into force next month to extend the rights of people to attend all meetings of a council's executive, its committees and subcommittees.

The changes will result in greater public scrutiny. The existing media definition will be broadened to cover organisations that provide internet news thereby opening up councils to local online news outlets. Individual councillors will also have stronger rights to scrutinise the actions of their council.

Any executive decision that would result in the council incurring new spending or savings significantly affecting its budget or where it would affect the communities of two or more council wards will have to be taken in a more transparent way as a result.

Crucially councils will no longer be able to cite political advice as justification for closing a meeting to the public and press. In addition any intentional obstruction or refusal to supply certain documents could result in a fine for the individual concerned.

The changes clarify the limited circumstances where meetings can be closed, for example, where it is likely that a public meeting would result in the disclosure of confidential information. Where a meeting is due to be closed to the public, the council must now justify why that meeting is to be closed and give 28 days notice of such decision.

As a consequence of the greater levels of transparency around meetings, the Government is able to remove unnecessary and bureaucratic red tape on forward plans introduced by legislation in 2000.

Eric Pickles said:

"Every decision a council takes has a major impact on the lives of local people so it is crucial that whenever it takes a significant decision about local budgets that affect local communities whether it is in a full council meeting or in a unheard of sub-committee it has got to be taken in the full glare of all the press and any of the public.

"Margaret Thatcher was first to pry open the doors of Town Hall transparency. Fifty years on we are modernising those pioneering principles so that every kind of modern journalists can go through those doors - be it from the daily reporter, the hyper-local news website or the armchair activist and concerned citizen blogger - councils can no longer continue to persist with a digital divide."

Chris Taggart, of OpenlyLocal.com, which has long championed the need to open council business up to public scrutiny, added:

"In a world where hi-definition video cameras are under £100 and hyperlocal bloggers are doing some of the best council reporting in the country, it is crazy that councils are prohibiting members of the public from videoing, tweeting and live-blogging their meetings."

Notes to Editors

1. The Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012 (the 2012 Regulations) (external link) will come into force on 10 September 2012. Changes include:

• Presumption in favour of openness: In the past councils could cite political advice as justification for closing a meeting to the public and press, or state that decisions being made were not 'key decisions'. The new regulations create a presumption that all meetings of the executive, its committees and subcommittees are to be held in public (regulation 3) unless a narrowly defined legal exception applies. A meeting will only be held in private if confidential information would be disclosed, or a resolution has been passed to exclude the public because exempt information is likely is be disclosed, or a lawful power is used to exclude the public in order to maintain orderly conduct at the meeting (regulation 4).

- Confidential information is information provided to the council by a Government department upon terms which forbid disclosure to the public or information which statute or a court order prohibits from being disclosed to the public.

- Exempt information is set out in Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 and it includes information about a person, or information that would reveal their identity, consultations or negotiations relating of labour relations, or information in connection with preventing and detecting crime.

• New legal rights for citizen reporters: Local authorities are now obliged to provide reasonable facilities for members of the public to report the proceedings as well as accredited newspapers (regulation 4). This will make it easier for new 'social media' reporting of council executive meetings thereby opening proceedings up to internet bloggers, tweeting and hyperlocal news forums.
• Holding private meetings: In the past council executives could hold meetings in private without giving public notice. Where a meeting is to be held in private, the executive or committee must provide 28 days notice during which the public may make representations about why the meeting should be held in public. Where the notice requirements for a private meeting and an agreement of the chairman of the relevant overview and scrutiny committee or chairman of the relevant local authority has been obtained, the decision-making body must publish a notice as soon as reasonably practicable explaining why the meeting is urgent and cannot be deferred (regulation 5).
• Less red tape for councils: Removing internal bureaucracy introduced by the last Government about 'key decisions', quarterly reports and 'forward plans'. Instead, a document explaining the key decision to be made, the matter in respect of which a decision would be made, the documents to be considered before the decision is made, and the procedures for requesting details of those documents, has to be published (regulations 9).
• Special urgent decision: Where it is impossible to meet the publication requirements before a key decision is made and an agreement has been obtained from the chairman of the relevant overview and scrutiny committee or the relevant local authority to make the key decision, the decision maker must publish a notice to explain the reasons why the making of the decision is urgent (regulation 11). Previously no notice was required.
• Stronger rights of individual councillors: Where an executive has in its the possession a document that contains materials relating to a business to be discussed at a public meeting, members of the local authority have additional rights to inspect such a document at least five days before the meeting (regulation 16). Previously no timescale existed.
• Stronger rights for scrutiny members: Where the executive decides not to release the whole or part of a document to a member of an overview and scrutiny committee as requested by a councillor, it must provide a written statement to explain the reasons for not releasing such document (regulation 17).
• Publication requirement: Publication of any notice by a decision-making body or a proper officer; or any document in relation to a key decision or public meeting and background papers must be on the relevant local authority's website (regulations 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 14, 15, and 21).

2. The Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act 1960 opened up meetings to the public, allowing members of the public and press to attend meetings of certain public bodies including councils. Margaret Thatcher was the backbench MP who championed this as a Private Members Bill.

3. Part 5A of the Local Government Act of 1972 (external link) applies to access to meetings and documents of the full council and committees of the councils. It states that 'duly accredited representatives of newspapers' should be afforded 'reasonable facilities' to attend council meetings 'for the purpose of reporting proceedings for those newspapers'. It also sets out that for those parts of council meetings that are open to the public, councils are prevented from ejecting members of the public unless they are guilty of disorderly conduct or other 'misbehaviour'.

4. The Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985 (external link) provides for greater public access to local authority meetings reports and documents subject to specified confidentiality provisions; to give local authorities duties to publish certain information; and for related purposes.