The government has taken action which should ensure that residents have more access to Council meetings and background papers.
The York Council will have to allow the media to film its meetings and residents will be able to “tweet” progress reports on debates.
Both these activities have been discouraged by the York Council during the last couple of years.
The new code which can be accessed by clicking here specifically highlights the need for the local authority to avoid the possibility of any filming deterring “public speakers”.
One key change is that “decision takers” are now required to publish background papers in advance of a decision being made. At present when a cabinet member makes a decision on their own (or in consultation with an officer) the York Council publishes the background papers and the decision on the same day – effectively preventing residents from making representations n the issue.
The code says that withholding a document can be a criminal offence
It is a criminal offence if, without a reasonable excuse, a person who has in his or her custody a document10, which the national rules require to be made available to the public, refuses to supply the whole or part of the document or intentionally obstructs any other person/s from disclosing such a document.
If a person is found guilty of such a criminal offence, he/she can be fined up to £200.
This appears to address the recent case of a Local Plan background document (a report by ARUP into housing growth in the City) which was withheld by officials on the grounds that it was a “draft” report.
Now any background document which is considered by the Cabinet/Executive must be made available to the public.
This is a major test for the York Council.
Either it will honour the spirit of the code and require greater transparency in its decision making processes or it will seek to exploit any loopholes in the legislation that it can find.
