With a variety of local and regional elections coming up in May, and the EU referendum in June, purdah and the sensitivity of the pre-election period is at the forefront of many people’s minds. So how does this work with the handling of FoI requests by public authorities and national Commissioners? The issue hit the headlines Continue reading
Tag: local government
Important development in local government transparency
The Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012 (SI 2012/2089) came into force this week (10 September). The aim is to enhance the transparency of local government decision-making, including through the detailed prescription of what an officer must record in relation to an “executive” decision (see regulation 13(4)). Exactly how far does this extend? What counts as an executive decision? These and other thorny issues under the new regulations have been addressed by 11KBW’s Clive Sheldon QC, whose legal advice is discussed in this piece by Dr Nicholas Dobson of Pannone LLP and in this piece by Philip Hoult in the Local Government Lawyer, which also features commentary on the new regulations by Geoff Wild of Kent County Council here.
Robin Hopkins