Argyll and Bute Council Constitution - 3. The agenda and reports for meetings

Agenda

1. The summons will include an Agenda of the items of business for the meeting.  These will be set out in the order in which the Council will consider them, but this can be changed at the meeting. (CS)
    
2. An item of business may only be considered at a meeting of the Council if:- (CS)
    
   1. A copy of the Agenda, including the item, is available for any members of the public who wish to look at it, as provided in paragraph 3.3 below; or
       
   2. The Provost is of the opinion that the item should be considered at the meeting as a matter of urgency because there are special circumstances; in which case the special circumstances will be recorded in the minutes of the meeting.

The public can see copies of the Agenda and most reports

3. Copies of the Agenda and, except as set out in paragraph 3.4 below, copies of  any report for a meeting will be open and available at the Council’s Headquarters and on the Council website for at least 3 clear days before the meeting for any members of the public who may wish to look at these. (CS)

Reports can sometimes not be available to the public

4. When the Executive Director with responsibility for Legal and Regulatory Support   Services believes there is a proper reason she/he may exclude from the copies of reports which are to be available for members of the public who wish to look at them, the whole of a report (or any part of a report) which relates only to items of business which she/he thinks are likely to be considered when the meeting is not to be open to the public.  Every copy of any report in that category (or part of that report) will either:– (CS)
    
   1. Be marked “Not for Publication” and every copy (or the appropriate part) will say what kind of exempt information the report contains, in keeping with the law.  [The relevant law in this case is Schedule 7A to the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973].
       
   2. Be marked “Confidential” and every copy (or the appropriate part) will say that it contains confidential information, in keeping with the law.  [The relevant law in this case is Section 50A(3) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973].
       
5. It should be borne in mind that reports marked “Not for Publication” or “Confidential” containing information not open to the public at a meeting may require to be disclosed subsequently and made available in compliance with a request for information in terms of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002. (CS)
    
6. Reports from Directors for a meeting must be given to the Executive Director with responsibility for Legal and Regulatory Support Services as early as possible and certainly not later than noon two working days before the day on which the notice of the meeting is to be issued.  If the Director does not receive a particular report by that time, he may leave it off the Agenda. (CS) 
    
7. Recording - No sound, film, videotape, digital or photographic recording of the proceedings of any meeting shall be made without the prior approval of the Council or the Provost, other than recording of the proceedings of meetings agreed by the Council for webcasting or as a back-up for a live webcast, or as an alternative where live webcasting is not possible. (CS)