Watchdogs and partnerships

1. Watchdogs and partnerships

2. Media Access • Right to attend meetings and see documents • The Press and the Public have automatic access to all council, committee and sub committee meetings unless the business is confidential or exempt • Confidential business: Information supplied by Govt marked as confidential, matters where disclosure is forbidden by statuteor by the courts such as a social service cases of child abuse where the identity of the child is protected by the Children Act • Exempt business involves personal or commercially sensitive information, issues which are the subject of active negotiation( e.g pay rates/ the levels of redundancy payments) or issues which are the subject of legal privilege

3. Granting exclusion • Before the press and public can be excluded, the committee must pass a proposed and seconded resolution. The resolution must give the reason why a discussion would be prejudicial to the public interest.

4. Access rules • Agendas and reports must be made available at least five working days before the meeting - and must be available at meetings. • Committees are not allowed to discuss anything that has not been open for inspection for five days unless the chair rules that a particular item is a matter of urgency. • Reports must list any background papers used in drawing them up - and those background papers must be made available on demand. • Press and public have right to attend cabinet meetings, committees and the full council and the council must make reasonable provision e.ga press bench and public gallery. • The right to attend cabinet meetings is limited to what are known as key decisions- ie decisions which will affect two or more wards or involve a significant amount of money. • If there is a huge public interest and not enough room, the committee can exclude the public but not the press. • There is no statutory right to film or take photographs at meetings

5. No access • Limited access to parish council meetings • Parish council sub-committees are not open to the public/press • Public/press can also be excluded from full parish committee and council meetings if members believe publicity would prejudice the public interest or because of the confidential nature of the items being discussed

6. Other rights: • Access to a register of planning applications • Access to a record of payments made to councillors • Access to the statutory register of members interests • Access to local government commissions’ (ombudsman’s) reports • Access to the annual accounts • The right to inspect the annual audit • The right to information on which the council tax is based • The rights which are most underused by the media are the access to background papers used in compiling reports and the right to inspect the annual audit

7. Qualified Privilege • Remember media are covered by qualified privilege when reporting on council and committee meetings • If member of public says to a councillor “you’re a thieving liar” even though this is libellous you can report it without fear of prosecution • Protected under the 1996 Defamation Act, as long the report is: 1) fair and accurate 2) published without malice 3) a matter of public concern 4) published for public benefit • This includes what anyone says in a public meeting and information in public documents, also includes press releases, reports on council like Ombudsman report / audit commission report • Press conference is ruled as a public meeting so same privilege applies • However all of these are subject to explanation or contradiction, meaning if someone challenges your report the media organisation must publish a letter or statement in response • However no protection of qualified privilege if it is a matter prohibited by law, i.e social services case naming abused child

8. Other sources • Agendas, minutes and documents • Press office - as starting point only • Freedom of Information (publication schemes) • Councillors • Officers • Community contacts • Resident Association meetings

9. Public consultation • Councils increasingly encouraged to use public consultation to prevent public outcry, involve public in democratic process, particularly controversial issues like large housing developments • A public consultation can be a meeting, sending out leaflets and asking for a response, holding an exhibition, putting information online • They have legal obligation to carry out ‘consultation’ in certain areas, e.g housing development of more than 60 homes has to be advertised with a site notice, budget plans require wider consultation like public meetings / website updates • Councillors have to ‘consider’ the responses to a public consultation but rarely do instead ploughing ahead with the plans, although sometimes slightly altering them • Still seen by many as a ‘box-ticking’ exercise to get controversial plans through

10. Audit Commission • How a council spends tax payers money efficiently subject of scrutiny by the Audit Commission which appoints auditors to inspect the accounts of every local authority • Auditor there to make sure they are efficient (value for money) and issues a report on the way councils manage their budgets • The auditor steps in when something wrong with budget like an overspend • The audit commission is to be abolished by the coalition govt and replaced either by accountancy firms • Councils will also have to publish more financial details like salaries of senior officers

11. Court intervention • There are a number of legal processes which can be used to reverse council decisions. • The judicial review - which asks courts to rule on the legality of a decision - to determine whether or not a council is acting beyond its power • http://www.times-series.co.uk/news/topstories/4772964.Judicial_review_against_Barnet_Council_s_warden_decision_opens/ • A writ of mandamus - which asks a court to instruct a council to carry out its public duty • Prohibition and certiorari - to stop councils doing something outside their jurisdiction or in breach of natural justice. • Declarations and injunctions

12. Government intervention Parliament uses its legislative powers to: • instruct councils to do something which must be carried out - a Mandatory Act • or to offer them powers which must adopted by resolution – an Adoptive Act • or give them discretion to do something - a Permissive Act • Ministers can arbitrate and step in, in disputes between individuals or organisations and the council • The Commissioners for Local Administration- the Ombudsman investigate administrative decisions - not policy - of local authorities, police authorities, national parks, urban development corporations, and new town corporations - but only at the request of individuals who have a grievance about the way they have been treated administratively. • Their report can recommend apologies, compensation or changes in procedure. • http://cms.redbridge.gov.uk/news_and_events/latest_news/council_accepts_ombudsman_find.aspx • Copies of the judgement is made available to the Press. If a council is criticised it has three months to decide what action it will take to put things right. Only a full council meeting can decide to ignore an ombudsman recommendation. If they do he can make a further report and require the authority to publish a statement in any two local newspapers.

13. Localism Bill • Make sure you know the general changes to be brought in by the Localism Bill particularly those about giving more freedom to local authorities and empowering the public • For example: Local people and communities' will have bigger say over their area through a new right to challenge to take over services; a new right to bid to buy local assets such as libraries, pubs and shops; a new right to veto excessive council tax rises through a referendum • http://www.communities.gov.uk/news/newsroom/1794971

14. Partnerships

15. Joint boards and authorities • Local authorities sometimes provide services on a joint basis with other authorities, through bodies known as joint-boards or joint authorities • They are not directly elected but are made up of councillors appointed from the authorities which are covered by the service • They are often created to avoid splitting up certain services when unitary authorities are created, or a county or district council is abolished • They also exist if several authorities are considered too small (in terms of either geographic size or population) to run a service effectively by themselves • Services run by joint-boards include police, fire, public transport and waste disposal • Some areas also have joint police forces covering several counties like Thames Valley Police - Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, so they have a joint police authority

16. South Yorkshire Joint Authorities • Make sure you understand the set up of joint authorities in South Yorkshire • http://www.southyorks.gov.uk/ • South Yorkshire fire & Rescue Authority • South Yorkshire Police Authority • South Yorkshire Pensions Authority • South Yorkshire Integrated Transport Authority

17. Local Strategic Partnerships • To prevent councils from being too controlled by politics unelected bodieshave been set up with representatives from industry, police, universities, health service, business etc. • They created context in which councils provided services and shaped future policy for local economy and social well being • They prepared + implemented strategy for their area, kept track of progress and up-dated it • LSP doing good • But: expensive quangos seen as 'talking shops' • Many will disappear by April

18. Sheffield First • http://www.sheffieldfirst.org.uk/the-partnership • City vision • Big Ambitions for the city are: 1. Sheffield to have an economy that matches best in Europe 2. Sheffield to establish excellence in its public transport system 3. Every neighbourhood to be a successful neighbourhood 4. Everyone to be able to fulfil their potential through learning and enterprise 5. Sheffield to be an attractive +sustainable, low-carbon city

19. Arms Length Services • Many local councils, faced with the reality of years of Govt cuts have transferred services to trusts or “ partnerships” which can raise money outside the various central government restrictions • In some cities the art galleries, museums and sporting facilities have been passed over to such a trust . These trusts and partnerships have councillors on their boards but they also include local worthies and businessmen and their business is not open to the same kind of media scrutiny as council committees. • Museums Sheffield is a trust running 4 museums taken over from Sheffield City Council • Councils have also been encouraged to offer the running of the services to private companies . E.grubbish collections and disposal which used to be run by the council is often run by a French company called Veolia on a contract negotiated with the council (usually three to five years) • The Govt also supports social enterprise as an alternative provider of services such as care homes, child care, housing associations etc.