Tower Hamlets Constitution

These rules apply to all meetings of Council, Overview and Scrutiny Committee, Scrutiny Sub-Committees and Panels, the Standards Advisory Committee, regulatory and other Committees, Sub-Committees and public meetings of the Executive (together called “meetings”).

These rules do not affect any more specific rights to information contained elsewhere in this Constitution or the law.

Members of the public may attend all meetings subject only to the exceptions in these rules.

The Council will give at least five clear working days’ notice not including the day that notice is given or the day of any meeting by posting details of the meeting at Tower Hamlets Town Hall, 160 Whitechapel Road, London E1 1BJ (the designated office).

If the meeting is convened at shorter notice than five clear working days, notice is to be given by the Council in the same manner set out above at the time the meeting is convened.

The Council will make copies of the agenda and reports open to the public available for inspection on the Council’s website and at the designated office at least five clear working days before the meeting except;

Where the meeting is convened at shorter notice, copies of the agenda and report shall be open to inspection from the time the meeting is convened, and

Where an item is added to an agenda copies of which are open to inspection by the public, copies of the item (and of the revised agenda) and copies of any report for the meeting relating to that item, shall be open to inspection from the time the item is added to the agenda.

“Five clear working days” excludes the day of the meeting, the day on which the meeting is called, weekends and bank holidays.

“Special circumstances” justifying an item being considered as a matter of urgency will relate to both why the decision could not be made by calling a meeting allowing the proper time for inspection as well as why the item or report could not have been available for inspection for five clear days before the meeting.

Where the item of business relates to a key decision Rules 14-19 also apply.

The Council will supply copies of:

any agenda and reports which are open to public inspection;

any further statements or particulars necessary to indicate the nature of the items in the agenda; and

if the Monitoring Officer thinks fit, any other documents supplied to Councillors in connection with an item,

to any person who makes a request to view copies of these documents on payment of a charge for postage and any other costs.

The Council will make available copies of the following for six years after a meeting:

the minutes of the meeting or records of decisions taken together with reasons, for all meetings excluding any part of the minutes of proceedings when the meeting was not open to the public or which disclose exempt or confidential information;

a summary of any proceedings not open to the public where the minutes open to inspection would not provide a reasonably fair and coherent record;

the agenda for the meeting; and reports relating to items when the meeting was open to the public.

List of Background Papers.The Director of Legal will set out in every report a list of those documents (called background papers) relating to the subject matter of the report which in her/his opinion:

disclose any facts or matters on which the report or an important part of the report is based; andwhich have been relied on to a material extent in preparing the report,

but does not include published works or those which disclose exempt or confidential information (as defined in Rule 11) or in respect of reports to the Executive, the advice of a political adviser or assistant.

Publication andPublic Inspection of Background Papers. The Council will publish background papers on the Council’s website and will make available for public inspection for four years after the date of the meeting one copy of each of the documents on the list of background papers.

This constitution sets out the public’s rights to attend meetings and to inspect and copy documents shall be kept at and available to the public at the designated office.

Confidential Information–Requirement to Exclude Public. The public must be excluded from meetings or those part or parts of meetings whenever it is likely in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings that confidential information (as defined in Rule 11.4 below) would be disclosed in breach of the obligation of confidence.

Exempt Information–Discretion to Exclude Public. The public may be excluded from meetings or those part or parts of meetings whenever it is likely in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings that exempt information (as defined in Rule 11.5 below) would be disclosed and the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

Where the meeting will determine any person’s civil rights or obligations, or adversely affect their possessions, Article 6 of the Human Rights Act 1998 establishes a presumption that the meeting will be held in public unless a private hearing is necessary for one of the reasons specified in Article 6.

Meaning of Confidential Information.Confidential information means information given to the Council by a Government Department on terms which forbid its public disclosure or information which the disclosure of which to the public is prohibited by or under any enactment or by the order of a court. This includes information excluded under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 or the Data Protection Act 2018.

Meaning of Exempt Information. Exempt information is those for the time being specified in Part I of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972, namely:

Information relating to any individual. Information which is likely to reveal the identity of an individual.

Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority handling the information)[Information is not exempt under this category if it is required to be registered under the Companies Acts 1985 and 2006, the Friendly Societies Act 1974 and 1992, the Industrial and Provident Societies Acts 1965 to 1978, the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014 or the Charities Acts 1993 and 2011.]

Information relating to any consultations or negotiations, or contemplated consultations or negotiations, in connection with any labour relations matters arising between the authority or a Minister of the Crown and employees of, or office holders under, the authority.

Information in respect of which a claim to legal professional privilege could be maintained in legal proceedings.

Information which reveals that the authority proposes:-

to give under any enactment a notice under or by virtue of which requirements are imposed on a person; or

to make an order or direction under any enactment.

Information relating to any action taken or to be taken in connection with the prevention, investigation or prosecution of crime.

Information falling within any of the categories 1-7 of Rule 11.5 above are not exempt by virtue of that paragraph if it relates to proposed development for which the local planning authority can grant itself planning permission under Regulation 3 of the Town and Country Planning General Regulations 1992.

Excluding the public to prevent disorder. Under Reg 4(2) of the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012, members of the public can be excluded from a meeting in order to maintain orderly conduct or to prevent misbehaviour at a meeting.

If the Monitoring Officer thinks fit, the Council may exclude access by the public to reports which in his/ her opinion relate to items during which, in accordance with Rule 11, the meeting or those part or parts of the meeting is likely not to be open to the public. Such reports will be marked “Not for publication” together with the category of information likely to be disclosed (see Rule 11.5 above for the categories).

Rules 14-25 apply to the Executive and its Committees (and which term includes Sub-Committees and other decision making meetings). If the Executive or one of its Committees meets to take a key decision or meets in public then it must also comply with Rules 1-11 unless Rule 18 (urgency - general exception) or Rule 19 (urgency - special urgency) apply. A key decision is defined in [ ] of this Constitution.

If the Executive or one of its Committees meets to discuss a key decision to be taken collectively, with an officer other than a political assistant present, within twenty-eight days of the date by which it is to be decided, then it must also comply with Rules 1-11 unless Rule 18 (urgency - general exception) or Rule 19 (urgency - special urgency) apply. This requirement does not include meetings whose sole purpose is for officers to brief Members.

Subject to Rule 18 (urgency - general exception) and Rule 19 (urgency - special urgency), a key decision shall not be taken unless:

a notice has been published in connection with the matter in question at both the offices of the Council and on the Council’s website;

at least twenty-eight days have elapsed since the notice has been published; and

where the decision is to be taken at a meeting of the Executive or a Committee of the Executive, notice of the meeting has been given in accordance with Rule 4 (notice of meeting).

A notice shall be published under Rule 14 in respect of any matter which the Mayor has reason to believe will be the subject of a key decision to be taken by the Mayor, the Executive, a Committee of the Executive, an individual member of the Executive, an officer or under joint arrangements in the course of the discharge of an executive function.

In addition, a notice shall be published under Rule 14 in respect of those items of business which the Executive intends to consider and which form part of the policy framework and where the Executive will be making recommendations to Council.

Each notice published under Rule 14 shall contain the below details as far as reasonably practicable:

that a key decision is to be made on behalf of the Council;the matter in respect of which the decision is to be made;

where the decision maker is an individual, her/his name and title, if any; and, where the decision maker is a decision making body, its name and a list of its members;

the date on which or the period within which the decision is to be made;

a list of the documents submitted to the decision maker for consideration in relation to the matter in respect of which the decision is to be made;

the address from which, subject to any prohibition or restriction on their disclosure, copies of, or extracts from, any document listed is available;

that other documents relevant to those matters may be submitted to the decision maker; and

the procedure for requesting details of those documents (if any) as they become available.