The Local Access Forums (England) Regulations 2002

Access to meetings and documents of a local access forum

7.—(1) A meeting of a local access forum shall be open to the public.

(2) The right of admission of the public conferred by paragraph (1) is without prejudice to any power of exclusion to suppress or prevent disorderly conduct or other misbehaviour at a meeting.

(3) Copies of the agenda for a meeting of a local access forum and copies of any report for the meeting shall be open to inspection by members of the public at the offices of the appointing authority in accordance with paragraph (4).

(4) Any document which is required by paragraph (3) to be open to inspection shall be so open at least three clear days before the meeting, except that—

(a)where the meeting is convened at shorter notice, the copies of the agenda and reports shall be open to inspection from the time the meeting is convened, and

(b)where an item is added to an agenda, copies of the document adding the item to the agenda (or of the revised agenda), and the copies of any report for the meeting relating to the item, shall be open to inspection from the time the item is added to the agenda,

but nothing in this paragraph requires copies of any agenda, document or report to be open to inspection by the public until copies are available to members of the local access forum.

(5) An item of business may not be considered at a meeting of a local access forum unless either—

(a)paragraph (4) has been complied with, or

(b)by reason of special circumstances, which shall be specified in the minutes, the chairman of the meeting is of the opinion that the item should be considered at the meeting as a matter of urgency.