Proposed amendments
Jami-Lee Ross, in Committee, to move the following amendments:
Clause 26
Before clause 26(1) (page 8, line 10), insert:
(1AA)
In Schedule 7, clause 15(2)(b)(i), after “1987”
insert “, including the requirements relating to member requests under that Act”
.
New clause 29A
After clause 29 (page 10, line 8), insert:
29A New section 10A inserted (Special provision for requests from members)
After section 10, insert:
10A Special provision for requests from members
(1)
Subject to subsection (5), this section applies when a local authority receives a request under section 10 from a member of that local authority (a member request).
(2)
This Act applies with the following modifications to a member request:
(a)
In determining whether good reason for withholding official information exists for the purposes of section 5, the local authority may consider only—
(i)
the conclusive reasons specified in section 6; and
(ii)
whether withholding the information is necessary to protect the privacy of natural persons, including that of deceased natural persons), subject to the consideration in section 7(1).
(b)
A local authority must not charge a member for the supply of official information in response to a member request.
(c)
A local authority must make a decision on a member request as soon as reasonably practicable, and in any event not later than 6 working days after the day on which the request is received by that local authority.
(3)
A member must not publicly disclose information received in response to a member request, unless—
(a)
the information is publicly available information; or
(b)
the chief executive has agreed to the release of the information; or
(c)
the member has received the information by other means (either before or after receiving the information in response to a member request); or
(d)
an Ombudsman has recommended that the information be made available in accordance with Part 5 of this Act.
(4)
If one or more of the exceptions to the prohibition on public disclosure set out in subsection (3)(a) to (d) applies to only part of the information received in response to a member request, the member may publicly disclose only that part of the information.
(5)
This section does not apply if a member states, when making a request under section 10, that he or she does not wish the request to be treated as a member request.