Schedule 6 – Functioning of public bodies Part 4 – Local authority meetings
248.Paragraph 13 modifies section 50A of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973. This modification creates a new provision which provides that, for the duration of the coronavirus crisis, local authorities have the power to exclude the public from its meetings if the local authority considers that, if members of the public are present, this would create a real or substantial risk to public health, specifically relating to infection or contamination by coronavirus.
249.Paragraph 14 modifies section 50H (2)(b) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, and provides that the existing requirement for local authorities to provide hard copies or extracts of a document requested by a member of the public in their offices will no longer be a compulsory obligation upon a local authority, and allows the local authority to provide such hard copies or extracts only if it is reasonably practicable to do so.