Commentary on Sections Introduction Chapter 2: Overview and Scrutiny Committees Section 121: Powers to require information from partner authorities
283.This section inserts section 22A after section 22 of the Local Government Act 2000.
284.Subsection (1) of inserted section 22A provides for the Secretary of State to make regulations which determine what information relevant partner authorities must provide to a relevant committee or may not disclose to such a committee.
285.“Relevant partner authority” is defined in new section 21C(8), which is inserted by section 122, and means a person who is a partner authority in relation to a local authority for the purposes of Chapter 1 of Part 5 (local area agreements), except for a police authority or a chief officer of police.
286.“Relevant committee” is defined in section 21C(8) of the Local Government Act 2000, which is inserted by section 122, and means any overview and scrutiny committee of an authority which is required to prepare LAAs under Chapter 1 of Part 5 of the Act.
287.The type of information about which regulations may be made under subsection (1) of section 22A does not include information that can be the subject of regulations made under section 20(5)(c) or (d) of the Police and Justice Act 2006 or section 244(2)(d) or (e) of the National Health Service Act 2006.
288.Section 22A(4) will enable regulations to be made about the information which “associated authorities” may or may not provide to a “relevant district council committee”. A relevant district council committee is defined by section 22A(6) as the overview and scrutiny committee of a district council which is not a responsible local authority – that is, the committee of a district council in a two-tier area, or a sub-committee of such a committee. An associated authority is defined in section 22A(6) as either a partner authority (except a police authority or the chief officer of police) or the county council in that two-tier area.
289.Section 22A(5) sets out that information about which the Secretary of State can make provision, under new section 22A(4), does not include information for which provision can be made under either section 20(5)(c) or (d) of the Police and Justice Act 2006. As section 244 of the National Health Service Act 2006 does not apply to district authorities in two tier areas, the Secretary of State may make provision about health related information in the regulations that can be made under new section 22A(4).
290.Section 22A(7) allows for regulations made under this section to make different provision in relation to different persons – that is, partner authorities or associated authorities – and committees and in relation to different descriptions of such persons or committees. Section 22A(8) makes clear that the power in section 22A(7) does not affect the power in section 105(2)(b) of the Local Government Act 2000 that orders and regulations may make different provisions for different cases, authorities or descriptions of authority.
291.Subsection (6A) of section 20 of the Police and Justice Act 2006, which is inserted by subsection (2) of section 121, makes it clear that information about which provision can be made in regulations made under that section can only relate to the discharge of crime and disorder functions and local crime and disorder matters.
292.Subsection (2A) of section 244 of the National Health Service Act 2006, which is inserted by subsection (4) of section 121, makes it clear that information about which provision can be made in regulations made under that section can only relate to the health service in the local authority’s area.