Territorial Extent and Devolution Auditors' reports and recommendations Sections 24 to 28: Consideration of reports in public interest
66.These sections specify procedures relating to the handling of public interest reports issued under section 22.
67.Section 25 makes special provision about public interest reports sent to local authorities in Wales (as defined in section 59(5)), committees or joint committees thereof, National Park authorities in Wales, police authorities for police areas in Wales and fire and rescue authorities for areas in Wales, as established under the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004.
68.Under section 25, a local government body in Wales, other than a port health authority, a conservation board, an internal drainage board, or a local probation board , must meet to consider the report, together with any action the body proposes to take in respect of it, within 1 month from the day the report is sent to it. This period may be extended by the auditor if he considers an extension to be reasonable. A written recommendation made by the body’s auditor must be considered in accordance with the same procedures, if the auditor states that in his opinion it should be.
69.Other local government bodies (i.e. a port health authority, etc) in Wales must consider a public interest report as soon as practicable after receiving it (section 24(2)(a)). The difference is intended to take account of the fact that these other local government bodies tend to be smaller and have smaller administrative resources, so that it is more difficult for them to comply with a swift and rigid timetable.
70.Section 24 makes general provision to prevent a body which receives a report from hindering public access to its contents or to any meeting at which is it to be discussed. This applies, as a minimum, to all kinds of local government bodies in Wales, and to both immediate and non-immediate reports.
71.Section 26 lays down additional things that the larger local government bodies in Wales (local authorities, committees or joint committees thereof, National Park authorities, police authorities and fire and rescue authorities) must do to publicise a meeting at which a public interest report or an auditor’s written recommendation is to be discussed and the body’s decisions arising from the meeting.
72.Section 27 applies to all local government bodies in Wales, but only to immediate reports. It provides for additional publicity drawing the issue of such a report to the attention of the public, over and above what section 24 or 25 (as applicable) requires of the body concerned. It requires that immediate reports should be publicly available for inspection and that a copy should be supplied to all members of the body. It provides that the public should be informed, by means of a notice in a local newspaper as a minimum, of the subject-matter of the report and of their right to inspect it and take or obtain copies. A person who has custody of an immediate report commits an offence if he obstructs a member of the public from exercising his or her rights under the section.
73.The auditor may also notify anyone that he has made the report and supply a copy of it to anyone.
74.Section 28 applies to all local government bodies in Wales, but only to non-immediate reports. It prescribes arrangements, in addition to those set out in sections 24 and 25 (depending on the type of body concerned) for securing publicity for those reports. The provision gives the auditor the power to publish the report; notify any person that he has made the report; and supply a copy to any person. In addition, he must ensure that any member of the public may inspect the report and make a copy of it free of charge. Once one year has passed since the report was sent to the body, the auditor is no longer under these obligations, but they pass instead to the Auditor General for Wales.
75.The body concerned by the report must also supply a member of the public with a copy, on request and on payment of a reasonable sum (section 29(1)(c)).