Requirement to make public an agenda

Question

As I understand it there is no legal obligation to make public the agenda of a Parish Council meeting, either in advance of the meeting or indeed at all? The Local Government Act 1972, Sch 12, part 2, para 10 (2)(a) says that:

notice of the time and place of the intended meeting shall be fixed in some conspicuous place in the parish

and only:

where the meeting is called by members of the council, the notice shall be signed by those members and shall specify the business proposed to be transacted at the meeting

Clearly any Parish Council as a matter of good practice will publish its agenda, but can it really be right that there is no legal obligation to do so?

Answer 1

I have now found an answer to my own question - at least for parish councils with an annual turnover not exceeding £25,000. The Transparency code for smaller authorities (December 2014) says:

Smaller authorities should also publish meeting agendas, which should be as full and informative as possible, and associated meeting papers not later than three clear days before the meeting to which they relate is taking place. (Para 30). 

'Clear days' are not defined.

I can't see that there are any sanctions for breaking this (or any other part of the Transparency Code).

Answer 2

Another consideration is the Freedom of Information Act. It doesn't just cover requests for information. Local councils (indeed all public authorities) need to have a publication schedule and to publish information in accordance with the schedule. Agendas for meetings, along with their supporting documents, certainly form part of the requirement for an acceptable publication schedule.