(1)A council shall keep a separate account of its expenditure on publicity.
(2)Any person interested may at any reasonable time and without payment inspect the account and make copies of it or any part of it.
(3)A person having custody of the account who intentionally obstructs a person in the exercise of the rights conferred by subsection (2) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.
(4)The Department may by order provide that subsection (1) does not apply to publicity or expenditure of a prescribed description.
(5)Before making an order under subsection (4) the Department shall consult such councils, such associations or bodies representative of councils and such other associations or public bodies as appear to the Department to be desirable.]