ICO raps Welsh council over failure to disclose information about education consultants

The Information Commissioner has ruled that a council in Wales breached the Freedom of Information Act by failing to provide details about the cost of employing education consultants, the BBC has reported.

In response to a request from Welsh Assembly member Leanne Wood, Vale of Glamorgan council said it spent £46,000 on the two consultants. However, it did not say how many days they worked or what each was paid.

According to the BBC, the commissioner, Anne Jones, said she had not been provided with firm arguments supporting Vale of Glamorgan’s view that disclosure would be prejudicial to the consultants or the council.

She added: “There is a strong public interest in transparency in relation to the use of public money and ensuring that public authorities are achieving the best price for work….outsourced to external companies.”

Jones ruled that the council had breached or incorrectly applied six sections of the FOIA.

Wood, a Plaid Cymru Assembly Member, called on the council to “end the cloak of secrecy”. She said: “People have a right to know how much of their money the authority is paying for these consultancy services – was it £500, £750 or £1,000 a day?”

Peter Evans, Vale of Glamorgan’s director of legal, public protection and housing, told the BBC that the breakdown provided by the authority demonstrated its commitment to transparency and public accountability.

He added: “We had grave concerns with regard to release of further information. One of the consultants had written to us to say that they considered the release would breach the Data Protection Act and the bills submitted by the other consultant contained personal details including his address, bank account and sort code.”

The council said it would inform the consultants of the decision notice and the appeals process.