Daylight is the Best Disinfectant
Last year I asked South Lanarkshire - via a Freedom of Information (FOI) request - to explain the hourly rate of pay for certain categories of male dominated council jobs.
As usual with requests about equal pay - the council refused to provide the information - on the basis that this was personal data covered by the Data Protection Act.
I asked for a review which is part of the FOI regime - arguing that the information did not amount to personal data - because it was requested on an anonymous basis and could be used to identify any individual.
In essence, the request was about the job and not the person - but at the eleventh hour the council suddenly changed tack - and decided that this was not really a matter of principle after all - but a simple matter of cost.
South Lanarkshire claimed it did not have to provide the information - because the cost of doing so would exceed £600 - allowing them to claim an exemption under the Freedom of Information Act.
In my view, this was a completely cynical move on the part of South Lanarkshire Council - a deliberate time wasting tactic - and an abuse of the FOI process.
Why else would the council wait until the last minute - to produce a new objection that had never been raised by the council before?
So, I submitted a new request on a different basis - details of which will follow shortly.
The council says this is vexatious and unreasonable behaviour - and that they should not have to disclose the information - to me or anyone else
I say this is how FOI campaigners must have felt when asking for details of MPs' expenses - from the previous Speaker's Office and House of Commons.
I also agree with the comment of Lord Nolan - who led the first Committee on Standards in Public Life - Lord Nolan said: 'Daylight is the best disinfectant'.
As usual with requests about equal pay - the council refused to provide the information - on the basis that this was personal data covered by the Data Protection Act.
I asked for a review which is part of the FOI regime - arguing that the information did not amount to personal data - because it was requested on an anonymous basis and could be used to identify any individual.
In essence, the request was about the job and not the person - but at the eleventh hour the council suddenly changed tack - and decided that this was not really a matter of principle after all - but a simple matter of cost.
South Lanarkshire claimed it did not have to provide the information - because the cost of doing so would exceed £600 - allowing them to claim an exemption under the Freedom of Information Act.
In my view, this was a completely cynical move on the part of South Lanarkshire Council - a deliberate time wasting tactic - and an abuse of the FOI process.
Why else would the council wait until the last minute - to produce a new objection that had never been raised by the council before?
So, I submitted a new request on a different basis - details of which will follow shortly.
The council says this is vexatious and unreasonable behaviour - and that they should not have to disclose the information - to me or anyone else
I say this is how FOI campaigners must have felt when asking for details of MPs' expenses - from the previous Speaker's Office and House of Commons.
I also agree with the comment of Lord Nolan - who led the first Committee on Standards in Public Life - Lord Nolan said: 'Daylight is the best disinfectant'.
