If At First You Don't Succeed
For almost a year now I have been asking South Lanarkshire Council to confirm the pay details of some of its traditional male jobs - in response to a Freedom of Information request.
The council refused my request - which is par for the course - on the grounds that this information amounted to personal data.
I asked for a review explaining that the information requested was clearly not personal - because it related only to the job and not to any individual person.
The council stood by its original decision and the case was appealed to the Scottish Information Commissioner - who initiated an investigation.
But since the original request was made the council has raised a new objection - never previously put directly to me - that the cost of meeting the request exceeded £600.
If the cost of a meeting single request exceeds £600, the council is not under a legal FOI obligation to disclose the information - though it could do so on a voluntary basis, of course.
When I heard this I thought - this must be how the House of Commons and the Speaker's Office behaved over MPs' expenses.
The council's attitude seems to be - delay, frustrate and (whatever you do) don't co-operate - with what looks like a perfectly simple request.
So, the request is now being re-submitted - because the simple truth is that people are entitled to know how public money is being spent.
If you have something to share about Freedom of Information - in your own local area - drop Mark Irvine a note at: markirvine@compuserve.com
The council refused my request - which is par for the course - on the grounds that this information amounted to personal data.
I asked for a review explaining that the information requested was clearly not personal - because it related only to the job and not to any individual person.
The council stood by its original decision and the case was appealed to the Scottish Information Commissioner - who initiated an investigation.
But since the original request was made the council has raised a new objection - never previously put directly to me - that the cost of meeting the request exceeded £600.
If the cost of a meeting single request exceeds £600, the council is not under a legal FOI obligation to disclose the information - though it could do so on a voluntary basis, of course.
When I heard this I thought - this must be how the House of Commons and the Speaker's Office behaved over MPs' expenses.
The council's attitude seems to be - delay, frustrate and (whatever you do) don't co-operate - with what looks like a perfectly simple request.
So, the request is now being re-submitted - because the simple truth is that people are entitled to know how public money is being spent.
If you have something to share about Freedom of Information - in your own local area - drop Mark Irvine a note at: markirvine@compuserve.com
