East Kilbride News
A regular reader from South Lanarkshire has sent me a copy of the following letter - which appeared recently in the East Kilbride News.
Freedom of Information - Make information public
THE withholding of information necessary for im-plementation of Single Status package by South Lanarkshire Council, its impact on equal pay and the council's refusal to publish basic pay inform-ation is becoming a very contentious issue.
South Lanarkshire Council is refusing to publish basic pay information about traditional male coun-cil jobs. This is totally unacceptable on a number of counts. The refusal to release this information not only undermines efforts to achieve equal pay but is entirely contrary to the transparency and account-ability that the public has a right to expect from local government officials and elected members. It is also completely against the spirit of the Freedom of Information Act.
Other local authorities, including Glasgow and North Lanarkshire, made this information public long ago. At a time when councils across Scotland are facing tough decisions, precious resources must not be squandered obstructing the release of in-formation which should be freely available.
Margaret Mitchell, Scottish Conservative MSP for Central Scotland.
Freedom of Information - Make information public
THE withholding of information necessary for im-plementation of Single Status package by South Lanarkshire Council, its impact on equal pay and the council's refusal to publish basic pay inform-ation is becoming a very contentious issue.
South Lanarkshire Council is refusing to publish basic pay information about traditional male coun-cil jobs. This is totally unacceptable on a number of counts. The refusal to release this information not only undermines efforts to achieve equal pay but is entirely contrary to the transparency and account-ability that the public has a right to expect from local government officials and elected members. It is also completely against the spirit of the Freedom of Information Act.
Other local authorities, including Glasgow and North Lanarkshire, made this information public long ago. At a time when councils across Scotland are facing tough decisions, precious resources must not be squandered obstructing the release of in-formation which should be freely available.
Margaret Mitchell, Scottish Conservative MSP for Central Scotland.
