Mid Devon Council prevaricates over information laws

It's ticked off by watchdog

The watchdog that oversees information requests from the public has ruled against Mid Devon District Council in another case, accusing it of providing “poor arguments,” delaying publication of information the public has a right to know and not showing it understands the law.

Former district councillor Barry Warren put in a request for information related to the authority’s now defunct housing developer, 3 Rivers.

The council closed the controversial housing firm earlier this year.

Mr Warren asked three questions, essentially seeking information about who was interviewed by a group of four councillors tasked with creating a ‘lessons learned’ report, and also about the documents examined.

The council initially provided partial answers to his first question, but stated information was “not available” for his other two requests.

It then changed its response about the documents, from being ‘unavailable’ to ‘already in the public domain’.

But Mr Warren, who briefly led the council for three months last year, told the Information Commissioner that the only publicly available information was a list of the names of the documents, and not the documents themselves.

The council was asked to provide details of its search for the list of documents Mr Warren had requested, but claimed that “no formal list was found”.

However, the Information Commissioner said while the council might not have all the documents in one folder or list, it would probably still have the information being sought.

It said: “The Commissioner’s view is therefore that it is more likely than not that the council holds information within the scope of part 3 of the request given that it has stated that it may be possible to construct a list.”

The ruling against the council is not the first in recent months or years.

Data from the ICO shows that since 2021 and up to June this year, 10 complaints have been upheld against Mid Devon, and five not upheld.

Some cases can contain multiple complaints where one element goes against the council and one for it. A case in April this year saw four complaints upheld.

In the latest ruling, the Information Commissioner issued some stern advice.

“The Commissioner has already advised the council of his concerns regarding the particularly poor arguments provided in its correspondence with the complainant regarding its reliance on [claiming something is personal data].

“Although this information has now been disclosed the fact that this has required the intervention of the Commissioner has considerably delayed disclosure.

“The council should ensure that its responses to requests for information and any subsequent internal reviews are of a suitable quality and demonstrate an appropriate understanding of the legislation.”

The council was given until the end of this month to provide the information and is understood to have complied with the request.

The council’s scrutiny committee undertook its 3 Rivers ‘lessons learned’ exercise at the end of last year, after which it produced a report outlining certain steps it would take if it ever launched a company again.