The Information Commissioner has found that Rhondda Cynon Taf council breached the Freedom of Information Act on three occasions in the way it dealt with a request by former Plaid Cymru AM Chris Franks (pictured).
The request sought information on the authority’s spending on consultants but RCT refused to provide the information, arguing the cost of doing so would exceed cost limits laid down under the act.
The council said it would have taken 400 hours to check the cost codes and transactions to comply with the request which, they estimated, would cost £10,000. It does not hold central records, relating to the use of consultants and non-council staff.
After an investigation, the Information Commissioner said that while the council applied a section of the act (Section 12i) concerning costs correctly, the authority did breach three aspects of the law.
- It failed to provide appropriate advice and assistance to the complainant after applying Section 12 (i)
- It failed to state it was relying on Section 12 (i) within 20 working days.
- It failed to provide details to the complainant of the right to appeal under section 50 (i).
The report said: “The Commissioner is of the view that the council did not attempt to identify how much, if any, of the information requested it could provide within the appropriate cost limit. Nor did the council provide any kind of practical assistance or guidance to the complainant as to how he might redefine his request, despite the complainant raising the issue in his internal review request. The approach taken by the council in this case does not adhere to the Commissioner’s published guidance on section 16 of the act.
“In cases where a public authority has applied section 12(1) with regard to requested information the Commissioner recommends that early contact is made with the applicant to engage with him or her to establish if there is a way in which the request can be brought under the appropriate costs limit. This provides the applicant with the opportunity to be specific about what information he or she is seeking and increases the likelihood that the public authority will be able to disclose the information.”
The Information Commissioner has told the authority it must contact the complainant and offer “appropriate advice and assistance” relating to provide information within costs limits. The authority has to take action within 35 days or face possible action in the High Court.
South Wales Central Plaid AM Leanne Wood said: “It must be very inefficient for a local authority, which is the second largest in Wales, not to have a central register in place where information is easily accessible at the touch of a button. There should not systems in place where it costs an estimated £10,000 to provide information on the cost of external consultants employed by the council.
“Also if it costs £10,000 to find out this information how can the authority keep a close check on its spending on consultants?
“The people of RCT have a right to how their money is being spent. All bodies spending public money should be open, transparent and accountable.”
