Councils take flak for rise in FOI rejections

SCOTLAND’S councils are rejecting nearly one in four of the requests they get from taxpayers asking how they spend public money.

Alarming new figures show the number of Freedom of Information (FOI) requests being kicked out by local authorities has nearly doubled since 2010.

FOI laws were introduced to give the public “right of access” to unpublished information held by the likes of councils and health boards.

The legislation has been instrumental in revealing the MPs expenses scandal and forced the publishing of secret police documents about the Hillsborough disaster.

But figures from 16 of Scotland’s councils, compiled by Strathclyde University, show that of the 19,376 requests issued last year, 4,603 were rejected a 23.7% rejection rate.

This is up from 19% in 2010.

The worst council for refusing FOIs last year was Edinburgh, which threw out 59.7% requests for information.

A spokesman for council umbrella group COSLA last night claimed “local government is under attack from some who wish to use FOI wrongly as a tool to beat us” but Calum Liddle, a researcher at the University of Strathclyde, said the trend was worrying.

He said: “The taxpayer is fast losing the right to know as a result of certain councils overlooking – perhaps even disregarding – the need for transparency.

“Freedom of information is an essential democratic instrument but the findings suggest a fragmented rights landscape where residents under one local authority might look to have a far better shot at exercising the statutory right to know over a resident in, say, a neighbouring authority.”

Mr Liddle asked all 32 councils how many requests they had refused since 2010 but only 16 supplied answers.

A total of 79,890 FOI requests were received between 2010 and 2014, with 16,609 of them rejected.

Edinburgh had the worst rate, jumping from rejecting 24.7% requests in 2010 to 59.7% last year.

The council has faced a number of controversies in recent years such as the troubled tram project and the building repairs scandal.

East Lothian Council was second to Edinburgh, now refusing to disclose information in 40% of requests it receives.

Scotland’s most transparent council is Aberdeenshire having refused just 73 of 1173 requests last year.

Carole Ewart, co-convener of the Campaign for Freedom of Information in Scotland, said: “I am disappointed to see the number of refusals increasing. Our hope when the legislation was brought in was that it would foster an new culture of openness so the number of FOIs needed would actually go down but sadly we are seeing a pushing back against the act.

“The public understands the value of FOI, they see that it holds public bodies to accounts, but we have a real fight on our hands to stop governments and other public bodies eroding its value.”

A spokesman for COSLA, said: “Look let’s not beat about the bush, local government is under attack from some who wish to use FOI wrongly as a tool to beat us. Councils have to strike the right balance between responding to FOI requests in an appropriate and satisfactory manner within FOI guidelines. The increase in the number of refusals must mean that more of the requests are not meeting the requirements of the guidelines.”

An Edinburgh Council spokeswoman said: “Every Freedom of Information request is assessed on a case by case basis in line with the relevant legislation. There is always a presumption in favour of disclosing the requested information – we release as much information as possible to applicants to ensure transparency and accountability, in line with regulations.”