Leader accused of breaching spirit of information act

Kirklees Council Labour leader Mehboob Khan apparently blocked information being released by his council under the Freedom of Information Act, it was revealed yesterday.

He has denied doing anything wrong, saying his involvement in the process is minimal.

One FOI request in which he intervened involved the use of celebrities by the council. Three media organisations had asked for information about when the authority had hired celebrities for an event of function and what their fees were.

A council officer prepared a response but Coun Khan requested the information not be released because he did not think it was accurate.

Coun Khan has defended his decision, saying officers had advised him that it was not possible to reply accurately. He also said there was some argument over what constituted a celebrity.

His actions have been criticised, however, by the leader of the Lib Dem group, Coun Kath Pinnock, who said: “This reinforces the view that we have something to hide.”

She said his actions appeared to go against the spirit of the Freedom of Information Act.

Coun Pinnock has asked the council’s chief executive, Adrian Lythgo, whether a protocol exists to guide politicians’ involvement in the FOI process.

In a statement Coun Khan said: “I have amended one in every 100 responses, just one per cent of all the FOI requests received. This is not inappropriate as I have amended responses after speaking with senior officers where there was an improvement to the response that could be made or to ask for clarity or context.

“FOI is just one way people have of contacting the council, and I have many more requests through traditional routes like surgeries or email and feel that in these cases I could add local knowledge or further clarity.

“It is not about political motivation as FOI and the Act are not political – it is about providing the best possible responses. The Act leaves no room for political motivation or bias, and if we refuse information we have to give an acceptable reason under the terms of the Act. Where the applicant thinks this is not the case there are appeal routes.”

He added: “Both officers and members work together on responses to FOIs in most councils.”