It's Your Right to Know

News Items, Investigations & Exposés



July 2010:
The Court of Appeal has been tasked to decide whether UK taxpayers and voters (including journalists) are free to view, copy and then publicise details of Town Hall finances.
Lords Justice Rix, Jackson and Etherton are to judge whether the Audit Commission Act (a law which permits the public to trawl through local govt accounts each summer) must be tightened up, to enable councils and consultants to keep 'confidential' contracts and invoices out of public view.
The court is also to rule whether taxpayers and voters (including journalists) should be prohibited from disclosing any information inspected and copied to any individual or organisation other than a nominated district auditor - who will determine what information can be made public.
More details of court submissions here.

July 2010:
Media obtain details of Spa project
Journalists at the Bath Chronicle accessed the accounts to uncover hitherto confidential costs of a building project in the town.
More details here.

February 2010:
Court of Appeal fixes Veolia hearing
Waste management firm Veolia ES Nottinghamshire's battle to keep details of a multi-million pound PFI project out of public scrutiny (see stories below) is heading to the Court of Appeal.
The hearing is scheduled for 5 July 2010.
Details will be updated.

October 2009:
Veolia appeals High Court ruling
Waste management firm Veolia ES Nottinghamshire has lodged a formal appeal against a High Court ruling ordering disclosure of financial details of a multi-million pound PFI incinerator project.
The company, which took judicial review proceedings to stop Nottinghamshire county council releasing parts of a contract and monthly invoices to local campaigner Shlomo Dowen (pictured below), has filed papers with the Court of Appeal.
It is understood that the company intends to argue that commercial confidentiality interests over-ride the taxpayers' rights to peruse the disputed accounts. Mr Justice Cranston rejected Veolia's case in the High Court hearing earlier this month, and ordered the council to provide Mr Dowen with access to the files.
An appeal hearing date is pending.

October 2009:
High Court rules against Veolia on 'commercial confidentiality deal'
The High Court has rejected an attempt by environmental company Veolia to keep details of a major PFI deal under wraps.
The company, which is operating an incinerator site near Sherwood Forest, Notts, has been told it can not prevent Friends of the Earth campaigner Shlomo Dowen (pictured) from inspecting last year's PFI invoices and contracts at his local county council.
Veolia argued that its commercial interests would be damaged if there was disclosure, as part of the recent annual public audit of accounts. But Judge Cranston said Parliament had established a clear right for the public to view such files.
For a summary of the judgement, click here.

September 2009:
Council leader claimed double London hotel allowance from taxpayer
Conservative council leader Martin Hill (pictured) claimed £292 for an overnight stay at a luxury London hotel, so that he could "network" with other councillors.
Orchard News Bureau Ltd discovered the politician omitted to seek permission from Lincolnshire County Council before booking accommodation and submitting the claim -
which was more than twice the £130 London overnight stay rate permitted in the authority's own financial regulations.
Hill took a room at the Intercontinental Hotel in Park Lane, Mayfair, after attending a regional planning conference in the capital earlier in the day.
Finance officials initially queried the invoice, before being instructed to pay out.
The council issued a statement saying Hill's claim was approved because he had wanted to spend more time "networking" with other councillors. For more on the story, see the Rotten Boroughs section of issue #1245 of Private Eye.

August 2009:
High Court hearing on 'commercial confidentiality deal'
Judgment is pending over an attempt by environmental firm Veolia to stop a council releasing details of a PFI deal which cost £21m last year.
The company issued legal proceedings after Nottinghamshire taxpayer and campaigner Shlomo Dowen (pictured above) requested access to financial files, using his audit act inspection rights.
At a hearing earlier this week, Veolia argued its contract and monthly invoices were not covered by legislation requiring accounts to be opened to public inspection.
The company also argued that its itemised fees were commercially sensitive and confidential, and should not be disclosed to taxpayers, sub-contractors or rival firms.
Mr Justice Cranston is reserving his decision.
For a summary of Counsels' submissions at the hearing, click here.

August 2009:
Tory politician tight-lipped over late-night phone calls, charged to taxpayer
Conservative councillor Pauline Watson (pictured) is in hot water after leaving Lincolnshire taxpayers with a bill running close to £1,000, for regular late-night calls to a mobile number.
Orchard News Bureau Ltd discovered the politician's extravagent use of a dedicated, county council-funded phone line - supposedly provided for constituency business - after inspecting bills under the audit regulations.
The council paid the quarterly demands without checking full details with BT. Councillor Watson, who represents Louth, refused to answer any questions from ONB.
For more on the story, see the Rotten Boroughs section of issue #1243 of Private Eye.
Update: (15 July 2010): ONB has obtained a copy of a receipt showing Cllr Watson repaid £452 from her expenses in August 2009, following contact from ONB and a meeting with council officials.

August 2009:
London paper wins Town Hall 'battle'
A London journalist has revealed details of elected councillors' expenses and travel claims, after what her editor describes as 'a week long battle for the truth'.
In her weekly comment column, Hounslow and Brentford Times editor Helen Barnes said: 'Despite it being a criminal offence to obstruct access, Hounslow chiefs came very close to doing just that. For days, this newspaper had to fight for access to Hounslow's accounts.'
Reporter Lucy Buckland finally succeeded in obtaining access to the files - which produced a double page story about 'extravagent meals', 'luxurious hotel bookings' and flights run up by elected members.
This story was published by the Hounslow and Brentford Times and also features on the Hold The Front Page website.

From the archives:
PA correspondent forces Met to reveal payouts to informants
The Metropolitan Police released hitherto secret details of payments to registered informants after a journalist filed an audit inspection enquiry.
The force had previously refused to disclose costs in response to FOI requests.
Press Association crime correspondent Chris Greenwood instead requested details under the audit act, after reading an article by ONB director Richard Orange in trade magazine Press
Gazette, outling taxpayers' rights to examine the accounts.
After some reluctant and erroneous references to the Official Secrets Act, the Metropolitan Police Authority provided Greenwood with access to the files on the final day of the inspection.
This story was published by Press Gazette in September 2007

From the archives:
'You're hired!' - by email
Management consultant and stand-in council CEO Jan Didrichsen (pictured) hired a spin doctor on a lucrative two-year deal which cost council taxpayers more than £200,000.
PR 'guru' Mark Fletcher Brown charged £850 a day to advise Lincolnshire county council's politicians and officials on how to improve the authority's public 'image'.
Didrichsen, who continued to run his Yorkshire business while working as the council's head of paid service, engaged the PR consultant in a friendly-worded email exchange.
ONB discovered the council failed to draw up a formal written contract for much of Fletcher Brown's first year in situ, and had not followed audit rules requiring a record to be kept of why the work had not been put out to tender.
This story was first published by ONB in August 2006

From the archives:
Council broke audit rules for email 'masterclasses'
A consultancy was paid more than £14,000 of taxpayers' money to give a handful of council staff a series of 'clinics' on how to write, send and store email messages.
ONB's checks with Companies House revealed that the London firm involved was set up a week before the deal was struck, and then closed down a week after the contract ended.
Lincolnshire county council breached its own audit rules by awarding the contract, without seeking quotes from alternative companies, or keeping proper written records detailing the reasons for not doing so.
This story was first published by ONB in August 2006

From the archives:
Licensed to bill
Journalists from the Newark Advertiser spent two days at Nottinghamshire County Council's offices, checking bills and invoices relating to elected members' expense claims.
The newspaper revealed that Councillor Colin Bromfield had followed up three foreign trips on council business to Russia, with dozens of calls on a council-supplied mobile phone, including calls at 5am local time, over the Christmas period. The inquiry also revealed that the Newark councillor had submitted expenses claims for attending meetings in Nottingham and Newcastle, on the same day. The newspaper quoted the councillor saying he was passing on festive greetings to Russian contacts, and that he had made a mistake with the exact times on his travel expenses claim.
This story was published by the Advertiser in August 2004

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