Nice one Eric. Hampshire County Council in a pickle?

Good old Hampshire County Council (HCC)!  In an ever-changing world it's good to know that it's behaving as dimly as ever.  The Freedom of Information Act exists so that citizens can get information about how their money is being spent by public authorities, and it's no surprise, to those of us who've lived in Hampshire for a while, that our County Council isn't comfortable with having to reveal the details of the way it works.



Councillor Colin Davidovitz, the cabinet member for communication and efficiency, led the charge:

'There's no doubt that newspapers use the information they receive from FoIs to benefit a great deal, by putting it on their front page to sell more papers. They are benefiting from research we do on their behalf, at our expense. We also provide information to researchers. I see nothing wrong with charging organisations who benefit from the information we give them, for the service we provide. Why should taxpayers pay for newspapers to benefit?'

He was joined by Council leader Councillor Ken Thornber, who said:

'We will ask the Local Government Association to push for us to be allowed to charge commercial organisations where the data supplied is of commercial value to them.'

Apparently, in 2009/10 HCC spent £318,000 answering 707 FOI requests, which sounds like money well spent to me, especially as openness could have saved a lot of that - they need to understand that secrecy is what drives people to make FOI requests!

Those who campaign for greater public openness found an unlikely ally in Local Government Minster, Eric Pickles, a politician not renowned for his liberal tendencies. 



That's the Eric Pickles whose department declined to answer an FOI request about whether he took legal advice in the in the wake of adversely critical comments by a Department of Community and Local Government 'source' about the electoral commission chair, Jenny Watson. Ministers declined to renew her position as a board member of the audit commission in September.  It's widely accepted that Pickles did get external legal advice on the issue, so for a man so dedicated to the cause of transparency it should have been an easy (and cheap) one to answer: 'Yes' would have done!  I'm not sure how Pickles' reticence on this one fits in with his earlier statement that:

People should be able to hold politicians and public bodies to account over how their hard earned cash is being spent and decisions made on their behalf. They can only do that effectively if they have the information they need at their fingertips.

Still, back to Hampshire where he does support transparency.

"If councillors and council officers are to be held to account the press and public need access to the information that will enable them to do it.

"If town halls want to reduce the amount they spend on responding to freedom of information requests they should consider making the information freely available in the first place.

"The simple act of throwing open the books, rather than waiting for them to be prised apart by the force of an FoI, might even save a few pounds in the process.

"Greater local accountability is essential to accompany the greater powers and freedoms that the new government is giving to local government."

Councillors Davidovitz and Thornber need to think things through a bit more clearly.  Will papers have to also pay for the plethora of Press Releases issued by HCC, or will they be free because they contain the information they want to be made public?  I'll have you a bet that the HCC Press Releases in 2009/10 cost a lot more than £318,000 to produce.

Let's hope that the next time a Council puts its foot on the ball and slows the game down, Pickles' statement will rapidly bring them to their senses.