Information Tribunal orders NTC to Publish Cracks Reports, NTC orderd to publish hydrogeological reports by 2 May Options

[Simon Kirby]

Linky

The Information Tribunal has ruled that the public have a right to see the hydrogeological reports and NTC have been given until the 2nd of May to publish them.

After all the public talk about not being able to publish because of a "confidentiality agreement" the Council didn't even argue that point with the Information Tribunal and instead assert litigation privilege in the reports. However, the Tribunal agreed with the appeal and found that the reports were not legally privileged, but went further and said that even if they had been the public interests would still have been string enough to override any objection to publication.

It should never have taken this much effort to see the reports - and the Council might yet ask leave to appeal the judgment which will delay publication until after the election - but point is the Council should have been open about the reports from the off, and then there would have been much less cynicism about the sense of pursuing the claim. As it is it'll be interesting to see if the reports do indeed support a four and a half year dispute.

 cracks_judgment.pdf ( 440.57K ) Number of downloads: 39

[On the edge]

I couldn't agree more and to think I was one of those who thought the Charter Trustee arrangement was opaque, not fair or democratic governance. How wrong can you be!
It's failed and I can't see how the current arrangements would produce any difference. I'd also agree that this is primarily down to party politics.

[Andy Capp]

I couldn't agree more and to think I was one of those who thought the Charter Trustee arrangement was opaque, not fair or democratic governance. How wrong can you be!
It's failed and I can't see how the current arrangements would produce any difference. I'd also agree that this is primarily down to party politics.

In this instance, it seems a matter of poor governance as much anything else. There are some quite embarrassing statements in the judgement. It really does look like the council were desperate to conceal something. I suppose the council felt quite confident on the back of the court case where Simon's complaint was thrown-out on a technicality, so they might not have seen this coming.

On the face of it, they seem to have received poor advice, or, they are guilty of poor decision making.


Subject to an appeal of course.


It is a big shame that the Newbury Weekly News don't seem to find the story of any interest. Someone had their purse nicked in broad daylight, apparently.