Former deputy leader of Enfield Council wins appeal against refused information request he said was “deeply concerning for democracy”, reports James Cracknell

Enfield Civic Centre and (inset) Daniel Anderson

Enfield Council has been reprimanded by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) for withholding data on enquiries made by local councillors.

In its written verdict on an appeal made by a former deputy leader of the council, the ICO has ordered the council to release the information on how many members’ enquiries (MEQs) had been made by each councillor prior to last year’s local election.

The council now has until the end of March to comply with the order under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act, otherwise the ICO may ask the High Court to intervene.

Daniel Anderson – who was deputy leader of the council between 2018 and 2019 as part of the Labour administration before later quitting the party and joining a new independent group – submitted his FOI before last May’s election, when he was still a councillor, because he wanted to provide the voting public with information that would have shown them how hard their local councillors worked.

But the request was refused by the council on the basis that it would reveal personal information, a claim the ICO has now rejected. Daniel said: “The public have every right to know what their elected representatives do on their behalf, and the number of enquires each member submits is one way of measuring that workload.

“In previous years such information has been routinely provided without question, as indeed it is by other councils.

“`For Enfield Council to refuse to release of this basic information and instead concern themselves with the potential implications for those councillors found wanting is not only outside their remit, but deeply concerning for democracy. Indeed, one must wonder what the data will reveal when it is finally released.

“For the council to be so severely slapped down by the information commissioner demonstrates just how seriously this matter has been viewed.”

In its decision notice published this week, the ICO stated: “Whilst the commissioner notes that disclosure of the data will likely cause some of the individual(s) involved a certain degree of

inconvenience – in that they may be asked to justify the amount of MEQs they have submitted – he also notes that these individuals would, by definition, be familiar with (and are likely to have had training to deal with) press/public enquiries by virtue of the position they hold.

“Therefore the commissioner considers that additional scrutiny be relatively modest.”

The ICO concluded: “The commissioner has decided that the council has failed to demonstrate that the exemption at section 40(2) is engaged with regard to providing the number of MEQs submitted by each councillor. He has determined that the amount of MEQs submitted by each councillor and the names of those members of councillors (who hold senior roles) should be disclosed.

“His decision is based on the greater level of accountability attributable to particular roles in terms of decision making and expenditure of public money.”

An Enfield Council spokesperson said: “The council is considering the finding and whether to seek a review.”

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