Council's flood scheme request approach 'entirely unacceptable'

A council "failed at the most basic level" in its response to freedom of information (FOI) requests about a flood protection scheme, a watchdog has found.

Dumfries and Galloway Council was asked about common good land affected by the Whitesands project and whether it had petitioned the courts for a change of use.

It initially claimed the information was exempt but, after an appeal to the Scottish Information Commissioner (SIC), said it did not hold it at all.

However, when asked what searches had been carried out, it said there had been none as it had "no reason to believe the information should be held". The council is now considering the commissioner's findings.

The £68m Whitesands flood protection scheme has been a contentious one.

Campaigners have called for it to be dropped due to its rising cost, visual impact and loss of car parking spaces.

However, work began this year to protect an area which has been flooded hundreds of times since records began.

Two FOIs were submitted to the council by a member of the public about the impact on common good land - owned by the council for the benefit of the community - and whether it had petitioned the courts for a change of use.

SIC David Hamilton has delivered a highly critical verdict on how they were handled.

"It is a simple and fundamental principle of FOI that public bodies first conduct a full and appropriate search for information covered by a request, before then considering whether that information can be disclosed," he said.

"The council's approach here, however, was entirely wrong-headed, turning this important principle upside down.

"It first said that its legal advice was exempt from disclosure, before then going on to claim that it wasn't held - despite having not carried out any searches for it."

He said that was "entirely unacceptable".

"I will not tolerate attempts to cut corners or shut down requests when it comes to the exercise of information rights," he said.

"I will be watching carefully to see whether this was an unfortunate isolated incident, or whether it is symptomatic of a wider issue that requires more direct action."

The council will now be required to carry out detailed searches to identify if it does hold the information requested.

The SIC can also take further action "where there is evidence that repeated failures are occurring".

A council statement said: "We have only today received the SIC's decisions and are currently considering their findings and requirements.

"We will fully consider and respond within the timescales set out.

"It would be inappropriate to comment further until we have had an opportunity to review the decisions in detail."