The Information Commissioner, which acts as the government’s watchdog organisation on access to official information, has ruled that Reading Borough Council broke the law in refusing to release details of the sale of Arthur Hill swimming pool to the public.
Following an eight month investigation, the Commissioner has issued a Decision Notice (copy available below) ordering Reading Borough Council to release a secret report on the sale of the historic East Reading pool which was discussed behind closed doors at the Council’s Policy Committee meeting on 16 July 2018.
The Council has until 25 June to release the report, or face action for contempt of court.
The Information Commissioner investigated the case in response to a complaint from the Arthur Hill Campaign, which represents former swimmers at the pool and which has been campaigning for the site to be kept for community use. The Arthur Hill Campaign requested a copy of the secret report using the Freedom of Information Act, but the request was turned down by the Council.
Following ‘Operation Transparency’ – a programme of events organised by the Arthur Hill Campaign in January designed to shame Reading Borough Council into releasing information about the sale of Arthur Hill Pool – the Council released a redacted version of the Policy Committee document giving limited details of the sale.
However, the Information Commissioner has now ordered that the report should be published in full with no details redacted, and ruled that the Council had not explained how disclosing the report would prejudice the commercial interests of the parties involved, as had been claimed.
In a damning indictment of the Council’s handling of the case, the Decision Notice reveals that the Council had been asked “a number of times” to submit arguments to justify withholding the report, but had failed to do so, and had also failed to address questions it was asked by the Commissioner relating to the case.
A spokesperson for the Arthur Hill Campaign said:
“We are delighted that the government’s information watchdog has now ruled that Reading Borough Council broke the law in attempting to conceal details of the sale of Arthur Hill Pool, and has ordered the Council to come clean on the matter.
“Labour councillors and council officers acted as though they were above the law and thought they could get away with hiding the truth about their controversial decision to sell Arthur Hill, but a concerted campaign by local people has forced them to release details of the sale.
“Reading Borough Council’s arguments were so flimsy that it didn’t even bother replying to the Information Commissioner’s questions on the matter, and the Commissioner has quite rightly thrown out the Council’s case and rejected its excuses.
“But for deliberate foot-dragging by the Council, this matter would have been resolved months ago and local residents would know why the Council has decided to sell the pool to a property developer rather than keep it in community use. There is no excuse for any more delays: if the Council does not release the report immediately it will be clear that this is intended as an act of contempt for East Reading residents by the Labour councillors who run Reading Borough Council.
“This case raises serious questions about the conduct of the officers who handled the request for information about sale of the pool, and we will be going to the next Policy Committee meeting on 10 June to ask what action will be taken to address their failings”.
Download a copy of the Information Commissioner’s Decision Notice here:
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