Councillors criticise public requests for information

Cardiff Council has dealt with almost 4,000 Freedom of Information (FOI) requests during the past three years, according to official figures.
But the authority has admitted it has no idea how much money it spends complying with the law.

The council received 3,888 questions they were legally required to answer between January 2009 and February 2012. Around half of the questions were sent last year in 2011.  

The FOI Act 2000 requires public bodies to answer questions as part of a formal legal procedure, usually within 20 working days.

Cardiff Council has said it does not record costs associated in dealing with FOI requests, because it does not have the technology to track how much money is spent.
Last year Cardiff Council dealt with 1,788 FOI requests, compared with 1151 in 2010 and 691 in 2009. This year the authority has already dealt with more than 250 requests. 

Some of the 258 questions asked so far this year have been on topics including parking tickets, food hygiene, celebrity fees, and traffic signs.
Under the terms of the Act, councils can spend up to 18 hours dealing with requests at a cost of £25 per hour.

Council Leader Rodney Berman said: “There may be a variety of reasons why our level of enquiries has risen, it may be increased awareness of the Act for example, but it is difficult to give a definitive answer.”

“The Council does not hold any information in relation to the cost of dealing with Freedom of Information requests as we do not have a case management system which can track this detail.”

But he said the council is developing an online publication scheme, which is hoped will reduce the number of enquiries.

He added, “It is our statutory duty to comply with the FOI Act and as an open and transparent administration that makes decisions every day for the benefit of our citizens, we are happy to perform this duty.”

Two Cardiff Councillors expressed scepticism about how the public are making use of the FOI Act.

Llanishen Independent Councillor Robert Smith said: “People are aware the act exists and are taking full advantage. They want to know where their money is going.

“But the costs of dealing with requests do eat into the council budget. If people are asking trivial requests, I think they should be ignored.”

Radyr and Morganstown Conservative Councillor Rob McKerlich said:

“The Freedom of Information Act has its place, but it creates more problems than it solves. Often the actual answer to a request is imperfect, but no one wants to make it perfect because it costs too much money.”

The council says it employs three members of staff whose duties include dealing with FOI requests.