The council has said it won’t comply with a ruling from the Information Commissioner that the names of four Leeds councillors should be disclosed after the authority refused an initial freedom of information (FOI) request.
Instead, the council is challenging the Commissioner’s decision at a tribunal having paid £1,200 for external legal advice as well as using significant staff time fighting the case. A further estimated £3,500 has been earmarked to pay for the tribunal’s legal costs.
Campaign group the TaxPayers’ Alliance called the council’s move “preposterous” and said it was “showing a contempt towards public scrutiny and accountability.”