The High Court has decided in favour of public disclosure over the details of council deals with private contractors.
The Audit Commission – an ‘interested party’ in litigation between Nottinghamshire CC and Veolia ES Nottinghamshire – argued the company had misrepresented the rights of residents to view accounts. In a landmark judgement delivered on Thursday, Mr Justice Cranston agreed, backing the commission’s definition of what documents were subject to public inspection during an audit.
The contractor had sought an injunction to stop the council making details of the private-finance initiative (PFI) arrangements public.
A local elector, whose case was backed by Friends of the Earth, had asked to see documents. The company argued that a more liberal definition of what should be disclosed compromised its commercial position.
Lawyers for the commission argued the law gave residents a right to see documents during the audit. The judge said in his finding that if Veolia was right, few documents could ever be inspected.
Roger Hamilton, the Audit Commission’s solicitor and chief legal adviser, said: ‘We are pleased the court has accepted our submissions, and confirmed our interpretation of the Audit Commission Act 1998.’
Veolia ES Nottinghamshire has a 26-year PFI contract with Nottinghamshire CC for waste disposal. Mr Shlomo Dowen, a local elector, sought disclosure of documents relating to the contract.
Veolia won an injunction to stop the council making the documents public. The Audit Commission, with Mr Dowen, were interested parties in the High Court proceedings that followed.
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