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Senior Officers will continue to have their declaration of interests processed by the Legal Team instead of being published as recommended by ICO (Information Commissioner's Office)
The decision was made at last week's SP&R meeting and Slieve Gullion Councillor Pete Byrne who sits on the committee has said the Council needs to be "open and transparent".
Currently all councillors themselves must declare all interests that might conflict with decisions they are potentially involved in making.
The ICO is the UK’s independent authority set up to uphold information rights in the public interest, promoting openness by public bodies and data privacy for individuals.
Slieve Gullion councillor, Pete Byrne (SDLP), who sits on the SPR committee was the only member to question the proposal, stating he was deeply concerned about the need for transparency.
“A council needs to be open and transparent especially when to comes to conflicts of interest for all staff, especially senior officers , this proposal by the council does not stack up,” said Cllr Byrne.
“I personally can see no reason for not following the ICO recommendations.
“I was actually really surprised that no one else on the SPR committee spoke up about this at the time.
“I had asked the question if this was the only item recommended by the ICO that the council would not be following?
“The answer I got back was not quite clear, but that would seem to be the case.
“Councillors all have to sign their declarations of interest and are reminded to update them every six months, for senior officers not to do it is just not right.
“To go against an ICO recommendation when there is no need for it does not make sense.
“It makes people wonder why the council would do it and if there is something to hide.
“Even now in committee, on a transparency level, the sheer amount of confidential items is unbelievable.
“When I was first on a council committee in 2016, there was may be one or two items going into confidential sessions.
“Now, what we have is the the first three items (formalities) on the agenda and that’s it, straight in to confidential session for the next hour.
“I will be discussing this matter further with my group on council as we go forward to the July meeting for the proposal to face full scrutiny,” he added.
The ICO itself has declared that it is a pivotal time for data protection and privacy stating its work as the UK’s information rights regulator has never been more relevant.
The NMDDC proposal would see requests for senior officials interests being processed through the local authority’s legal team on a case by case basis as its “publishing approach”.
A spokesperson said: “Council officers considered the ICO’s guidance in reaching our decision.
“Presently, council has decided to retain the existing practice, but will process any requests for specific information as they are received.
“For clarity, it is not a case of withholding the information, our publishing approach will be determined on a case by case basis.
“By way of assurance, declaration of interests are declared during committee and council meetings with the relevant minute reflecting the record.
“Meeting minutes and audio are published on the council website, which provides transparency for the public record.
“Council is committed to developing and implementing a range of policies and procedures to meet its obligations under the Freedom of Information Act, Environmental Information Regulations and Data Protection Act.
“The Publication Scheme, in identifying the information council holds and how it can be accessed, is part of that agenda.
“Council continually reviews its policies and procedures in this regard and has a track record of working with the ICO to continuously learn and improve what we do in the field of information governance.”
