Ealing Council Pledges to Publish Freedom of Information Log
Liberal Democrats say it is necessary to be 'transparent and open'
Cllr Gary Malcom presses the issue at an Ealing Council meeting
July 2, 2023
Ealing Council has pledged to provide full disclosure of Freedom of Information requests it has received by the end of the year.
The issue of the publication of a Freedom of Information log was raised by the leader of the opposition, Cllr Gary Malcolm, at the full council meeting held on Tuesday 13 June.
He put forward a motion highlighting that several London local authorities including Harrow, Barnet, Bexley and Tower Hamlets all have Freedom of Information disclosure logs which help residents access public information about their boroughs. The motion continues that, given the council’s messaging about being around ‘Open and Transparent’, that it should introduce its own Freedom of Information log within three months.
A Freedom of Information log would mean that all requests and the responses to them are published on a public website.
The Labour group submitted an amendment to the motion to make it read, “Ealing Council reiterates its commitment to being ‘Open Transparent and inclusive’ and will continue to explore options to better allow residents to access information about their council, including potentially introducing its own Freedom of Information disclosure log.”
Liberal Democrat Councillor Andrew Steed, Opposition Spokesperson on Education, Health & Social Care said, “Liberal Democrats say that the publication of a Freedom of Information log promotes openness and transparency across a range of issues to strengthen local democratic participation and we think that the Labour administration should implement this in Ealing as soon as possible. It would be great for Labour to walk the walk rather than just talk the talk for the people of Ealing.”
Cllr Malcolm added: “This follows on the heels of revelations by some disability charities that were not consulted regarding the local plan. Once again Labour say one thing whilst doing another. Liberal Democrats believe that Labour often choose not to listen. This is what happened on LTNs and on tall towers. Whilst Labour often trumpets rhetoric about ‘transparency and openness’ this rarely is matched with action.”
A council spokesperson said after the meeting, “As part of a project to review and upgrade the council’s website we are moving to publish FOI responses online later in the year.”
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