When the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities appoints commissioners pursuant to a statutory intervention, they are "trusted" to decide what, if any, records they keep.
Background
The current Secretary of State, Michael Gove, ordered an intervention at Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council (SMBC). He appointed Kim Bromley-Derry* (KBD) as the lead Commissioner, who was already in situ as the Council's Interim Chief Executive (ICE). As ICE, KBD and others rigged the appointment of Imogen Walker, a crony of Sir Keir Starmer, to a post he and the others newly created, "Interim Head of the Leader's Office".
KBD purported to use the authority delegated to him by the Council to create the new position without going through the usual channels. In a response to a Freedom of Information Request, SMBC confirm that he made no record whatsoever of the alleged use of his delegated authority, and also ensured that no other records were made (or, at least, kept) by the Council relating to either the creation of the post or the subsequent selection of Ms Walker to it.
The complaint and reply
A complaint was forwarded to the Secretary of State asking why he came to appoint KBD giving this egregious failure to maintain any, let alone any adequate, records (and parts of the scandal were already in the public domain). A spokesperson for Michael Gove responded simply that KBD has "extensive experience in local government" which, seemingly, absolves him from any misconduct. Mr Gove could not consider matters which occurred whilst KBD was ICE as this was a matter for the Council alone. But the spokesperson further stated that Gove "trusted" KBD to carry out his role as a Commissioner and, in that regard, it was entirely up to him to "keep records as he considers appropriate". Seemingly, that includes keeping no records at all.
Comment
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) is being undermined in many ways. When the governance of local authorities is so ramshackle (at best) that the Secretary of State can be cavalier in respect of the requirement to maintain any or any proper records this is most concerning - particularly where, as here, an intervention was necessary in a council riven with corruption. This shoulder-shrugging approach to the legal requirement to maintain proper records in alarming and wholly inappropriate - not only thwarting the FOIA but throwing local authorities open to legal challenges.
This comes on top of recent concerns relating to the use by councillors and officers of messenger apps to keep deliberations "off the record" and so also undisclosable via the FOIA. (A course of action favoured, incidentally, in Sandwell Council to facilitate the corruption there.)
* The Secretary of State also kindly permitted KBD to continue as a Director of McLaren Construction during the intervention period.
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