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Information commissioner, Richard Thomas, has ordered two councils to reveal details of their pension fund investments. Mr Thomas issued the orders against Hertfordshire CC and Tameside MBC last week, after the authorities blocked requests by another company to get data. The councils refused to give the information out because of confidentiality agreements. The Freedom of Information Act does exempt confidential information from being disclosed. But Mr Thomas said the public interest ‘in knowing that public funds are being invested wisely' overrode any arguments about protecting commercial confidentiality. He also noted that Sir Michael Lyons had criticised local government pension schemes last year for their lack of transparency. ‘There is a clear public interest in people being able to scrutinise the council's investment strategies,' said Mr Thomas. The two councils have 35 days to release the information. A similar order was made against Wolverhampton MBC last month, but the authority has appealed and the case will now go before a tribunal. Hertfordshire CC's county secretary, Andrew Laycock, the council had already lodged an appeal and was looking to the Wolverhampton case to clarify the rules in this matter. He said: ‘What we are concerned with is information provided in confidence to a local authority, which, if disclosed, could lead to legal action because it would be a breach of that confidentiality. ‘It's about our relationship with external partners, who provide us with confidential information. ‘It would be helpful if the rules are clear, so they would know what information is confidential.' A spokesman for Tameside MBC said the local authority was considering its position, but was likely to appeal.

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FINANCE

Councils told to reveal fund policy

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