The High Court has decided in favour of public disclosure over the details of council deals with private contractors. Whitehall departments are closely studying the case, which started as a dispute between Nottinghamshire CC and Veolia ES Nottinghamshire. The commission, as an ‘interested party', had 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 case will have important implications for open government and Freedom of Information campaigners, since the case sets precedent for what details of public sector contracts can be made public. The contractor had sought an injunction to stop the council making details of the private-finance initiative (PFI) arrangements public. Until now, companies have been able to argue that they should not have to make contractual details public, on the grounds of commercial sensitivities. 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.'
