The leader of South Lanarkshire Council has been suspended for two months for disclosing confidential information.
Following a Standards Commission hearing held today (June 28), Councillor Joe Fagan (East Kilbride Central North) was found to have breached the Councillors’ Code of Conduct by disclosing confidential information to the press.
Councillor Fagan was found to have leaked a list of leisure and culture facilities that had been identified for potential closure to various local news outlets by way of a press release on April 30, 2021, before he was the leader of the council.
Responding to the decision of the Standards Commission today, Councillor Fagan said: “I regret what has happened but my conscience is clear. I did what I believed to be right and that’s why I got into local government in the first place.
“My accusers said I leaked information and yet I openly disclosed it in good faith.
“I believe the Standards framework in Scotland should go after real wrongdoing in local government, it should not tie the hands of those working to expose it.”
Suzanne Vestri, Standards Commission Member and Chair of the Hearing Panel, said: “The obligation on councillors to refrain from disclosing confidential information is a key requirement of the Councillors’ Code of Conduct. A failure to respect confidentiality can damage the reputation and integrity of a Council, and can also impede discussions and Decision-making.
“The Panel agreed that, in this case, it was legitimate for the Council to have decided that the information be kept confidential until such a time as the proposals discussed had been finalised and officers had sufficient time to prepare and manage external communications. This would ensure the Council’s position and response were communicated clearly and fully.”
The panel reviewed all the evidence available and found that the information was confidential at the time Councillor Fagan disclosed it to the press and they were satisfied that there was evidence that he disagreed strongly with the proposal to close the facilities in question.
The panel noted that Councillor Fagan cooperated fully with the investigative and Hearing processes and there was no evidence of repeated behaviour or any previous breaches of the code by councillor Fagan.
However, it was found that he deliberately disclosed the information and he had done that for some form of political gain.
And the panel concluded that a suspension of two months was an appropriate sanction.
Ms Vestri, added: “The Panel was disappointed to note that Cllr Fagan had disclosed the information, despite the version of the Code in place at the time clearly stating that information provided to councillors for use in that role must not be disclosed or in any way used for personal or party-political advantage or in such a way as to discredit the Council. The Code states that the requirement to maintain confidentiality also applies in instances where a councillor holds the personal view that such information should be publicly available.”
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