Council outrage at Government demands to hand over private bank details

Arun District Council members have resolved to fight orders from the Government to hand over access to their private bank details.

Councillors from all political parties have reacted angrily to demands from the Audit Commission for all public sector staff to hand over private information or face legal action, as part of the latest National Fraud Initiative (NFI).

Serious concerns have been raised following the news that details of bank accounts and sort codes of all staff - including Councillors and all ex-employees (also widows and widowers of ex-employees) receiving monies via the Council pension scheme - must now be provided by law.

The Audit Commission can use new powers under the Serious Crime Act 2007 to force any Council who fail to provide these details to do so via the courts for the purpose of 'preventing and detecting fraud'.

The Commission can also share this information with other Government departments as part of the NFI.

Following an urgent report at last week's Full Council meeting (9 July), the Council has agreed to lobby against the new requirements and has now written to the Audit Commission to voice their anger.

They are also asking the three local MPs to join them and help tackle the legislation.

Council Leader Mrs Gillian Brown said: "We have a host of concerns regarding this scandalous attempt to blanket the whole of the public sector with such an Orwellian imposition.

"To demand that each and every person who receives money from the Council must hand over their private bank details, from current employees to pensioners who left the organisation years ago, is utterly outrageous and we will fight this all the way.

"At the moment we appear to be the only local authority that has raised an objection to this legislation but we will be looking to actively engage the local MPs and other public bodies to join us in rejecting them.

"We were the only authority in Sussex who refused to provide the Audit Commission with this information last year when they requested it, and we are determined to do everything we can to avoid it again, even if that means legal action."

A letter has been sent to the Audit Commission on behalf of Cllr Mrs Barbara Oakley, Chairman of the Council's Audit Committee, detailing the Council's concerns.

Cllr Mrs Oakley said: "The Audit Commission is demanding these personal and private details on the grounds that it could prevent serious fraud. In other words, everyone in local government is assumed to have the potential to be a fraudster.

"This is a disgraceful slur on the thousands of people who work for the community and whose salaries and allowances are fully recorded on the payroll of the employing authority. So far as Councillors in Arun are concerned the details are also in the public domain. Husbands, wives and partners of staff and Councillors are also affected if they share a joint bank account.

"The Audit Commission is in effect saying that everyone in local government is guilty until proven innocent. This is a travesty of justice and in my view a serious infringement of our rights to privacy under the European Directive on Human Rights."

The Council has also raised the question as to why central Government Departments and Agencies, who are not audited by the Audit Commission, have been given the choice as to whether they provide the bank details or not.

"Members are concerned that the same rigour is not being applied to central government departments and agencies as they are not part of the data matching this year and will only be 'invited' to submit rather than 'compelled' as local government are," Cllr Mrs Oakley added.

The Council is hoping to trigger a debate on the whole subject of data matching, data protection and personal data security by bringing the issue out into the public and insists it will even take the matter to Strasbourg if necessary.

It plans to report on the legal implications of the issue back to Full Council at the next meeting in August.