Council apologises to paper over FoI failure

A council has apologised to a weekly newspaper for failing to release a key document that a reporter had requested under the Freedom of Information Act. But Wycombe district council did give the document - about the siting of a sports stadium - to a member of the public rather than the Bucks Free Press . Now council spokeswoman Catherine Spalton has issued a statement apologising to the paper "for any inconvenience or confusion" caused by not releasing an important consultancy report into the stadium plan. She added: "We will be reviewing their request and ensuring that all appropriate documents are released to them." Free Press editor Steve Cohen said: "We were stunned when we realised that the council treated our request differently [from that of a member of the public] but we are pleased that the council was big enough to accept its error and apologise." There has been considerable local opposition to the spending of £750,000 on the project, which will result in moves by the Wycombe Wanderers football team and London Wasps rugby side. Sources: Bucks Free Press / holdthefrontpage