Salford council denies 'cover up' over controversial plans
Salford council has been accused of trying to hide information used to support a controversial landlord licensing scheme.
Last summer, the authority shared proposals which would see private residential landlords with properties in Broughton and Kersal made to purchase a licence worth £609. The council said the plan is aimed at helping tenants in areas where there is low housing demand or issues with anti-social behaviour, and that a landlord licensing scheme had also run in the areas from from 2016 to 2021.
It would give the town hall better insight into the numbers of private landlords and housing conditions within the areas, covering more than 1,300 properties in Broughton and Kersal and bringing in £800,000 for the council if approved.
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Salford council has stressed its "consultation followed correct council processes". But councillor Andrew Walters said it was 'disgraceful' that a scrutiny committee was refused access to information about housing needs in the areas.
During a meeting at Salford Civic Centre in September, council officers said Kersal and Broughton were areas with low housing demand.
Coun Walters questioned this, saying there is huge competition for properties and asked to see evidence - but he was told it could not be shared due to data protection concerns in light of General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) laws.
The council's interim city solicitor later advised in a briefing note that where relevant information is held by a council officer or cabinet/cabinet member and that information is requested by a scrutiny committee member, the information should be provided.
They added: "The fact that the information is confidential or personal information in data protection terms does not make it exempt from disclosure."
The town hall also said its view on low housing demand in Kersal and Broughton was 'based on local intelligence' and 'informal conversations' which are not routinely recorded. Despite the concerns, the scrutiny panel voted to push the landlord licensing plans forward with the launch of a public consultation.
Salford council said "further clarity was provided" to councillors about housing demand during a meeting in October, and that "the consultation followed correct council processes."
But Coun Walters says the issue has cast doubt over the scrutiny panel's support of landlord licensing, which he says was made 'under the false belief that information could not be shared".
He added: 'This was a blatant attempt to cover up information and avoid scrutiny. Fortunately, I challenged their misrepresentation, and the city solicitor has now confirmed that their refusal was entirely improper.
'The purpose of scrutiny is to hold decision-makers to account. When they refuse to cooperate and mislead scrutiny members, it undermines democracy and erodes public trust in our institutions.'
Coun Walters added: 'I expect an apology and assurances that such obstruction will never happen again. Elected members must be able to do their job without being stonewalled by misleading legal excuses.'
A public consultation on Salford's landlord licensing plans closed on January 20, and the council said the proposals will soon be discussed by its cabinet team.
A Salford council spokesperson said its officers are meeting with Coun Walters to discuss his concerns about what happened.
They added: 'The public consultation has now formally closed and all the comments received are being reviewed and considered.
'We are aware of Coun Walters' concerns and further clarity was provided on the consultation at a second scrutiny panel meeting on October 21, 2024.
'It was clarified that all the information that formed the basis of the cabinet decision to go to consultation was contained in the substantive and detailed 70-page consultation document, which was fully published. As such, the consultation followed correct council processes.'
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