GIFTS and hospitality lavished on Cornwall Council staff do not have to be revealed to the public, the county's deputy legal chief has ruled.

The council refused to disclose the contents of its gifts register after rejecting a Freedom of Information request made in November by the West Briton. It also dismissed an appeal by the paper, despite similar data being made available by dozens of other councils in the country.

Cornwall councillors are now calling for a change in the rules which allows officers to receive such largesse without public scrutiny – unlike council members themselves, who have revealed some details.

The policy was drawn up by Matthew Stokes, number two in Cornwall Council's legal team, whose official title is Group Manager, Corporate Governance and Commercial.

Councillor Alex Folkes, a member of the shadow Cabinet, said the current policy was "entirely wrong" and the decision reflected a lack of openness and transparency.

"If an officer or member has received a gift in connection with their work or public duty then the public should be fully entitled to know," he said.

"It's by this the public can be reassured officers are not the subject of bribery or corruption or simply doing favours for friends. This is nothing to do with receiving personal or private gifts; it is about what they are given in their capacity as council officers.

Opportunity

"That should be fully open and transparent, and now I am aware of this I shall be asking for a change in policy at the earliest opportunity."

Between September 2009 and November last year councillors logged 25 gifts and offers of hospitality, including bottles of wine, tickets to see the Cornish Pirates, free entry to the Eden Project and meals. Under the current rules the beneficiaries do not have to be named.

According to Mr Stokes, who is described as an 'independent officer': "The register for officers constitutes personal data inasmuch as it relates to biographical information about the individual who has been offered, received or refused gifts and hospitality.

"It indicates who those persons' contacts are in the workplace and socially.

"The council's policy clearly states individuals' entries will not be open to public inspection and therefore the expectation of staff concerned will be that the information will be kept confidential.

"It is not therefore fair to use the information in a way not made clear to the individuals at the outset and it may cause unwarranted prejudice to them if entries are singled out for particular scrutiny, when they have acted fully in accordance with the policy."

A complaint has now been made to the Information Commissioner who, in guidance to authorities, stated: "Information which is about someone acting in an official or work capacity should normally be provided on request unless there is some risk to the individual concerned."

A council spokesman insisted the authority was "committed to being as open and transparent as possible.

"On some occasions, however, it receives requests for information which it is unable to meet because disclosing the information could contravene obligations of confidence to its staff and other people.

"This is the case with the request to access the gifts and hospitality register for officers of the council, as it contains personal details about individual members of staff.

"We are, however, reviewing our position on this and, if we feel able to provide the information that [you have] requested, then we will do so."