Public barred from knowing details about mystery private cash donation to council

The public have been barred from knowing details about a mystery private cash donation for Glasgow City Council.

Yesterday all councillors sitting on the city administration committee decided to exclude the public and press from hearing about the proposed donation from an unknown organisation after it was advised by officials.

Normally local authority business is accessible to everyone as it is a public sector organisation.

The local democracy reporting service left the meeting as the press were not allowed in the room as councillors heard about the donation in the chambers.

Details being withheld include the amount of the donation, who is making it and what it will be used for.

Councillor Jill Brown, Labour, expressed doubts over how appropriate it is to keep the donation “secret” raising worries about future conflicts of interest in relation to possible planning applications. She described it is a bit “grubby” that politicians were asked to exclude the public.

Council leader Susan Aitken, SNP, stressed confidential matters are not “secret” and said members in the room have “full transparency.”

She added: “So the people who are making the decisions “have nothing withheld from them.”

A report about excluding the public said “information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person” is exempt.

Official Mairi Millar said “exclusion of the public is not something we would routinely do.”

The head of licensing and democratic services said she is satisfied the statutory test has been met in relation to the issue.

Responding to the question about how the council would deal with a conflict of interest over the anonymous donor regarding a planning application from councillor Brown, Ms Millar told her there are safeguards, controls and regulations in place to address that.