A reporter has warned local authorities against blocking Freedom of Information requests after winning a 10-month fight to name a councillor who had not paid his council tax.

Derby City Council had refused to disclose the name of the councillor to Derby Telegraph local democracy reporter Eddie Bisknell when he submitted an FoI request in May 2022 asking for the names of councillors who had council tax arrears and for the amount they owed.

The authority would only confirm that one councillor had council tax arrears and refused to disclose who it was or how much they owed, a decision they maintained after an internal review in October.

Eddie took the case to the Information Commissioner’s Offie, which ruled that the city council must provide the name of the councillor and the amount they owed.

The Telegraph has now reported that Labour’s Gulfraz Nawaz had owed £1,273.57 at the time of Eddie’s request, but this has now been paid.

Eddie, pictured, told HTFP: “From the very start, this was a simple FoI relating to openness and transparency and has nothing to do with politics.

“It is a shame the council sought to block this request but I’m glad the ICO believed in my position that there was a clear public interest reason in disclosing this information.

“Hopefully this deters the authority and other councils from blocking requests of this nature in future.”

Eddie had sent FoI requests to every council in Derbyshire and all but two responded to say they did not have any councillors who had council tax arrears.

Derby said it had one and High Peak Borough Council had one, which it too refused to name, a case which also went to the ICO.

However, the watchdog ruled against Eddie in the High Peak case due to the specific personal circumstances of the councillor involved.

In its ruling on the Derby case, the ICO said: “The commissioner appreciates that there is a legitimate interest in the public knowing when councillors are in council tax arrears and who those councillors are.

“Councillors are responsible for the expenditure of public money and the administration of council tax.

“It is the commissioner’s opinion that the legitimate interest of the complainant outweighs the rights and freedoms of the individual in this instance.”

Speaking to the Telegraph, Councillor Nawaz said: “I am not in any arrears with council tax.

“Historically there was a short period that I fell behind on payments, this meant the council pursued me for the whole year’s payment and not just the arrears.

“I missed a couple of payments due to personal issues whilst supporting children at university and looking after elderly sick parents.”