Highland Council could be referred to Scotland’s supreme civil court in its dispute with a leading hotel group.
The Scottish Information Commissioner has found the authority failed to comply with Freedom of Information (FOI) legislation in dealing with a request from Macdonald Hotels and Resorts.
It now has to give a response by January 6.
What happens now?
Failure to comply with the decision could see the commissioner refer the matter to the Court of Session.
The court has the right to inquire into the matter and may deal with the council as if it had committed a contempt of court.
Cal Richardson is the commission’s deputy head of enforcement. In his ruling, he also recommends the council considers apologising to the company.
Macdonald Hotels used FOI to ask the council how much it had spent on meetings, events and venues in the last five years.
Its founder Donald Macdonald had previously claimed the company gets no business from the council and had effectively been “boycotted”.
A request to the council was made in May 2024 and a response was received in July.
The company said it showed the authority spent £476,000 on hotels between 2019-2024.
Only a very small amount was spent in a Macdonald Group venue.
Council team short staffed due to structure changes
In September, Macdonald Hotels asked the council to review the response, claiming some details were omitted.
When it did not get a reply it complained to the commissioner.
The authority accepted it had not responded to the review request within the required 20 working days.
It told the commissioner that the team dealing with information requests was short staffed due to changes to it organisational structure.
It said the changes will allow wider improvements to the team and that it will issue a review response.
A council spokeswoman said of the ruling: “The Highland Council cannot comment on a live case.”
Previously it said there was “absolutely no basis” to suggest the council were engaged in any form of boycott.
It said a number of hotels, including Macdonald Hotels, have been used for events in 2024, including a housing summit in October.
Hotel boss suing council over flood scheme
Donald Macdonald also plans to sue the council in a wrangle over a flood scheme at his home in Inverness.
The council started the flood relief scheme in 2009 near the home of Mr Macdonald and his wife Christine at Ness Side.
The hotel boss said it is defective and led to thousands of tons of stones and gravel accumulated in an area where there was once a pond.
He said the dispute has cost him nearly £150,000 which he is trying to reclaim.
Earlier this month, he said there has still been no contact from the authority.
Mr Macdonald has also made a complaint to Police Scotland over matters connected to the case. This is being assessed.
He has also complained to the Information Commissioner’s Office over a claim the council failed to respond to a Data Subject Access Request.
This allows individuals to find out what personal data an organisation holds about them.
‘We’re not letting this go’
A Macdonald Hotels spokesperson said: “It is totally characteristic of the Highland Council and it is in their DNA of not complying with a Government directive.
“We will not let this go and are very thankful to the police for the work that they are putting into this.
“It is obvious that the Highland Council have something to hide as normal people do not behave like this.”
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