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Apr 2021

Last Updated: 27/04/2021

Politics

Harrogate council publishes heavily redacted Turkish Baths responses

by Thomas Barrett

| 27 Apr, 2021

The council initially refused to reveal individual responses to its consultation on whether to end single-sex sessions because they contained personal information. Today it relented - but redacted so much information it has been accused of making the information 'unreadable'.

Harrogate Borough Council has today published heavily redacted responses to its consultation on single-sex sessions at the town's Turkish Baths, after previously saying the information was restricted.

The council considered banning single-sex sessions at the 124-year-old council-owned baths but changed its mind after the consultation revealed 92% opposed the move.

A summary of the consultation's 325 responses was published this month. But the council took the unusual step of not revealing individual responses on the grounds that they contained personal information.

After being questioned about this, the council today released a statement saying that because of its commitment to being "open and transparent", it had decided to disclose the information after all.

But many of the responses are heavily redacted in black type.

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One person said:

"Single sex sessions are invaluable and help women feel that they can fully relax and enjoy the experience. It would be a huge loss for women if those sessions were removed."

Another said:

"Don't let down the majority by slavishly following a trend that may be short-lived. Harrogate has had the courage of its convictions for centuries."

A spokesman for Harrogate Borough Council said:

“When someone takes part in one of our consultations, they do so on the basis that the information they provide will be kept secure and treated in accordance with data protection laws.

“We also owe them a duty of care to treat their responses as private and confidential.

“In the case of this consultation, responses included highly sensitive information including stories from victims of violent crimes.

“However, in recognition of our commitment to be an open and transparent council, a redacted version of the responses has been published in the Have Your Say section of our website.

“All personal data, identifying or confidential information has been removed to maintain respondents’ anonymity.”

Harrogate transparency campaigner Peter Lilley, a long-time critic of the council, called the number of redactions in the document "ludicrous".

He told the Stray Ferret:

“Harrogate Borough Council makes itself look more and more ridiculous every day.

"Considering council officers have had seven or eight months to process the information it received from the consultation on proposed changes at Harrogate’s Turkish Baths, it’s hard to imagine how the responses could have been presented more unattractively; with so many comments ‘blacked out’ that, in places, the document is totally unintelligible and unreadable.

"The sheer number of redactions is ludicrous. They must amount to several hundred – and on what grounds? The council has even blacked out answers to the question: how often do you visit the baths? How can that possibly be considered sensitive information?"

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Harrogate council publishes heavily redacted Turkish Baths responses

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