Investigation into alleged disclosure of confidential information

Report: 11
Date: 7 December 2006
By: Chief Executive and Clerk

Summary

This report informs Members of the outcome and recommendations of an internal investigation into an alleged unauthorised disclosure of confidential information. It proposes a Policy Statement and Standard Operating Procedures for confidential briefings held in future.

A. Recommendation

1. That the recommendations of the Investigation as set out in Appendix 1 be approved and adopted.
2. That the Policy and Standard Operating Procedures at Appendix 2 be approved and adopted

B. Supporting information

1. Following a confidential briefing for Members given by ACSO on 9 June 2006, events occurred which suggested there might have been an unauthorised disclosure of confidential information imparted at that briefing. The Deputy Chief Executive, after consulting the Chief Executive, commissioned the Director of Internal Audit to carry out an investigation to establish if possible the source of the disclosure and any lessons to be learned for future MPA practice.

2. The investigation concluded that on the balance of probabilities it was unlikely that there had been an unauthorised disclosure of confidential information as a result of the confidential briefing. The investigation report identified a number of lessons to be learned to address weaknesses, and potential vulnerabilities, in MPA processes and practices.

3. A copy of the Investigation Report is at exempt Appendix 1.

4. The Deputy Chief Executive appointed William Taylor, formerly Chief Inspector of Constabulary in Scotland to advise and support the Investigation. He has reported his satisfaction with the organisation and conduct of the investigation, and that he concurs with the conclusions and recommendations. He considers that implementation of the recommendations will be a vehicle to secure a “step change improvement” in the current handling of confidential briefings and to increase confidence in the collaborative working between the MPA and MPS.

5. The draft Policy Statement and Standard Operating Procedures at Appendix 2 are presented for approval, in order to secure compliance with the recommendations as they relate to confidential briefings.

6. The Investigation Report makes other recommendations relating to security clearances, after care and information handling by MPA staff. Those recommendations are being acted on, and do not require any decision by members.

C. Race and equality impact

There are no direct implications for equality or diversity.

D. Financial implications

The external support of the investigation cost approximately £5000 which has been met within existing budgets.

E. Background papers

None

F. Contact details

Report author: David Riddle, MPA.

For information contact:

MPA general: 020 7202 0202
Media enquiries: 020 7202 0217/18

Appendix 1

Appendix 1 is exempt.

Appendix 2

MPA Policy and Standard Operating Procedure for confidential briefings

1. From time to time MPA members and officers are briefed on particular issues or events. These briefings are informal in that oral briefings are held in private and are not subject to the Access to Information requirements applied to formal committee meetings. Similarly, written briefings are not committee reports, although unless they are exempt under the Freedom of Information Act, they are published on the MPA’s website.

2. Some of these briefings are about confidential matters, such as the progress of police investigations or court cases involving the MPS or MPA.

3. Members and officers present at such briefing meetings will respect the confidentiality of such briefings and will not disclose the content of any oral or written briefing to any person who was not present at the briefing meeting or supplied with the briefing note by its author.

4. In case of confidential written briefings circulated to all or some Members or staff, members and officers have the same obligations as with exempt committee reports to respect the confidentiality of the information contained in them.

5. This policy will be treated as an addendum to the Members Code of Conduct and as part of the Authority’s misconduct procedures for staff.

6. Standard Operating Procedures will be prepared by the Chief Executive from time to time to govern the organisation of confidential briefing meetings.

7. The statutory Members’ Code of Conduct states that a member “must not disclose information given to him in confidence by anyone, or information acquired which he believes is of a confidential nature, without the consent of a person authorised to give it, or unless he is required by law to do so.” There is a range of penalties available for breaches of the Code of Conduct, from warnings to suspension or disqualification.

8. If a member of staff breaks confidentiality this may be dealt with under the Authority’s disciplinary process. The potential outcomes where a member of staff has been found to have knowingly disclosed confidential information to a third party range from a warning to dismissal.

9. If information is covered by the Official Secrets Act a breach may result in criminal proceedings.

MPA Standard Operating Procedures for confidential oral briefings

1. This SOP sets out:
   • the arrangements to be followed in setting up a confidential briefing
   • how the briefing should be conducted
   • what should and should not happen afterwards

Arrangements for a confidential briefing

2. The person who is presenting the briefing should:
   • ensure that the content of the briefing is suitable for the audience (i.e. if all MPA members have been invited the audience will be largely CTC cleared and information requiring a higher security clearance should not be imparted)
   • provide to the MPA Chief Executive or Deputy Chief Executive a short outline of what the briefing will cover
   • ensure that the material to be disclosed in the briefing is structured and scripted in advance. In particular there must be clarity about what parts of the presentation are already in the public domain and what parts are sensitive and confidential
3. The MPA Chief Executive or Deputy Chief Executive will decide on the invitation list. Generally:
   • all members will be invited
   • GLA staff working for Assembly Members will not be permitted to attend, even when the Assembly Member is unable to be present
   • MPA staff attendance will be limited to those who have a direct work-related need to be informed as decided by the Chief Executive or Deputy.
4. The MPA Chief Executive or Deputy will task an MPA officer to arrange the briefing. Generally this will be the Head of Committee Services.
5. The Chief Executive or Deputy Chief Executive will also decide, after consultation with the person providing the briefing, whether a note of the briefing should be taken and will ask the Head of Committee Services to arrange for this to be done.
6. The member of MPA staff tasked to arranging the briefing will:
   • Invite only those members and officers agreed by the Chief Executive or Deputy Chief Executive
   • In the invitation, outline the purpose of the briefing (as provided by the presenter), emphasise that it is confidential and remind invitees of their responsibilities to maintain this confidentiality. The following form of words will be included in all such invitations:
     • “This briefing will contain confidential information. You must not communicate or discuss this information with anyone who was not at the briefing. To do so may be, for members, a breach of the Code of Conduct and, for staff, a breach of your contract of employment, resulting in disciplinary action.”

• Arrange to hold the briefing in a suitable venue particularly taking account of security issues

At the briefing

7. The person arranging the briefing will check that the room can be made as secure as possible. Briefings are usually held in Meeting Room 1 at Dean Farrar Street. If so, and if the p.a. system is to be used, s/he must make sure that:
   • The induction loop is turned off
   • The speakers in meeting room 2 are turned off
   • The ‘live feed’ in room 1 is turned off
   • The doors between rooms 1 and 2 are closed
8. At the start of the briefing, the Chair will:
   • Remind those present that the briefing is confidential and of their obligations to respect that confidentiality.
   • Explain the reasons why the briefing is confidential.
   • State whether or not a note is being taken for MPA record purposes.
   • Ask all those present:
     • To turn off mobile phones and Blackberries for the duration of the briefing
     • Not to take any notes of the briefing or record all or part of the briefing on any other recording media.
     • If any written material is tabled at the briefing, to return it at the end of the briefing
9. The general assumption is that anything said at the briefing is confidential and therefore not to be discussed with others. However, some of the areas covered may already be in the public domain, via press reports etc. For the avoidance of doubt, the person presenting the briefing will, in the course of the briefing, specifically identify pieces of information that are particularly sensitive and must remain confidential.

After the briefing

10. The overriding principle is that nobody who attends a confidential briefing should make its content or the consequential discussion known to anybody else. Therefore someone attending such a briefing can only discuss it with somebody else who was also there.
11. MPA members may be asked to give media interviews either about the briefing or the matter that was the subject of the briefing. A Member shall not refer to the content of the briefing. Where the briefing was about an ongoing issue such as the terrorism threat, a member may be uncertain about what is or is not confidential. The guiding principle is that if a member is told something at a briefing they must not disclose it or comment upon it even if they believe that it may have been already disclosed elsewhere.
12. If in doubt, a member, or a member of staff, should discuss any concerns or uncertainties with the Deputy Chief Executive, as Monitoring Officer before doing anything that might put them in breach of their obligations.
13. Members are asked to inform the MPA Communications Unit in advance of any media interviews they intend to give which may touch on confidential or sensitive issues.
14. MPA staff and members must make sure that they do nothing to compromise the confidentiality of information they receive at such briefings. To do so may, for instance, may place police investigations or personnel in jeopardy as well as leading to reluctance on the part of the MPS to share sensitive information with the MPA.
15. If members or staff have any questions or uncertainty about this procedure they should contact the Deputy Chief Executive and Solicitor to the Authority for advice.

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