By Carmelo Garcia – Local Democracy Reporter
More than £780,000 of taxpayers’ money has been spent on non-disclosure agreements by authorities in Gloucestershire over the last three financial years.
The Government announced earlier this year a crackdown on the misuse of so-called gagging orders.
Changes set to be introduced in the Employment Rights Bill will mean employees who are subject to harassment or discrimination will no longer be silenced by controversial NDAs.
A freedom of information (FOI) request made by the Local Democracy Reporting Service to councils in the county revealed at least 25 NDAs have been signed by Cheltenham Borough Council.
These are not believed to be linked to employment issues but rather sensitive commercial information associated with the authority’s major development projects in the spa town.
A total of £782,468 has been paid associated with 25 NDAs signed by the Borough Council between the financial years 2022/23 and 2024/2025, according to the FOI response.
“While there are many ways in which non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) can be used, part of our success story is how we’ve built confidence with partners by protecting commercially sensitive information,” a Cheltenham Borough Council spokesperson said.
“NDAs ensure that organisations can share investment proposals with us in confidence. Working in this way not only enables us to explore opportunities, test proposals and negotiate terms without risking the release of sensitive commercial information, it also ensures that partners have confidence knowing that their intellectual property and business models are safeguarded.
“On occasions if such negotiations break down or contracts are terminated, a financial settlement may be reached. This is balanced against past investment opportunities as well future potential for growth.”
The Forest of Dean District Council has refused to say how many NDAs or gagging orders have been signed and how much has been paid out during that same period.
They stated in the FOI response that their decision to decline this was because the Local Democracy Reporting Service was “asking for personal information” and the low number of cases could lead to the people involved being identified.
“Based on the very low number of cases involved, disclosure of this level of detail could lead to the identification of the individuals involved when combined with other information that may be already in the public domain or known to others, for example former colleagues or friends of the individuals involved,” the FOI response reads.
After several requests for comment by the District Council on the refusal to provide the information, the authority is now claiming it has not entered into any NDA during that period.
Cotswold District Council, Gloucester City Council, Stroud District Council and Tewkesbury Borough Council all said they have not signed any NDAs or gagging orders over the last three financial years.
Gloucestershire County Council said they do not hold the information requested and do not issue non-disclosure agreements to members of staff.
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