A local authority controlled by Reform UK is facing serious allegations of obstructing public scrutiny after it spent more than five months refusing to release evidence supporting a claim it saved over £40 million.
The FoI Request and the Delayed Response
The controversy centres on a statement made by the leader of Kent county council, Linden Kemkaran, at a council meeting on 10 July. She announced that the authority had saved £32 million by cancelling a programme to improve property energy efficiency and a further £7.5 million by abandoning a plan to electrify the council's vehicle fleet by 2030.
This prompted an immediate freedom of information (FoI) request from Polly Billington, the Labour MP for East Thanet, who has a background in green energy. She asked for all documents detailing how these substantial savings figures were calculated.
The council's initial response in August stated the only available information was two lines in a budget document, arguing that as the projects were only potential and not formally agreed, no business cases existed. Billington challenged this, stating it was "not plausible" that no other emails or documents were created, and demanded their release.
A Pattern of Obstruction and Internal Turmoil
Since the initial request, the MP has written repeatedly to the council and directly to Kemkaran, accusing them of breaching FoI laws and threatening to involve the Information Commissioner's Office. In a late October email, a council FoI officer apologised for the delay, citing they were "currently waiting for a response from the leader’s office".
Billington expressed shock at the council's lack of openness regarding savings on projects that "never really existed". She said: "What I wasn’t prepared for was the sheer lengths council leader Kemkaran would apparently go to in order to prevent the truth being released."
The episode unfolds against a backdrop of instability for the Reform administration, which took control in May. Its cohort of councillors has shrunk from 57 to 48 following suspensions, expulsions, and departures. In October, five councillors were suspended, with two expelled, after a leaked video revealed internal complaints about "backbiting" and featured Kemkaran telling dissenting members to "fucking suck it up".
Council's Defence and Pending Deadline
A spokesperson for Kent county council strongly rejected any suggestion of a cover-up or impropriety. They stated the council takes its FoI responsibilities seriously and explained that the claimed savings "relate to forward-looking assumptions within the capital programme rather than approved or committed schemes".
They maintained that the cancelled projects were "indicative" and therefore lacked detailed business cases, adding both would have created "significant financial pressure". The council has committed to providing a substantive response to Billington by the end of this week, a deadline it says remains unchanged.
This standoff highlights growing tensions over transparency and accountability in local government, particularly for newly established political administrations making significant financial claims.
