Can an alderman share confidential information with a group of residents?
image: Kristine Flour via Unsplash
A complex discussion is currently taking place in the Municipality of The Hague. An alderman has shared secret information about a future shelter with a group of select residents, asking them not to share this information with others. Geerten Boogaard, Professor Local Government, talks about the issue with Omroep West.
The council's guidance on secrecy allows information to be shared with others outside the council. The course of action makes for an uncomfortable discussion, as councillors involved cannot comment on it. This, according to the college, which invokes the municipal law, would also apply to the group of residents, with whom the information was shared. This leads to the report filed by Hart voor Den Haag.
That secrecy also applies to citizens is not true, according to Boogaard. 'I wouldn't know how. The standard I know hangs on a function. Anyone who learns something through that function is bound by it and knows the consequences.' According to the Penal Code, there is no clear basis for binding citizens to secrecy. Boogaard regrets the councillor's conduct and also finds it strange that the municipal council is not allowed to speak, but is allowed to share the information with a select group of residents.
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Read the full article from Omroep West (in dutch)