CEREDIGION County Council will not have to reveal details of its controversial £2m contract with Pricewaterhouse Coopers, the Information Commissioner has ruled.

After the Cambrian News complained to the Information Commissioner’s Office in July over the council’s repeated refusals to reveal details of its agreement with PwC, the ICO has ruled in the council’s favour.

The ICO said that it agreed with the council that revealing details of its contract with PwC would harm the commercial interests of PwC.

The ICO said in its ruling: “The Commissioner considers that there is a public interest in openness and transparency, and in accountability for the efficient use of public funds. However she accepts that in this case a large part of the contract has been disclosed, along with the annual total amounts paid to PwC, which goes some way to meeting this public interest argument.

“Having taken into account all of the public interest arguments for and against disclosure of the withheld information, the Commissioner has concluded that the public interest in maintaining the exemption, and therefore protecting the commercial interests of PwC and

preserving its ability to compete fairly in a commercial market, outweighs the public interest in disclosure in all the circumstances of this case.”

Cllr Gethin James, a long-standing critic of the council’s contract with PwC, reacted to the ruling, saying: “I think it is undermining public confidence in the public authority, and this administration in particular.

“It is taxpayers’ money and people should know how it is spent."

The Cambrian News is considering challenging the decision of the Commissioner.

See this week’s Cambrian News south editions for the full story, in shops and online on Wednesday