'GAGGING orders' are being used to withhold information on key public projects such as the scrapped Circuit of Wales, a report has said.

The report by the Welsh Assembly's Public Accounts Committee found multiple cases where public sector organisations used confidentiality agreements to withhold information under the pretext of commercial sensitivity.

This, the committee said, has prevented the possibility of robust scrutiny into schemes such as the £425 million Circuit of Wales in Ebbw Vale, which was scrapped in June 2017.

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Questions have continued to be asked over the arrangements around the preparation of the proposed racetrack, which cost the Welsh taxpayer more than £9.3 million after the Welsh Government handed the developers a £2 million grant in 2012 and was forced to pay out more than £7.3 million to Santander after the bank recalled a loan the firm was unable to repay in May 2016.

Other schemes flagged up in the report include the new Aston Martin plant in St Athan, as well as in Natural Resources Wales and the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales, where confidentiality payments totalling £140,000 were paid to employees leaving the organisations in the 2017-2018 financial year.

The committee said these agreements meant, when the schemes or organisations were being scrutinised, AMs were prevented from seeing some specific information due to confidentiality agreements.

The committee's chairman and Monmouth AM Nick Ramsay said, while it was accepted there are circumstances in which information must be kept confidential, this should only be done when there is legitimate reason to.

"These clauses must not be used as a default position by public sector bodies to avoid scrutiny which could potentially be embarrassing," he said. "It is important the public has confidence in public sector spending.”

South Wales Argus:

Nick Ramsay

The report said it was important that organisations using taxpayers' money were able to clearly set out how it is spent and on what.

It said: "We are concerned about the lack of transparency around the reporting of some areas of actual or potential expenditure.

"Information is often withheld on grounds of commercial sensitivity.

"While this may be appropriate in some cases, public bodies need to balance this with the requirement for open disclosure in the public interest.

"For a long time we have been concerned about the use of confidentiality agreements.

"Their potential to act as a significant barrier to whistleblowing and contribute to the cover up of issues mean they might be warranted only in exceptional circumstances."

The committee also criticised the Welsh Government for failing to publish its accounts bilingually simultaneously, with the welsh-language version coming two weeks after the English version.

Mr Ramsay said: “That the Welsh Government effectively contravened its own Welsh language requirements is concerning and disappointing.

“We would expect the government to be setting a positive example in meeting the requirements it sets out for other public bodies.”