They are not trustees

SEVERAL readers have informed us regarding what they see as errors and misrepresentations in a recent article by by transition trustee, John Dodwell (CART and the Freedom of Information Act) yesterday, 14th March.

As pointed out by our Allan Richards earlier in the week, Canal & River Trust (CART) is a private limited company not registered as a charity. As such, we are told, it is wrong to call its directors trustees as the article does.

Subject to the Act

Several also point out that CART is subject to the Freedom of Information Act as it is owned by public bodies who themselves are subject to the Act.

Allan Richards comments:

"Until such time as CART is properly constituted as a charitable organisation and parliament approval to the transfer has been obtained, it is wrong for these people to call themselves other than transition trustees. Even then, it is CART's committee that should be deciding who to appoint as trustees of the charity rather than the transition trustees themselves.

"With regard to the Freedom of Information Act, British Waterways record has been very poor, and a failed attempt has been made to make the charity completely free of the Act for the most spurious of reasons. BWML, which is wholly owned by British Waterways, is subject to the Act (as evidenced by several successful Freedom of Information Act requests) and there is no reason to believe that CART which is wholly owned by British Waterways and Defra is not in exactly the same position.

"At face value, the article and information now published on the Trust website would seem a crude attempt to dissuade the public from obtaining information to which they are entitled by law."