Thanet councillor Suzanne Brimm has been issued a court summons by the Information Commissioner’s Office.
The Thanet Independent Councillor faces three charges related to Freedom of Information requests for details about last year’s dog dna scheme.
The scheme was launched last July in a bid to trap owners who failed to clear up after their pets.
The idea was to target irresponsible owners who let their dogs foul and do not bag and bin it.
But the scheme, which involved costs of £5,000 and had intended the pilot to offer the first 500 registrations for free, was ditched following a busy launch day at Government Acre. Thanet council said it was due to ‘low take up.’
The charges, outlined in the summons by Aaminah Khan, prosecution lawyer to the Information Commissioner, accuse Cllr Brimm of blocking, concealing or destroying records held by Thanet council “with the intention of preventing the disclosure by TDC of information” in response to FOI requests between July 31, 2017, and September 2 and 5, 2017.
A further charge says that between May 7, 2015 -when Cllr Brimm was first elected – and February 9, 2018, Cllr Brimm “being a data controller, processed personal data without having entry in the register maintained by the Information Commissioner.”
The hearing will be at Canterbury Magistrates’ Court on April 24.
Cllr Brimm, of Birchington, is expected to deny the charges.
A Thanet council spokesman said: “It would not be appropriate for the council to comment on a private matter relating to Councillor Brimm.”
