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Subject:
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Re: Freedom of Information request 372 |
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Date:
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Thu, 15 Sep 2011 13:51:03 +0100 |
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From:
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Rob Foulds <rob@rofos.net> |
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To:
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FreedomofInformation <Freedomofinformation@rotherham.gov.uk> |
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Dear Ms Hotson
There is clearly an intention to mislead the public on your council’s website.
When I wrote to you in August, I had attempted to access the information that I wanted via a perfectly logical route i.e.
1) From the Council’s website Home page, I clicked on the ‘Find information‘ page http://www.rotherham.gov.uk/?tab=info
2) I then clicked on the ‘Council and democracy‘ page http://www.rotherham.gov.uk/info/100004/council_and_democracy
3) I then clicked on the ‘Agendas, Reports, Minutes‘ page http://moderngov.rotherham.gov.uk/uuCoverPage.aspx?bcr=1
4) I then clicked on the ‘Browse the agenda/minutes‘ page http://moderngov.rotherham.gov.uk/ieDocHome.aspx?Categories=
5) I then clicked on the ‘Standards Committee Review Panel‘ page http://moderngov.rotherham.gov.uk/ieListMeetings.aspx?CId=777&Year=2011
6) I then clicked on many of the dates upon which meetings had been held and, low and behold, I was advised that “No documents are available for this meeting”. Furthermore, this page does not provide me with a link to a page where the information is held and the only other information proffered, is simply “Contact: Alan Harston”, whoever he is! – does he work for the Council, does he have an email address, does he have a telephone no., does he have a postal address?
Having just gone through this same process today, I would advise you that the non-availability of documents via the above logical path, continues to prevent access to the Standards Committee Review Panel records.
You however, have advised me that the documentation is “publicly available” on your website at http://www.rotherham.gov.uk/info/200033/councillors_democracy_and_elections/1104/standards_committee/4 and yet when I trace the links back through the headings on that page, I find that the committee records for the aforementioned Review Panel are actually hiding under a webpage, which is entitled ‘Councillors, democracy and elections‘. This latter heading gives no indication whatsoever, that committee records of any kind would be listed there under.
It is quite clear to me that the Council has intentionally, most likely for reasons of embarrassment evasion, hidden the Standards Committee documentation from the public and then when someone makes a specific enquiry, you produce this spurious response as if the enquirer is at fault.
I therefore require you to accept this email as a formal complaint about the Council’s failure to make information freely and clearly available to the public.
Yours sincerely
Robert Foulds
_______________________________________________
On 15 September 2011 10:22, FreedomofInformation <Freedomofinformation@rotherham.gov.uk> wrote:
Dear Mr Foulds
I refer to your email of 30 August 2011, copied below:
I have been looking on the Council’s website pages for information regarding the Standards Committee Review Panel and am surprised to see that no records are available in relation to any of the meetings, in fact the only thing that appears when you click on the links is “No documents are available for this meeting”.
Under the Freedom of Information Act, could you please advise why the information has been removed.
In response to your query, I can advise that there has been no decision to remove any information from this area of the website. The information is publicly available and can be accessed via the following link:http://www.rotherham.gov.uk/info/200033/councillors_democracy_and_elections/1104/standards_committee/4
In accordance with the procedures of Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council (RMBC), I am advising you that the cost to the authority in responding to this request has been £12.00 which reflects the staff time and administration costs involved. RMBC however does not currently make any charge to customers for processing Freedom of Information Act requests.
If you are not satisfied with this response you have the right to an internal review by the Council. Please contact us via the above email address or by post to Sarah Corbett, Information Governance Manager, Legal Services, Council Offices, Doncaster Gate, Doncaster Road, Rotherham. South Yorkshire, S65 1DJ.
If you are not satisfied with the internal review, you can appeal to the Information Commissioner. Contact details are: Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire. SK9 5AF. Telephone 01625 545700. Alternatively go to http://www.ico.gov.uk/
Yours sincerely,
Christine Hotson
Access to Information Officer
Information Governance Unit
Legal Services
Chief Executive’s Directorate
Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council
Tel: 01709 823676 Fax: 01709 823798
Internal from old:7423676
Internal from new: 23676
Email: christine.hotson@rotherham.gov.uk
Visit our website: http://www.rotherham.gov.uk
Rob Foulds, has received a response from Richard Waller, I reproduce it below:
“On 27 September 2011 12:26, Waller, Richard <Richard.Waller@rotherham.gov.uk> wrote:
Dear Mr Foulds
I am writing in reply to your e-mail dated 15 September in which you state that you wish to make a formal complaint about the Council’s failure to make information about Standard Committee review panels freely and clearly available to the public. You suggest that the Council has hidden this information from the public. The reason is rather more mundane.
Save for written summaries, documentation in connection with meetings of the Standard Committee’s assessment and review panels is not available to the public by virtue of regulation 8 (application of the Local Government Act 1972) of the Standards Committee (England) Regulations 2008. Regulation 8 (5) (a) of the 2008 Regulations disapplies Part VA (access to meetings and documents of certain authorities, committees and sub-committees) of the Local Government Act 1972 in relation to access to meetings and documents of the Standards Committee’s assessment and review panels. Statutory guidance published by Standards for England explains why: “Such meetings may have to consider unfounded and potentially damaging complaints about members, which it would not be appropriate to make public”.
However, in accordance with regulation 8 (5) (b) & (c) of the 2008 Regulations, a written summary of the hearing is published and can be found in the Standards Committee pages of the Council’s website in the Council and Democracy section under Standards Committee. If you had clicked on that page you would have been able to access written summaries of assessment and review panel meetings (see the bottom of that page: Code of conduct complaints process – written summaries).
I agree however that the relevant page of the Agenda, Reports, Minutes pages of the Council and Democracy section of the website should be cross-referenced to the Standards Committee page and shall arrange for this to be done. I apologise for any inconvenience caused.
If you are not satisfied with this internal review, you can appeal to the Information Commissioner. Contact details are: Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire. SK9 5AF. Telephone 01625 545700. Alternatively go to www.ico.gov.org.
Kind regards
Richard Waller”
Clearly not content with this as an adequate response to his enquiry and replied in the following terms:
“Dear Mr Waller
The second-last paragraph of your response therefore agrees that my formal complaint is justified and you confirm that you will arrange to rectify the failings of Rotherham Council.
The analogy is simple: if I call in at Rotherham Library and seek a copy of Lady Chatterley’s Lover, I think it would be reasonable to find it in the classic fiction section thereof. And I would certainly not expect a librarian to ultimately advise me that it was “publicly available” in the geography section, under Eastwood, Nottinghamshire, and thereafter provide me with an abstract explanation of why it was so filed.
In spite of your protestation of mundanity and voluminous quotes from various legislation, the real truth is that the records to which I refer, used to be filed under Agenda, Reports, Minutes and someone at Rotherham Council deliberately removed the records from that logical location and only after receiving a formal complaint, as usual, does your Authority decide to apply appropriate ‘standards’ of administration. By the way, there is still a major lack of information pertaining to the Standards Committee on the Agenda, Reports, Minutes web page.
Finally, it is notable that you have treated my formal complaint as an “internal review” of my original Freedom of Information request – again, the well-worn standard RMBC tactic of manipulation is employed. Surely to God, you must have realised by now that there are some members of the public who can see straight through your Authority’s manoeuvrings.
Yours sincerely
Robert Foulds”
FOI 2011.10.09 – PLANNING PERMISSION FOR SIGNAGE
FOI Register 