Trust & FoI responses

Here is the response to from Barnet Council to an FoI response. As the other relevant emails were sent in confidence, I cannot persue this further right now. I guess you can imagine my views on the issue.
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Dear Mr Tichborne,

I am writing regarding your request to the London Borough of Barnet (the Council) under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the FOIA) for access to the following:

-        Does the council keep a record of all emails sent/received using official Barnet.gov.uk email addresses?

-        Is there an audit trail of correspondence?

-        Details of the searches performed to satisfy this request.

My response to your request is below.

Response

I can confirm that e-mails sent and received from barnet.gov.uk e-mail addresses are stored in accordance with the council’s internet and e-mail usage policy and records retention and disposal guidelines. Copies of these documents are attached.

I can confirm that there is audit trail of correspondence to and from the Standards and Information Rights team related to your request.

I can confirm that the Standards and Information Rights team asked the following members and officers to search their records for the information requested by you:

-        Chief Executive;

-        Deputy Chief Executive;

-        The Leader’s Office;

-        Conservative Group Political Assistant;

-        Chief Internal Auditor;

-        Chair of the Audit Committee; and

-        Director of Commercial Services.

Your Rights

If you are unhappy with the way your request for information has been handled, you can request a review by writing to the FOI Officer at: The London Borough of Barnet, North London Business Park, Oakleigh Road South, London, N11 1NP (email foi@barnet.gov.uk).

If you remain dissatisfied with the handling of your request or complaint, you have a right to appeal to the Information Commissioner at: The Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF (telephone: 08456 30 60 60 or 01625 54 57 45; website: www.ico.gov.uk).

There is no charge for making an appeal.

Yours sincerely,

Catherine Wilson Pointer
Governance Officer

Corporate Governance Directorate
London Borough of Barnet, North London Business Park, Oakleigh Road South, London N11 1NP
Tel: 020 8359 7757
Barnet Online: www.barnet.gov.uk
P please consider the environment - do you really need to print this email?

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From: Roger Tichborne

Sent: 14 August 2011 09:44
To: Wilson Pointer, Catherine; Freedom of Information Act
Subject: Re: Freedom of Information Request

Dear Freedom of Information,

I sent this email to Catherine Wilson Pointer on Sunday 31st July. I asked if the request could be processed as an FoI request, in the event that Ms Wilson Pointer could not answer it otherwise. This email has not been acknowledged. Please confirm receipt of this request.

Regards

Roger Tichborne

----- Original Message -----

From: Roger Tichborne

To: Wilson Pointer, Catherine

Sent: Sunday, July 31, 2011 1:57 PM

Subject: Re: Freedom of Information Request

Dear Ms Pointer,

Please can you confirm one thing for me. Does the council keep a record of all emails sent/received using official Barnet.gov.uk email addresses?

Is there an audit trail of correspondance? If there is, then I will be requesting a personal meeting to discuss your response, as I have evidence to the contrary. I would also like to have details of the searches performed to satisfy this request.

If it is necessary, please consider this as an FoI request.

I am most concerned that there appears to be no effective audit trail of important messages.

Regards

Roger Tichborne

----- Original Message -----

From: Wilson Pointer, Catherine

To: Roger Tichborne

Sent: Wednesday, July 27, 2011 1:55 PM

Subject: Re: Freedom of Information Request

Dear Mr Tichborne,

I am writing in relation to your email to the London Borough of Barnet (the Council), received on 12 July 2011, requesting an internal review of the Council’s handling of your request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the FOIA) for access to the following:

‘Yesterday I sent the attached email to the CEO of Barnet and all Barnet Councillors. I have been informed that shortly after, an email was sent to councillors asking them not to respond to this communication. Please send me a copy of this email, detailing who it was from and who it was sent to. I would like to remind Barnet Council that the chair of the audit committee praised my efforts (and those of other bloggers) in exposing the Metpro fiasco. I trust that all concerned would like to expose bad practise in Barnet Council’.

You have requested a review as you do not agree with the Council’s initial response that the Council does not hold this information.

I have reviewed your request and my response is below.

Response

I have reviewed the searches for the requested information that were undertaken by the officer who prepared the initial response to your request.

I am satisfied that the officer conducted appropriate searches and that no information was found.

In conducting a review I have contacted the Leader’s Office and the Chief Executive a second time and can confirm that the information you requested is not held.

I note that the FOIA does not apply to emails sent between Councillors for representative or political purposes. The Information Commissioner’s Office has published some useful guidance on this point that you can access here: http://www.ico.gov.uk/tools_and_resources/document_library/freedom_of_information.aspx   

Your right of appeal to the Information Commissioner

We consider we have complied with our obligations under the FOIA. However, if you remain dissatisfied with the handling of your request or complaint, you have a right to appeal to the Information Commissioner at: The Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF (telephone: 084 56 30 60 60 or 016 25 54 57 45; email casework@ico.gov.uk; website www.ico.gov.uk). There is no charge for making an appeal.

Yours sincerely,

Catherine Wilson Pointer
Governance Officer

Corporate Governance Directorate
London Borough of Barnet, North London Business Park, Oakleigh Road South, London N11 1NP
Tel: 020 8359 7757
Barnet Online: www.barnet.gov.uk
P please consider the environment - do you really need to print this email?

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From: Roger Tichborne

Sent: 12 July 2011 17:46
To: Humphreys, Louise
Cc: Cornelius, Cllr Richard Conservative; Walkley, Nick
Subject: Re: Freedom of Information Request

Dear Ms Humphreys,

I would ask you to reconsider the response to the email below. I have had confirmation from the individual who sent the email and this email was sent to me using a Barnet Council email account. Can I suggest that you discuss your response with the two people copied on this email before replying. I am concerned that the procedures you are using to identify such correspondence may be flawed. I would be most troubled if this was anything other than a genuine mistake.

Regards

Roger Tichborne

----- Original Message -----

From: Humphreys, Louise

To: Roger Tichborne

Sent: Tuesday, July 12, 2011 9:49 AM

Subject: Freedom of Information Request

Dear Mr Tichborne,

I am writing regarding your request to the London Borough of Barnet (the Council) under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the FOIA).

Your request was as follows:

‘Yesteday I sent the attached email to the CEO of Barnet and all Barnet Councillors. I have been informed that shortly after, an email was sent to councillors asking them not to respond to this communication. Please send me a copy of this email, detailing who it was from and who it was sent to. I would like to remind Barnet Council that the chair of the audit commitee praised my efforts (and those of other bloggers) in exposing the Metpro fiasco. I trust that all concerned would like to expose bad practise in Barnet Council’.

My response to your request is below.

Response

We have searched our records and the London Borough of Barnet does not hold the information requested.

Your Rights

If you are unhappy with the way your request for information has been handled, you can request a review by writing to the FOI Officer at: The London Borough of Barnet, North London Business Park, Oakleigh Road South, London, N11 1NP (email foi@barnet.gov.uk).

If you remain dissatisfied with the handling of your request or complaint, you have a right to appeal to the Information Commissioner at: The Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF (telephone: 08456 30 60 60 or 01625 54 57 45; website: http://www.ico.gov.uk/).

There is no charge for making an appeal.

Yours sincerely,

Louise Humphreys

Information Governance Officer

Corporate Governance Directorate

London Borough of Barnet, North London Business Park, Oakleigh Road South, London N11 1NP
Tel: 020 8359 7072
Barnet Online: www.barnet.gov.uk

P please consider the environment - do you really need to print this email?