Barnet Council FoI response - Barnet Council & Standards (This is NOT the Friday Joke)

So here is yet another late FoI response containing yet another apology. This one is rather important to me as it directly concerns the Standards case which I took out against Councillor Brian Coleman in 2009. One of the recommendations was that to avoid further such incidents, Barnet Council should arrange suitable training for Councillors. Rather remarkably, despite his expensive and embarrassing mishap, it appears that Coleman arrogantly chose not to attend any of this. Surely having exposed the Council to the risk of having to pay £10,000 for a lawyer, Coleman should have been compelled by the then Leader of the Council (Mike Freer) to attend.

Perhaps the strangest answer of the lot is to question C.

C)                Is your administration committed to maintaining the highest Standards in public office and rigorously upholding its own code of conduct?

No response because this is not a valid request for recorded information under the FOIA.

Have you got that. Barnet Council will not say whether they are committed to maintaining the highest standards in public office, because they don't have to under the FoI act. I think the non answer says it all, don't you.

Interestingly it took over 1 year for the training in Social Media and Code of Conduct to be arranged (the Coleman case recommended it in September 2009).  Maybe if they'd arranged it in a timely fashion, then Councillor Andreas Tambourides may have realised that it wasn't a good idea to send the derogatory email about Councillor Catherine Salinger to all his colleagues. I am surprised that he didn't use the lack of recommended training as his excuse.

Here's the full text. It is simply unbelieveable as far as I am concerned. Oh and one last thing. Do they always send these on a Friday because they believe the storm will blow over by the time they are back in work on Monday. Strange?
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Dear Mr Tichborne

I am writing regarding your request, received by the London Borough of Barnet (the Council) on 17 October 2011 for access to the following information:

  

“A)       Following the September 2009 ruling [by the Standards Committee], has Councillor Brian Coleman received the recommended training from Barnet Council?

B)        Which other Barnet Councillors have received the recommended training from Barnet Council?

C)        Is your administration committed to maintaining the highest Standards in public office and rigorously upholding its own code of conduct?

D)        How many complaints (upheld, not upheld and under review) has Barnet Council received concerning email responses from Councillor Coleman

E)        How many complaints (upheld, not upheld and under review) has Barnet Council received concerning email responses from yourself (Councillor Richard Cornelius).”

We are processing your request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the FOIA).  Under the FOIA you are entitled to receive a response within 20 working days from the date of receipt of your request.  Please accept my apology on behalf of the council for failing to meet this deadline.  My response to your request is below.

Response

 A)       Following the September 2009 ruling, has Councillor Brian Coleman received the recommended training from Barnet Council?

On Monday 5 July 2010 the council ran a Member Development session on the Code of Conduct. Attendance was not taken but Cllr Coleman was not on the list of councillors due to attend.  On Wednesday 20 October 2010 the council ran a Member Development session on Social Media and the Code of Conduct. Cllr Coleman did not attend this session. On Wednesday 13 July 2011 the council ran a Member Development session on Planning Probity and the Code of Conduct. Cllr Coleman did not attend this session.

B)        Which other Barnet Councillors have received the recommended training from Barnet Council?

We do not hold information on which councillors attended the session on 5 July 2010.

The following councillors attended:

20 October 2010 – Social Media & Code of Conduct

Cllr J Cohen

Cllr A Cornelius

Cllr R Cornelius

Cllr J Hart

Cllr J Marshall

Cllr A McNeil

Cllr A Schneiderman

Cllr M Shooter

Cllr A Sodha

Cllr A Tambourides

Cllr J Tierney

13 July 2011 – Planning Probity & Code of Conduct

Cllr A Cornelius

Cllr A Hutton

Cllr G Johnson

Cllr J Johnson

Cllr A McNeil

Cllr A Moore

Cllr G Old

Cllr B Perry

Cllr B Rawlings

Cllr C Rogers

Cllr G Sargeant

Cllr B Schama

Cllr A Schneiderman

Cllr A Slocombe

Cllr S Sowerby

Cllr S Strongolou

Cllr A Tambourides

Cllr J Tambourides

Cllr R Thompstone

C)                Is your administration committed to maintaining the highest Standards in public office and rigorously upholding its own code of conduct?

No response because this is not a valid request for recorded information under the FOIA.

D)                How many complaints (upheld, not upheld and under review) has Barnet Council received concerning email responses from Councillor Coleman.

At the present time there has been one finding of a breach of the Members’ Code of Conduct by Councillor Coleman in relation to an e-mail response. 

The other information you have requested will not be disclosed unless and until such time as a matter proceeds to a full hearing determined by a standards sub-committee, prior disclosure of such information would potentially be prejudicial to due process.     

E)                 How many complaints (upheld, not upheld and under review) has Barnet Council received concerning email responses from yourself (Councillor Richard Cornelius).

At the present time there have been no findings of a breach of the Members’ Code of Conduct by Councillor Richard Cornelius in relation to e-mail responses. 

The other information you have requested will not be disclosed unless and until such time as a matter proceeds to a full hearing determined by a standards sub-committee, prior disclosure of such information would potentially be prejudicial to due process.   

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

M***** *********

Governance Officer

Corporate Governance Directorate
London Borough of Barnet, North London Business Park, Oakleigh Road South, London N11 1NP
Tel: 020 8359 7***
Barnet Online: www.barnet.gov.uk
P please consider the environment - do you really need to print this email?