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Dear Mr Lort-Phillips

Re: Request for Internal Review - Request 4045 & 4244

Thank you for your s dated 9^th September and 2^nd October 2009 regarding the response to your recent requests to the Council (our ref: 4045 & 4244).

In your you asked for an internal review of the handling of your Requests. I have summarised the details of your appeal below:

I am sorry that you are dissatisfied with our handling of your requests and I have investigated your complaints under Stage 1 of the Council's Corporate Complaints Procedure. Further details of our procedure can be found on our website: http://www.westminster.gov.uk/services/councilgovernmentanddemocracy/councils/contactsconsultationandfeedback/complaints-and-compliments/complaints/

Response

Your original request was received by the Council on the 7^th July 2009, and logged under the reference 4045. A response was provided to you on the 3^rd of August 2009. You then wrote to the Council on the 4^th August to query the figures you had received, ask for additional information about the survey activities and resubmit a question which had not been answered from your original request. This email was considered to be a new request and logged as such under the new reference 4244. On the 9^th September the Council contacted you, intending to send a holding letter, but instead sent an incomplete version of a response. You wrote to the Council on the same day to request an internal review citing dissatisfaction with this latest correspondence and the figures that you received in response to FOI 4045. The Council emailed you in response on the 9^th September to provide the correct letter. The Council then contacted you on the 28^th September to respond to 4244, but omitted to attach the spreadsheet referred to in their letter. You then resubmitted your request for an internal review of the handling of your request on the 2^nd October 2009.

Handling of your requests

In reviewing the handling of your requests I note that while a response was provided with regard to FOI 4045 within 20 working days, the question regarding the Communications budget was not answered, and was logged again under FOI 4244. This aspect of your complaint is therefore upheld.

With regard to FOI 4244 the Council apologised, as soon as you alerted them, for sending the wrong letter to you on the 9^th September. By the 9^th September, however, the request was already overdue for response. Further, the response provided on the 28^th September, due to the omission of the spreadsheet, did not answer your request. This aspect of your complaint is, therefore upheld.

The delays in providing the requested information are unacceptable, and I apologise for the delays and frustrations that you have experienced with regard to these two requests.

Further, I attach the spreadsheet which should have accompanied the Council's response of the 28^th September 2009 as I note that you have not yet received it.

Accuracy of figures

In your email of the 4^th August you queried the figures that you had been provided with. The spreadsheet that was sent to you provided the figures for costs of surveying, manufacturing of the bays, and signs / notices. Although this did not account for the full figure of survey work and extension of on street parking places, it did answer the questions asked in your original request. This aspect of your complaint is, therefore, not upheld.

This completes the internal review into the handling of your Request under the Council's complaints procedure. Should you be dissatisfied with our response, you are entitled to contact the Information Commissioner under Section 50 of the Freedom of Information Act. For your reference, I have provided his contact details below:

Information Commissioner's Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

Tel: 08456 30 60 60 or 01625 54 57 45
Fax: 01625 524510

Web: www.ico.gov.uk

Yours sincerely,

Knowledge & Information Management Team

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Under the Data Protection Act 1998, Data Subjects have rights to challenge, alter or erase the inaccurate and unlawful processing of their information. In the first instance please contact The Data Protection Officer, Information Services, 101 Orchardson Street, London NW8 8EA. If you are not satisfied with our response you may contact The Information Commissioner: Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF