5 August 2008

Ms T Ezekpo

Via email ([FOI #1456 email])

Our ref: CS/08/0034/HJP

(Please quote our reference when contacting us)

If telephoning contact Hilary Pook on 020 7217 4734

or if using email send to: [email address]

Dear Ms Ezekpo

Request for information

In your email of 26 July, you asked how many complaints against Hackney Council the Ombudsman received about racial discrimination/harassment between 1989 and 1995. I am afraid that this information is not held. We only keep records on our computer database for a period of 10 years after the complaints are closed, so most of the complaints received in the period you are interested in will have been deleted by now.

As I cannot answer the first question, it follows that I cannot tell you what proportion of these complaints were made by people who are black. But in any case, we would not hold this information as we did not start ethnic monitoring of complainants until 1998.

I am sorry I cannot help you.

That concludes my response and I hope you find the information useful. If you feel I have not dealt properly with your request, you have the right to appeal and, should you wish to do so, I can supply a copy our internal complaints procedure. You also have the right to apply to the Information Commissioner to determine whether your request has been properly dealt with. You should note however that the Commissioner will not consider any complaint where you have not first exhausted our internal complaints process or where there has been undue delay in contacting him. You will be able to obtain further details of the Information Commissioner's role from the website on www.ico.gov.uk.

Yours sincerely

Hilary Pook (Ms)

Communications and Records Manager

LGO 01 (03/08)