Dear John Harris,
Thank you for your email of 26th August 2009 requesting certain information under the Freedom of Information (FOI) act. There is no obligation for me to reply to your email, as FOI requests should be directed to the council and not an individual. However, I am responding to some of your points as this is information I am aware of as Leader of the Council -
I am aware that some members of staff have attended so-called common
purpose training courses but I am unaware of the costs.
I have received a number of letters (in excess of 50; exact number not known) purporting to come from Kent residents. It was clear that photocopied signatures had been used. A proportion of these correspondents were contacted. All of whom were shocked to hear of these letters that they stated they did not send. It became clear that who ever sent the letters had allegedly not sought the permission of those whose names and addresses appeared at the top of the letters. As a result of the dubious nature of the letters nothing further was done with them. As an aside, the poorly worded letter did not request any further action, but was stating the point that the alleged correspondent was unhappy with Kent County Council policy on adoptions and therefore would not vote Conservative anymore.
Yours,

Cllr Christopher Garland
Leader of Maidstone Borough Council