Response to Request for Internal Review -

Resources

Knowledge and Information Management Team	Information Services
	101 Orchardson Street
	London
This matter is being dealt with by :	NW8 8EA
Email: [Westminster City Council request email]
	Tel No: 0207 641
	Fax No: 0207 641 2872

To Mr Thierry Muller E: [FOI #19491 email] By email	Date: 9^th December 2009

Dear Mr Muller

Re: Request for Internal Review - Request 4467

Thank you for your emails dated 25^th November 2009 regarding the response to your recent request to the Council (our ref: 4467).

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

You queried the Council's response that the information was not held

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

In the course of this review I will refer to the following provision of the Freedom of Information Act 2000:

Section 1(4) requires that the information to be communicated must be the information in question held at the time when the request is received, except for any amendment or deletion that would have been made regardless of the receipt of the request. A public authority is, therefore, not required to create new information nor give an opinion or judgement that is not already recorded.

Your original request, submitted on the 6^th October 2009 you asked the following question:

"In which motorcycle parking bay was the highest number of PCNs issued to scooters and motorcycles since the parking fee was introduced in August last year?"

The Council responded on the 28^th October to inform you that the requested information was not held. You sent two emails on the 25^th November 2009 to request an internal review. In one of them you expressed dissatisfaction with this response stating that: "Every PCN issued has a street name so it must be possible to answer my question."

In reviewing your request I can confirm that while you are correct in that PCNs are issued with a street name, those which are issued in respect of motorcycle parking bays do not contain information to enable the exact identification of which bay on a given street the PCN was issued to.

This entails that the Council does not hold the requested information in respect of which motorcycle bay has been issued with the highest number of PCNs as per the scope of your request. For the purposes of section 1 (4), therefore, the information is not held and as a result your complaint is 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,

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