16^th November 2009

Dear S Tyler,

Re: Your request for information

Thank you for your email dated 7^th October 2009. As the information you requested is not personal or environmental it has been processed in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Initially, I would like to take this opportunity to apologise for the delay in responding to your request. Please be assured we are currently carrying out a thorough review of all our office procedures to minimise the possibility of any future delays.

I have investigated your request and can confirm that Nottingham City Council did not issue a response to the Badman Review on Home Education.

However, an Officer from Children's Services did respond to the 6 question `Public Questionnaire' on the same subject. This is already publically available under Section 21 of this Act, and can be found by accessing the following link: http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/home_education_review_questionna#incoming-21589. For ease of reference, I have also added a copy of the question to this email.

As you asked for personal information about another person we are required by section 40(2) of this act to take into account the principles of the Data Protection Act 1998. The Officer responsible provided their opinions anonymously to the Department of Children, Schools and Families, and requested that their response be kept confidential in the first part of the form. This Authority believes that Officers should be able to take part in exercises such as this without fear of their identity being shared in the public, as this will allow free and frank debate by Nottingham City Council Officers, and will not inhibit their desire to share their opinions. Therefore, in this instance we will be maintaining the section 40(2) exemption and will not be releasing the name of the Officer in question or their title.

Owing to the fact that this authority is applying an exemption to part of the information requested, please accept this letter as a refusal notice issued in accordance with section 17 of this Act.

Most of the information that we provide in response to Freedom of Information Act 2000 requests will be subject to copyright protection. In most cases the copyright will be owned by Nottingham City Council. The copyright in other information may be owned by another person or organisation, as indicated in the information itself.

You are free to use any information supplied for your own use, including for non commercial research purposes. The information may also be used for the purposes of news reporting. However, any other type of re-use, for example, by publishing the information or issuing copies to the public will require the permission of the copyright

owner.

For information where the copyright is owned by the Council details of the conditions on re-use can be obtained by contacting the Information Governance Office of Nottingham City Council at The Guildhall, Nottingham, NG1 4BT or by telephoning us on (0115) 9154155. For information where the copyright is owned by another person or organisation, you must apply to the copyright owner to obtain their permission.

If you should have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me on the above number quoting your personal case reference which is IGO/09-6122.

If you are not satisfied with the response provided or any exemptions applied you should write in the first instance to Stephanie Pearson, Information Governance, The Guildhall, Burton Street, Nottingham, NG1 4BT stating the reasons for your dissatisfaction. If you remain dissatisfied after receiving a response to your initial complaint you can request an independent review from the Information Commissioner's Office at FOI/EIR Complaints Resolution, Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF. You may also contact the Information Commissioner's Office by telephone on 01625 545745 or by email at [email address].

Yours sincerely

Charlotte Halls

Senior Information Governance Officer

Information Governance Office

Memo