Freedom of Information Request by Mr Stuart Hardwicke Curruthers

I would like to know the average proportion of time the elected representatives of your authority spend as part of their duties for 2005/2006, 2006/2007 and 2007/2008 on their main activities. The activities that form their duties (employment) as an elected representative are:

1 directly resolving complaints against the executive (Council Staff) of the Council by residents; 2 sitting on committee's; 3 acting for the political parties that they represent and/or ceremonial duties (i.e. all time not spent on sitting on a Committee or resolving a complaint against the executive);

The total time spent by an elected representative for a Council on these three activities should be 100 per cent of the time they spend 'working for a Council' as an elected representative.

Answer

We do not maintain records to determine the percentage of time elected Members spend on their Council activities. They are paid a fixed rate members allowance for undertaking their duties which is paid to them on a monthly basis. In addition they may receive a responsibility allowance for their duties as chairman or vice-chairman of specific committees. I am therefore unable to provide you with a response to this part of your request.

I would additionally like to know how much in total was paid to local councillors to meet all their duties (including expenses) for 2005/2006, 2006/2007 and 2007/2008 by your authority, and how many elected representatives are (and were) represented on your authority for these years.

Answer

The Council consists of 38 elected members and their lengths of service are included on our website www.rother.gov.uk. Full details of the amounts paid to Councillors are published annually and are available on the website http://www.rother.gov.uk/index.cfm?articleid=2618

I would also like to know how many Complaints in total were submitted to your Council in 2005/2006, 2006/2007 and 2007/2008 for each year. I would further like to know how many of these complaints were formally considered by an elected representative for each of these years.

Answer - Nil

I would further like to know how many complaints against the Executive (Council staff) led to the elected representatives formally identifying that the Executive had acted wrongly for the years 2005/2006, 2006/2007 and 2007/2008, and how many of these formal determinations by the elected representatives identify that there was no wrong-doing by the Executive. How many staff employed by your authority in 2005/2006, 2006/2007 and 2007/2008 ceased to be employed by your authority as a direct result of a complaint against the Executive, and the Councillors identifying this to be the case.

Answer - Nil

I would further like to know how much money the Council has paid to a complainant (i.e. victim of a Council's wrongdoing) through its own complaints system (i.e. excluding any intervention by the Local Government Ombudsman, Valuation Tribunal or similar body) in 2005/2006, 2006/2007 and 2007/2008.

Answer to follow

I would like to know how much money either in the form of local settlement or additional formal finding of maladministration causing injustice the Local Government Ombudsman has recommended that your Council pay in 2005/2006, 2006/2007 and 2007/2008 (for each year) and if the Local Government Ombudsman's recommendations have been met in full (including any non-financial recommendations for each year)). Please detail any recommendation that has not been met in full and provide a copy of the Elected representatives decision. Please additionally identify if these costs were met directly by Council Tax Payers or the Council's insurers (excluding self insurance by a Council)

Answer - Nil

Finally, please provide details of the financial cost of administering all your complaints systems (including FoI and DP) by the Executive for 2005/2006, 2006/2007 and 2007/2008 and the number of staff employed in administering complaints and resolving these (Full time equivalent staffing levels). Please also provide details of your total administrative costs for 2005/2006, 2006/2007 and 2007/2008 and the total number of staff employed by your authority, as well as any pay increase (including increments) made to the Council's Chief Executive (Head of Paid Service) in pounds sterling for each of these years. Please additionally identify if the Chief Executives wages included performance related payments.

Answer to follow

If you do not have this reasonably basic management information related to complaints and/or identify that the costs of accessing the information requested will be more than £450 please state this and identify that your Authority does not have either a functioning or accountable complaints system, and does not maintain any basic management information related to this issue.

If you have a complaints system not fit for purpose please identify which political party currently controls your Council, and if this political party has appointed the current Electoral Registration and Returning Officer through its control of the Council (with date of their formal appointment). Please name the current Electoral Registration and Returning Officer, and identify if they are also Head of Paid Service, and Clerk to your Authority. Please additionally provide any documentation maintained by your Local Authorities Head of Paid Service identifying that they personally do not believe it to be appropriate for your Council to have a complaints system that is fit for purpose. This documentation should be in existence due to the provisions of s4 of the Local Government Act 1989.

Answer

A first stage complaint should be addressed to the Head of Service responsible for the matter which the complainant wishes to raise.  On receipt, complaints are registered in our feedback and complaint monitoring system, and acknowledged; we advise the complainant that a response will be provided by a date which is no greater than 10 working days from receipt of the complaint. If we are unable to provide a full response to the complaint within that 10 day period, we will contact the complainant again, confirming when they may expect to receive a full response to their enquiry, which will advise of the actions which we will take to remedy any fault found.   

If the complainant is not satisfied with the response received, they are able to access the second stage of our complaints system, and request that the Chief Executive investigate the matter on their behalf.  It is again logged, and acknowledged, and information provided as to when a response may be received, which should again be within a 10 day period from receipt of the second stage complaint. Again, should we not be able to provide a full and detailed response at that time, we will notify the complainant of a date when we will do so.

If the customer is still unsatisfied with the response at stage 2, the customer can take the details of their complaint to the Local Government Ombudsman, who will contact us for information to enable them to investigate the matter.

Copies of the Ombudsman Annual Reports regarding complaints against Rother District Council can be found on the Local Government Ombudsman website www.lgo.org.