Our Ref: SS/CIGT/FOI 3618 and 3628

Date: 2 February 2010

Mr Luqman Khan

Sent via email to: [FOI #23918 email]

Dear Mr Khan

Appeal under the Freedom of Information Act

I write further to your email dated 30 December 2009, seeking a review of the decision of the City Council to refuse your request.

Requests:

FOI 3618

1. In each of the last 3 years, please name each service provide each of the constituency services and the percentages of each racial groups to whom each service is provided to. The percentages of each racial group I request is the percentages of Pakistanis out of the total Pakistani population in that constituency, the percentages of white population of the total white population in that constituency and so on.

2. In each of the last 3 years, please name each external organisation to whom each constituency has given grant and the amount of grant and name the services provided and of the total number of people serviced broken into percentages by racial groups such as Pakistanis.

3. In each of the last 3 years, please give the dates and venues of the consultations undertaken by each constituency and name the purpose of the consultation and for each consultation of the total number of people attended broken down into percentages of racial groups such as Pakistanis.

4. In each of the last 3 years, please name each funding provided by the central government and or Europe and name the constituency these funding is used and the amount used by each constituency and in each constituency the total number of people serviced broken down into racial groups such as Pakistanis.

FOI 3628

1. In each of the last 5 years please provide the number of people on the housing list waiting to be housed in public housing in Birmingham. Please give the numbers for each racial groups such as Pakistanis and so on.

2. In each of the last 5 years please give the number of people who have been housed in public housing in Birmingham. Please give the numbers for each racial groups such as Pakistanis and so on.

3. In each of the last 5 years please give in Birmingham the number of people who have been housed in public housing, where the house is smaller than that required by the number of people in the family. Please give the numbers for each racial groups such as Pakistanis and so on.

4. Please give the number of people who have been on public housing waiting list for over 3 years in Birmingham. Please give the numbers for each racial groups such as Pakistanis and so.

5. In each of the last 5 years, please give the number of people who have been refused public housing in Birmingham. Please give the numbers for each racial groups such as Pakistanis and so on.

6. In each of the last 5 years please name all organisations to whom Birmingham City Council housing services have outsourced any services and please name each service and please give the amount of money each outsourced service involves and please give the number of people serviced by each of the outsourced service and please give the numbers people services for each racial groups such as Pakistanis and so on.

7. Please provide a copy of the self assessment report Birmingham City Council has prepared for the external housing inspection team who are in the process of inspection of Birmingham City Council housing services. I would like to see to what extent the self assessment report comply with Birmingham City Council housing statutory race equality public duty.

8. Please provide the contact details of the external housing inspectors who are in the process of undertaking inspection of Birmingham City Council housing services so that I can contact them regarding their statutory race equality public duty under the Race Relations Act in their capacity as inspectorate of Birmingham City Council housing.

An appeal Panel met on Tuesday 19 January 2010. Both requests FOI 3618 and FOI 3628 were dealt with together but considered individually. In deliberating its decision the panel gave consideration to:

The Panel upheld the original decision.

The panel concluded that the breadth and scope of the request, seeking information over a number of years at service level and by racial group, would mean that the work involved in dealing with the request, would exceed the fees limit.

Fees Regulations, entitles Public Authorities to make charges in relation to complying with a request made under the Act.

This means that if a local authority receives a request and the work entailed in dealing with the request, (i.e. the cost of determining whether the Public Authority hold the information; locating the information or documents which may contain the information; retrieving the information, or a document which may contain the information; and/or striking any exempt information from the document containing the information) exceeds £450, then the Local Authority can either:

The panel noted that in accordance with the duty to provide advice and assistance, an initial estimate of the work involved was provided.

This request would exceed £450 and as such the fees regulation was correctly applied.

The panel noted that whilst the Council has a duty to record ethnicity, it can only do by seeking the explicit consent from individuals, and it is the individual's choice as to whether they provide the information.

The request has been considered under the Freedom of Information Act. The panel felt that application of the fees notice and the breakdown for the fees in this FOI request is correct given the breadth and depth of the information requested and also noted that the department has given requestor the opportunity to narrow down their request or pay the fees.

If however, you are not satisfied with the City Council's decision, you may apply to the Information Commission for an independent review at the following address:-

The Information Commissioner

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

Tele No: 01625 545700

www.ico.gov.uk

Yours sincerely

Malkiat Thiarai

Corporate Governance and Information Manager

Corporate Information Governance Team Telephone: 0121-303 4876

Governance Directorate Facsimile: 0121-675 1427

3^rd Floor, 1 Lancaster Circus

Birmingham B4 7DQ