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Dear Mr Tonith

Re: Request for Internal Review - Request 4848

Thank you for your dated 16^th February 2010 regarding the response to your recent request to the Council (our ref: 4848).

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

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

Your original request to the council was made on 30^th November 2009. You asked for how much money was estimated to have been stolen by "the Albanian Mafia" from Westminster's Parking Meters. The council acknowledged your email on the same day and provided a response on 4^th January 2010. You responded on the 14^th January, seeking clarification of the response you had been provided. This was deemed to consist of new questions which were therefore treated as a new FOI request. This request was acknowledged on 15^th January 2010 and a response was provided on 4^th February. You wrote to the council again on 16^th February expressing your dissatisfaction with the response you had been provided and asking additional questions regarding Pay by Phone Parking.

Having reviewed the correspondence, I am satisfied that the council has responded in full to the questions that were posed during the course of your request.

When responding to an FOI request, the council can only respond to the requests for information that have actually been posed by an applicant. Where a request appears to be straightforward and is not open to interpretation, they are not required to consult the applicant to see what information they may require. Nor should the council need to interpret the request as to the type of information they think may fulfill it. In the case of your original request, you asked for the estimated amount of money stolen from parking meters, attributable to a specific group. It is not true to say that all the money removed from parking metres was due to theft by "the Albanian Mafia" and therefore the correct response was provided i.e. it is not possible to estimate how much money any specific group has removed from parking meters. Therefore, your complaint that your request was not responded to is not upheld.

With regard to the overarching reasons for introducing Pay by Phone Parking across the council, I am satisfied that these reasons are clearly outlined in the papers you have cited in your latest email. This includes the estimated amount of money stolen from parking meters across Westminster. As these are available via our website, and you have access to them, I am satisfied that this part of your request has also been responded to and therefore your complaint is not upheld.

Advice and Guidance

As outlined above, I am satisfied that the council has responded to your requests for information in line with the provisions of the Act. However, following my review and based on your email regarding the estimates included in the cabinet papers, it would appear that the information you actually seek centres around how much money is estimated to have been stolen from parking meters in general and in particular, how this estimate is arrived at. Please note that this question has not actually been posed specifically by you, but is based on an interpretation of the correspondence received from you regarding this issue. In order to provide you with assistance, I have asked our Parking department to confirm how the estimates used in these reports are arrived at, in light of the fact that meters do not record the amount placed in them. They have confirmed that there was no counting mechanism associated with a parking meter and income was based on a collection round (a number of meters across a number of streets in an area)

Thus the estimated loss referred to in the reports listed in your correspondence of 16^th February 2010, was based on several factors:

Local knowledge:

The locality of the collection round and the demographics within that area and the tariff (hourly rate to park). This was validated when in one prime shopping area where controls apply on a Saturday (£4/hr) (you could expect up to £40 for one days parking (possibly £30 assuming 100% occupancy is not achieved)) and on the Sunday when the area was being converted to cashless coin boxes containing £1 or £2 from equipment adjacent to prime shopping streets.

Historical data:

Comparing levels of income on a 'now' against 'then' basis

Preventative measures:

Change in levels of income immediately after a programme of lock changes (these took place periodically to try and stem the loss of cash through theft

Comparison after cashless parking introduced:

Change in income patterns once cash has been removed with income levels prior to and post implementation of cashless in a Zone

Consequently, the overall the figures quoted regarding estimated loss from parking meters are deemed to be the best estimate of loss incurred by the Council

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

I hope this fulfils your request. Should you have any queries, please contact me at the address above.

Yours sincerely,

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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