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Dear R Brown

Re: Request for Internal Review - Request 4705

Thank you for your dated 26^th January 2010 regarding the response to your recent request to the Council (our ref: 4705).

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 was received on the 7^th December 2009. The Council emailed you on the 11^th December to request clarification on your request, which you provided on the 13^th December 2009. You then sent an email on the 17^th January 2010 as you had not received a response to your request by the completion due date of the 7^th January. The Council responded to inform you of who was dealing with your request. You requested an internal review on the 26^th January as you had not received a response.

I apologise for the delay in responding to your original request. This is in part due to the request being allocated for response incorrectly within the Council, but the lack of response is unaccaptable and, therefore your complaint is upheld.

I note that as yet you have not received a response to your original request which was for the following information:

"Detail the processes that will be used to establish the actual costs savings delivered via the re-organisation process that Westminster is currently undertaking and when these reviews are scheduled to take place"

This was further clarified as:

"By processes I mean any activity (including internal reviews) that the Council proposes to undertake to establish the actual costs savings delivered via the reorganisation process (verses the estimated costs savings the have been predicated to date in cabinet member reports"

In response to your request I can inform you that although processes will be undertaken to measure the actual costs savings delivered via the reorganisation process, there is no recorded information held as to the details of such processes. For the purposes of section 1 (4) this information is not held by the Council and we are, therefore, unable to provide it.

I can confirm, however, that the Council will seek to assess the cost savings in accordance with measures as documented in the Cabinet Report Transition to sustainable new operating model which is available on the Westminster City Council website and I provide a link here for your convenience:

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