Mr Walker,

Dear Mr Walker,

Re: Internal Review on the handling of your FOI request - CCO / 105

Further to your e-mail dated 11.3.10 requesting an internal review of the way your FOI request ( [FOI #26856 email] ) was handled I would inform you that a meeting was held on 25.3.10 between the Corporate Director - Education and Leisure, the Departmental Compliance Officer, the Corporate Information Officer and myself.

Background :

Your request was received on 13.1.10 and forwarded to the Education Department for a response. Your request was received by the Department and forwarded on to the appropriate officer for them to respond.

11.2.10 you sent an e-mail noting that the response was late - although enquiries were made - we did not fully respond to your e-mail or your original request.

11.3.10 you requested an internal review.

This is the 2^nd internal review requested by yourself due to the Education Department failure to respond within the statutory period.

Internal Review held on 25.3.10

At the review meeting it was acknowledged that the procedures put in place following the review of your previous complaint were not fully operational at the time of receipt of this current request. Therefore:-

The request was not logged onto the system
Progress in responding was not tracked
When the reminder arrived, confusion arose as to which request it referred to.

In addition, the Corporate Director noted that there were capacity issues within the department at the time of receipt although he also accepts that this does not excuse the failing.

The procedure as set out in the last review has now been put into operation and working practices have been tightened. In addition, the Corporate Director will be interviewing the officer who failed to respond and as an added measure, spot checks will be undertaken to test the new system.

It is anticipated that the steps now taken will result in improved recording and monitoring of FOI requests and better monitoring of response times.

Prior to the meeting the following response had been prepared by the Department which is now provided to you and the Corporate Director and the Departmental Compliance Officer expressed their regret at the failure to respond to your request.

Q 1 What evidence is there that schools' equal opportunity policies are effective in combating racism?

The Authority has no evidence to show that we are not effective in combatting racism as no school, parent or community group has contacted us with any observation or complaint.

Q 2 What are schools in your area doing to promote racial equality and promote community cohesion?

All schools have policies on "Race Equality and Cultural Diversity". Initial guidance was given in 2002 and the Authority has revisited the issue in 2009 by issuing updated guidance and holding training sessions for teachers and classroom support staff.

Q3 Can you provide me with any evidence that the measures listed above have been effective ?

No but the School Inspectorate, Estyn, during their inspection of schools and LEA's have not raised this issue as a concern in any schools visited.

Q4 Are further measures required to either maintain trust in the teaching profession or protect children and young people?

The Authority will continue to monitor this issue in all schools and at LEA levels.

If you are not satisfied with the outcome of the review, you may appeal to the Information Commissioner, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire. SK9 5AF.

If I can be of any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Yours Sincerely,

Beryl Jones, Customer Care Officer.

26.3.10