Our Ref: FOI 3769
Date: 15 February 2010
Your Ref: [FOI #27090 email]
Dear Nindi Kaar
Freedom of Information Act 2000 – Request for Information
I am writing in respect of your recent enquiries for information held by the
Authority under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOI).
Under FOI the Authority has a right to refuse to an applicant information held if
the cost of complying with a request exceeds the ‘appropriate limit’. The
appropriate limit for local authorities is £450 (18 hours at a rate of £25.00 per
hour) as indicated by the Lord Chancellor.
You have asked for information on our Learning Disabilities Commissioning
process. I must inform you that the detail of the information is not held in one
central point and is on individual files in the Directorate and so additional work is
required to locate, obtain and collate the data. This request follows your previous
requests as set out below:-
1.
3656 dated 11/12/09;
2.
3758 dated 13/01/10; and
3.
3771 dated 18/01/10
All these requests are seeking information pertaining to the same issue.
Under the Data Protection and Freedom of Information (Appropriate Limits And
Fees) Regulations 2004 (“the Fees Regulations”), Birmingham City Council is
entitled to count the time taken in responding to related requests made within the
preceding three months when determining whether the 18 hours has been used
up.
Further information on this is available from the information Commissioner’s
website at the following link.
http://www.ico.gov.uk/upload/documents/library/freedom_of_information/detailed_
specialist_guides/awareness_guidance_22_vexatious_and_repeated_requests_fi
nal.pdf
The previous requests (3656 and 3758) took a combined total of 23 hours to
respond to, which is greater than the 18 hours allowed under the Fees
Regulations.
Please reply to:
Adults and Communities
Level 5
Telephone
: 0121 303 9462
Louisa Ryland House
Facsimile
: 0121 303 2769
44 Newhall Street
Birmingham B3 3PL
www.birmingham.gov.uk/adults
Peter Hay, Strategic Director, Adults and Communities
FOI 3771/ continued
I would therefore be grateful if you could let me know whether you are prepared
to pay for the additional cost of dealing with the requests, at a statutory rate of
£25.00 per hour. If you do, I will submit a detailed time and cost estimate for you
with an invoice for the work. Upon receipt of the remittance, we will commence
work on responding to your request.
Please note that City Council is committed to an open and accountable
commissioning process for learning disabilities, so data, documents and
information will be posted to our website on a regular basis. The relevant page is:
http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/cs/Satellite?c=Page&childpagename=Adults-and-
Communities-
General%2FPageLayout&cid=1223092710312&packedargs=website%3D1&page
name=BCC%2FCommon%2FWrapper%2FWrapper&rendermode=live
If you are not satisfied with the decision, you may ask for an internal review.
Please contact Birmingham City Council’s central FOI Team at this address:
Information Governance Team,
3rd Floor, 1 Lancaster Circus, Birmingham B4 7AB
Tel: 0121 303 4876
email: [email address]
If, following the outcome of the internal review, you are still not satisfied with the
Council’s decision you may then apply to the Information Commissioner for an
independent review at this address:
The Information Commissioner
Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF
Tel: 01625 545700
Web: www.ico.gov.uk
Please note that the Information Commissioner will not normally review a matter
until an internal review has been concluded.
I look forward to hearing further from you on this matter.
Yours sincerely
Philip Wilson
Freedom of Information Officer
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