2 September 2008

Ms T Ezekpo

Via email ([FOI #2776 email])

Our ref: CS/08/0052/HJP

(Please quote our reference when contacting us)

If telephoning contact Hilary Pook on 020 7217 4734

or if using email send to: [email address]

Dear Ms Ezekpo

Request for information

In your email of 31 August, you asked how many complaints the Ombudsman had received against Camden Council between 2001 and this year regarding “unsatisfactory approach/failure of Camden Council to resolve complaints about: (1) discrimination, (2) harassment and (3) disputes.”

I have some information I can give you on complaints about discrimination and harassment, but I should point out that:

(a) the information is recorded by our investigative staff selecting `keywords' to describe the complaint and entering them on our computer system. I cannot guarantee that every complaint that concerned discrimination or harassment had the appropriate keyword recorded against it; and

(b) the fact that a complaint has been recorded as concerning discrimination or harassment in some way does not mean that the discrimination or harassment was necessarily on the part of the Council.

I cannot give you information about complaints about `disputes'. You will need to clarify what you mean by this. By their very nature, all complaints that are put to the Ombudsman are `disputes' between the complainant and the council concerned. Do you mean disputes between neighbours? If so, we do not record any information on this.

/…

Since 1 January 2001 the figures we have for harassment and discrimination complaints against Camden Council are as follows:

Racial harassment 12

Sexual harassment 3

Harassment (not racial or sexual) 27

Total harassment 42

Racial discrimination 4

Disability discrimination 2

Sexual discrimination 1

Homophobia/sexuality discrimination 4

Total discrimination 11

Unless you can clarify further what you mean by `disputes' in which case I will see if we can provide more information, that concludes my response and I hope you find the information useful. If you feel I have not dealt properly with your request, you have the right to appeal and, should you wish to do so, I can supply a copy our internal complaints procedure. You also have the right to apply to the Information Commissioner to determine whether your request has been properly dealt with. You should note however that the Commissioner will not consider any complaint where you have not first exhausted our internal complaints process or where there has been undue delay in contacting him. You will be able to obtain further details of the Information Commissioner's role from the website on www.ico.gov.uk.

Yours sincerely

Hilary Pook (Ms)

Communications and Records Manager

LGO 01 (03/08)