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Phone: 01670 532262

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Your ref:

Our ref: FOI/L119811

Mr Stuart Carruthers

[FOI #3203 email]

23^rd January 2009

Dear Mr Carruthers

Freedom of Information Act 2000 - Request for Information

I refer to your request for information.

I can confirm that Wansbeck District Council does hold some of the information you have requested. The information is summarised below:-

I would like to know the average proportion of time the elected representatives of your authority spend as part of their duties for 2005/2006, 2006/2007 and 2007/2008 on their main activities. The activities that form their duties (employment) as an elected representative are:

1. directly resolving complaints against the executive (Council Staff) of the Council by residents;

2. sitting on committee's;

3. acting for the political parties that they represent and/or ceremonial duties (i.e. all time not spent on sitting on a Committee or resolving a complaint against the executive);

We don't have a time recording system to itemise each individual activity for their role ie committees, time as a representative on a outside body etc but for the aspect of the role, essentially 100 percent of time is on those various proportions.

I would additionally like to know how much in total was paid to local councillors to meet all their duties (including expenses) for 2005/2006, 2006/2007 and 2007/2008 by your authority, and how many elected representatives are (and were) represented on your authority for these years.

Attached in PDF format.

I would also like to know how many Complaints in total were submitted to you're Council in 2005/2006, 2006/2007 and 2007/2008 for each year. I would further like to know how many of these complaints were formally considered by an elected representative for each of these years.

2005/06 - 97

2006/07 - 167

2008/09 - 72

I would further like to know how many complaints against the Executive Council staff) led to the elected representatives formally identifying that the Executive had acted wrongly for the years 2005/2006, 2006/2007 and 2007/2008, and how many of these formal determinations by the elected representatives identify that there was no wrong-doing by the Executive. How many staff employed by your authority in 2005/2006, 2006/2007 and 2007/2008 ceased to be employed by your authority as a direct result of a complaint against the Executive, and the Councillors identifying this to be the case.

Nil.

I would further like to know how much money the Council has paid to a complainant (i.e. victim of a Council's wrongdoing) through its own complaints system (i.e. excluding any intervention by the Local Government Ombudsman, Valuation Tribunal or similar body) in 2005/2006, 2006/2007 and 2007/2008.

Nil.

Finally, please provide details of the financial cost of administering all your complaints systems (including FOI and DP) by the Executive for 2005/2006, 2006/2007 and 2007/2008 and the number of staff employed in administering complaints and resolving these (Full time equivalent staffing levels). Please also provide details of your total administrative costs for 2005/2006, 2006/2007 and 2007/2008 and the total number of staff employed by your authority, as well as any pay increase (including increments) made to the Council's Chief Executive (Head of Paid Service) in pounds sterling for each of these years.

This information is not held. By way of information this authority is currently in the process of Local Government Reorganisation, which will take place on the 1st April 2009, and therefore some of the information is not available.

Please additionally identify if the Chief Executives wages included performance related payments.

If you do not have this reasonably basic management information related to complaints and/or identify that the costs of accessing the information requested will be more than £450 please state this and identify that your Authority does not have either a functioning or accountable complaints system, and does not maintain any basic management information related to this issue.

If you have a complaints system not fit for purpose please identify which political party currently controls your Council, and if this political party has appointed the current Electoral Registration and Returning Officer through its control of the Council (with date of their formal appointment). Please name the current Electoral Registration and Returning Officer, and identify if they are also Head of Paid Service, and Clerk to your Authority. Please additionally provide any documentation maintained by your Local Authorities Head of Paid Service identifying that they personally do not believe it to be appropriate for your Council to have a complaints system that is fit for purpose. This documentation should be in existence due to the provisions of s4 of the Local Government Act 1989.

Further to the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulation 2003, Wansbeck District Council hereby notifies you that any contact details provided do not constitute consent for you to contact the Council or specifically identified staff for marketing purposes, including contact made in writing, by telephone, fax, or other means.

Reuse of Public Sector Information

If you wish to re-use any information provided, including material published on the Council's website you may need a licence. In some circumstances there may be a fee payable for a licence or conditions imposed as to how you re-use material.

Applications to re-use public sector information must be made in writing to this office and include a contact name and address with details of the information you wish to re-use and a summary of how you intend to use it.

Yours sincerely

Michelle Thompson

Legal Assistant

LEGAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT

Town Hall

Ashington

Northumberland

NE63 8RX

Carolyn Forster

Solicitor and Monitoring Officer