16 July 2010

Ms A Mayall

Via email ([FOI #36655 email])

Our ref: CS/10/058/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 Mayall

Request for information

In your email of 5 June you asked for details of foreign travel by Jerry White in 2007/08 and 2008/09 paid for by the Commission or claimed by Mr White as expenses.

In 2008/09, Mr White went to:

We no longer have sufficient detail on our computerised accounts records to tell if Mr White made any foreign trips in 2007/08, and neither does his secretary hold any diary entries for that period. Our computerised system does not distinguish between foreign or domestic travel, so just looking at expenditure on `travel' by Mr White would not provide the information. We could go through all the expense claims for that year, but these are now stored off-site and would take some time to retrieve and go through. Even then, this would only provide information on claims Mr White made, and if his ticket had been purchased in advance by the Commission, it would be difficult and very time consuming to trace that expenditure. If he made a foreign trip where the ticket was purchased by the Commission in advance, and did not make a claim, we would not be able trace that expenditure either. As Mr White has now left the Commission, we do not have the option of asking him what trips he made. (This is how we have been able to track down some of the information needed to respond to some other similar Freedom of Information requests we have dealt with relating to other Ombudsmen.) I am afraid, therefore, that we are not able to provide the information requested, because we do not hold it in the form requested.

That concludes my response, and I apologise again for the delay. 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. If you do request an internal review - can you please

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indicate why you are unhappy with my response. 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

Hilary Pook (Ms)

Communications and Records Manager

LGO 01 (03/08)