Alex Skene
Legal & Democratic Services
Via Email
Direct Line – 020 7525 7511
[FOI #3727 email]
Fax – 020 7525 7675
[Southwark Borough Council request email]
27 January 2009
Dear Alex Skene
Re: Your appeal Ref No. 3279 against request for information: Ref No. 3238
We have considered your appeal against the response to your original
Freedom of
Information Act request number 3238 received on 23 October 2008. Your appeal has
been dealt with in accordance with our appeal procedure and the matter fully
considered.
The information that you requested
“Please could you provide me with a copy of the Travel Plan for the Blue Fin
Building, 110 Southwark Rd, London SE1”
The following response was provided.
My apologies for the delay in getting back to you. I am writing to advise you that
following an extensive search of our onsite records, I have established that the
information you requested has been archived and is now held by Archive Record
Management on behalf of Southwark Council.
The file is able to be retrieved and viewed by submitting an application form. There is a
charge associated with the recovery of an archived item; this is a flat fee of £25.
The application form is available from the planning enquiries team, based at council
offices, Chiltern, Portland Street, London SE17 2ES or by emailing
[email address] or by calling direct on 020 7525 5403
Your appeal to the response was received on the 16 December 2008 with a request for
clarification of the fees as follows.
Please can you confirm whether this was an official Fees Notice as required under FOIA
Section 9(1), and whether it was calculated in accordance with the Freedom of
Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004?
I would also like to know what the fee covers - you are only allowed to charge for actual
disbursement costs (eg postage or photocopying), not for the time taken in retrieving the
information where the costs fall below the £450 limit.
The deposit of £25 is a sum set by planning for the recovery of the archived file. This is
stated on the application form
Upon investigation, the officer dealing with your request had misunderstood the
information provided in connection with your request and advised you that it was a
Legal & Democratic Services, Floor 3 Town Hall, Peckham Road, London SE5 8UB
Switchboard - 020 7525 5000 Website - www.southwark.gov.uk
Chief Executive – Annie Sheppard
charge. The application for archived files advises of a ‘deposit’ of £25. Or if a resident
of the borough proof of address will suffice.
The fees and charges are due for review in the new financial year.
Your appeal is therefore upheld and I attach a full list of all charges associated with
planning as well as the application form for applying for retrieval of an archived file.
Please accept our apologies in originally quoting a charge instead of a deposit and for
any inconvenience that this may have caused you.
If you are dissatisfied with this decision you may request the Information Commissioner
to investigate, and you should contact him within 2 months of this outcome to your
internal appeal. You may contact the commissioner at the:
Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire SK9 5AF
Telephone: 01625 545 700
Internet: www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk
Yours sincerely,
Carol Hughes-Young
Senior Lawyer
Governance Team
Legal & Democratic Services
Legal & Democratic Services, Floor 3 Town Hall, Peckham Road, London SE5 8UB
Switchboard - 020 7525 5000 Website - www.southwark.gov.uk
Chief Executive – Annie Sheppard
