Our Ref: FOI 2149
9th June 2008
Email response to Mr Brendan Padmore
Dear Mr Padmore
Request for Information - Freedom of Information Act 2000
Further to your email dated 5th June 2008 in relation to the original response provided to you on 5th June, please see our response.
Question
You have given me the figure for the amount of council tax that could be collected but not the amount that has been spent. To clarify my request can you supply me the actual figure for the amount of council collected in 2006 to 2007 and the amount of this revenue that was spent in Sutton Coldfield in the same year.
Response
In my original response to you it was not possible to answer the second part of your request about how much money is spent in Sutton Coldfield. There is no direct relationship between revenues raised and money spent in particular parts of the City and whilst some services are organised on a geographical basis many services are not. Our accounting records are maintained on a service rather than geographical basis and it would take a significant amount of manual analysis in order to be able to drive the information requested.
We have estimated that it will cost more than the appropriate limit to consider your request fully. The appropriate limit specified in the regulations is £450.00. This represents the estimated cost of one person spending 18 hours in determining whether the department holds the information, locating, retrieving and extracting the information. Consequently, the Council is not obliged by the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to respond to your request.
The information provided to you in my original response was for 2008/2009. You have requested information for the period 2006/2007 which will be forwarded to you as soon as I receive them.
If you are not satisfied with the response you may ask for an internal review. If subsequently you are not satisfied with the Council's decision you may apply to the Information Commissioner for a decision. Generally, the ICO cannot make a decision unless you have exhausted the complaints procedure provided by the Council. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at the following address:
The Information Commissioner
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Telephone: 01625 545745
Web Address: www.ico.gov.uk
Yours sincerely
Corporate Information Governance Team
Re use of Public Sector Information
The information provided is subject to Birmingham City Council copyright, however, it may be re-used for personal, educational or non-commercial purposes without further reference to the City Council. If the re-use is for other purposes, such as commercial re-use, you should notify the City Council in writing to seek approval or agree terms for re-use. Where Birmingham City Council does not hold the copyright, it has indicated the copyright holder. Permission for re-use should be sought from them directly.
Corporate Governance & Information Directorate Telephone: 0121-303 4876
Corporate Information Governance Team Facsimile: 0121-675 1427
1st Floor
1 Lancaster Circus
Birmingham B4 7DQ