A14 Ipswich - simple lorry breakdown clearance

Roger Pearse made this Freedom of Information request to Suffolk Constabulary

The request was successful.

From: Roger Pearse

8 January 2010

Dear Suffolk Constabulary,

Is the Constabulary responsible or partly responsible for ensuring
that broken-down lorries on the A14 in the Ipswich area are
removed?

If so, what timescale targets exist for clearing these, if any?
What are these targets, and how well does the force perform against
them?

Many thanks!

Yours faithfully,

Roger Pearse

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From: INFORMATION
Suffolk Constabulary

8 January 2010

[Not Protectively Marked]

8 January 2010

Dear Mr Pearse ,

FREEDOM of INFORMATION ACT 2000

Thank you for your request for Information, received at this office on 8
January 2010, in which you requested details of the following:

A14 Ipswich lorry breakdown

Your request will now be considered and you will receive a response within
the statutory timescale of 20 working days as defined by the Act, subject
to the information not being exempt or containing a reference to a third
party. In some circumstances Suffolk Constabulary may be unable to achieve
this deadline. If this is likely you will be informed and given a revised
time-scale at the earliest opportunity.

There may be a fee payable for the retrieval, collation and provision of
the information you request. If this is the case you will be informed and
the 20 working day timescale will be suspended until we receive payment
from you. If you chose not to make a payment then your request will remain
unanswered.

Some requests may also require either full or partial transference to
another public authority in order to answer your query in the fullest
possible way. Again, you will be informed if this is the case.

We anticipate being able to provide you with information that you have
requested by February 5, 2010.

Should you need to discuss this further please contact Samantha
Hutchinson, on 01473 782051.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your interest in
Suffolk Constabulary.

Yours sincerely,

Clair Louise Pack
Freedom of Information Coordinator

Suffolk Constabulary PHQ
01473 613919
[1][Suffolk Constabulary request email]
Our Policing Pledge is a commitment from Suffolk Constabulary to the
public to provide the best possible service and make Suffolk a safer place
to live. It has 10 key themes and sets out the standards of service
Suffolk Constabulary aspires to deliver. See our Policing Pledge in full
by clicking on
[2]http://www.suffolk.police.uk/NR/rdonlyre...
To find out further information relating to your local Safer Neighbourhood
Team click on:
[3]http://www.safersuffolk.org.uk

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From: INFORMATION
Suffolk Constabulary

15 January 2010

Attachment 00120.pdf
132K Download View as HTML

Attachment FOI Complaint Rights.pdf
105K Download View as HTML

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15 January 2010

Dear Mr. Pearse ,

Thank you for your request for information dated 8 January 2010
concerning the A14 Ipswich lorry breakdown.

This is to inform you that all information relating to your request has
been collated my response is attached. This request is now complete and
shall be closed immediately.

Should any further information be requested regarding this topic, a
separate request will need to be submitted.

Should you need to discuss this further please contact Clair Pack, on
01473 613919.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your interest in
Suffolk Constabulary.

Yours sincerely,

Clair Louise Pack
Freedom of Information Coordinator

Suffolk Constabulary PHQ
01473 613919
[1][Suffolk Constabulary request email]
Our Policing Pledge is a commitment from Suffolk Constabulary to the
public to provide the best possible service and make Suffolk a safer place
to live. It has 10 key themes and sets out the standards of service
Suffolk Constabulary aspires to deliver. See our Policing Pledge in full
by clicking on
[2]http://www.suffolk.police.uk/NR/rdonlyre...
To find out further information relating to your local Safer Neighbourhood
Team click on:
[3]http://www.safersuffolk.org.uk

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References

Visible links
1. mailto:[Suffolk Constabulary request email]
2. http://www.suffolk.police.uk/NR/rdonlyre...
3. http://www.safersuffolk.org.uk/

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From: Roger Pearse

15 January 2010

Dear Suffolk Constabulary,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of
Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Suffolk
Constabulary's handling of my FOI request 'A14 Ipswich - simple
lorry breakdown clearance'.

The answer is unsatisfactory, in that I am not certain whether the
question I asked has actually been answered, and if so how.

As the question heading says, I was interested in a simple
situation where a lorry simply breaks down on the A14 and sits
there.

The first part of the query was: "Is the Constabulary responsible
or partly responsible for ensuring that broken-down lorries on the
A14 in the Ipswich area are removed?"

The answer seems to be that, in the circumstance stated, the police
are 100% responsible for ensuring that the road is cleared. Is this
correct?

The next part of the question was: "what timescale targets exist
for clearing these, if any?"

The answer seems to be: No timescale targets exist for clearance.
Is this correct? The answer also says that the job has been
subcontracted, but no timescale for clearance has been imposed on
the subcontractor. Is this correct also?

It is however useful to know that a target exists for the
subcontractor to appear at the scene in 45 minutes. I was unclear
from the answer whether this target was met?

The final part of the question was: "how well does the force
perform against them?"

The answer seems to be: Not applicable, since no targets exist.

Is this correct, accurate, and representative of the situation?

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is
available on the Internet at this address:
http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/a1...

Yours faithfully,

Roger Pearse

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From: INFORMATION
Suffolk Constabulary

18 January 2010

[Not Protectively Marked]

Good Morning Mr Pearse

I apologise for not being clear in the response I provided to you concerning lorry breakdowns on the A14 road. By trying to offer some additional information I feel the response did not sufficiently answer your specific questions.

Prior to commencing the Internal review procedure, I would like to offer a more relevant answer to your request after consultation with the relevant department. Although I appreciate we have already provided a response, I would like to offer an alternative response for your consideration prior to the request going to internal review.

After consultation with the business lead I will be in touch, which I hope will be by tomorrow if not today. Of course, if the revised response is not satisfactory then you have every right to request an Internal review.

Once again I apologise for any confusion caused by the earlier response, which I hope to rectify in subsequent correspondence.

Many thanks

Clair Louise Pack
Freedom of Information Coordinator

Suffolk Constabulary PHQ
01473 613919
[Suffolk Constabulary request email]

Our Policing Pledge is a commitment from Suffolk Constabulary to the public to provide the best possible service and make Suffolk a safer place to live. It has 10 key themes and sets out the standards of service Suffolk Constabulary aspires to deliver.

See our Policing Pledge in full by clicking on http://www.suffolk.police.uk/NR/rdonlyre...

To find out further information relating to your local Safer Neighbourhood Team click on: http://www.safersuffolk.org.uk

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From: Roger Pearse

18 January 2010

Dear Ms Pack,

Many thanks for your prompt reply. I appreciated the extra
information. Probably I should have written a longer query and
emphasised more that it was this specific situation I had in mind.

The background is that I tried to choose a situation which was both
the simplest possible case that will require recovery, and probably
the commonest also. E.g. a lorry suffers a minor mechanical
failure, and someone has to be called out to clear the road.

Yours sincerely,

Roger Pearse

Link to this

From: INFORMATION
Suffolk Constabulary

18 January 2010

Attachment 00120.pdf
153K Download View as HTML

Attachment FOI Complaint Rights.pdf
105K Download View as HTML

[Not Protectively Marked]

18 January 2010

Dear Mr. Pearse ,

I refer further to your request for information dated 8 January 2010
concerning A14 Ipswich lorry breakdown.

This is to inform you that all information relating to your request has
been collated and my revised response is attached. This request is now
complete and shall be closed immediately.

I hope this response now clarifies the points you raised in your earlier
email however, should any further information be requested regarding this
topic please contact me on 01473 613919.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your interest in
Suffolk Constabulary.

Yours sincerely,

Clair Louise Pack
Freedom of Information Coordinator

Suffolk Constabulary PHQ
01473 613919
[1][Suffolk Constabulary request email]
Our Policing Pledge is a commitment from Suffolk Constabulary to the
public to provide the best possible service and make Suffolk a safer place
to live. It has 10 key themes and sets out the standards of service
Suffolk Constabulary aspires to deliver. See our Policing Pledge in full
by clicking on
[2]http://www.suffolk.police.uk/NR/rdonlyre...
To find out further information relating to your local Safer Neighbourhood
Team click on:
[3]http://www.safersuffolk.org.uk

show quoted sections

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[Suffolk Constabulary request email]
2. http://www.suffolk.police.uk/NR/rdonlyre...
3. http://www.safersuffolk.org.uk/

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Roger Pearse left an annotation (18 January 2010)

I think in summary:

1. The police try to pass responsibility to the driver, if they can, although if there is an obstruction the police are in fact responsible.

2. They have no target timescale to clear the road of an obstruction.

3. They impose no target on the contractors they use.

It certainly explains why broken-down lorries are such a problem for such a long time on the roads of Suffolk.

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