Background information on initial boundary proposals

Mr Smyth,

 

Thank you for your request for information, which will be considered under
the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

 

We hope to provide you with a response shortly.

 

Please contact me if you have any further queries, quoting the reference
FOI/012.

 

Regards,

 

Katy

 

Katy Budge | FOI Manager

Boundary Commission for England | 35 Great Smith Street | London SW1P 3BQ

T: 020 7276 3513 | E: [email address]

[1]www.independent.gov.uk/boundarycommissionforengland | [2]Twitter
@BCE2013

 

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Mr Smyth,

 

Ref: FOI/012

 

Thank you for your request for information which is being considered under
the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.  I can confirm that the
Commission does hold information that falls within the scope of your
request.

 

The Freedom of Information Act obliges us to respond to requests promptly,
and in any case no later than 20 working days after receipt of your
request.  However, when a qualified exemption applies to the information
and the public interest test is engaged, the Act allows the time for
response to be longer than 20 working days, and a full response must be
provided within such time as is reasonable in all circumstances of the
case. 

 

While we do aim to respond to all information requests within 20 working
days, in this instance we have not yet reached a decision as to whether
the public interest test favours the disclosure of the requested
information or the application of the relevant exemptions.  We estimate
that it will take an additional 10 working days to take a decision on
where the balance of the public interest lies.  Therefore, we aim to
provide a response by 24 November 2011. 

 

The specific exemptions which apply in relation to the information you
have requested are those outlined in section 22 of the Freedom of
Information Act, which relates to information intended for future
publication, and section 36, which relates, inter alia, to information the
disclosure of which would, or would be likely to, inhibit the free and
frank provision of advice, or the free and frank exchange of views for the
purposes of deliberation.

 

If you have any queries about the content of this email, please contact
me.  Please remember to quote the reference number above in any future
communications.

 

If you are unhappy with the service you have received in relation to your
request or wish to request an internal review, you should write to:

 

                                               Deputy Secretary

                                               Boundary Commission for
England

                                               35 Great Smith Street

                                               London SW1P 3BQ

 

If you are not content with the outcome of your internal review, you may
apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision.  Generally,
the Commissioner cannot make a decision unless you have exhausted the
complaints procedure provided by the Boundary Commission for England.  The
Information Commissioner can be contacted at:

 

                                               The Information
Commissioner’s Office

                                               Wycliffe House

                                               Water Lane

                                               Wilmslow

                                               Cheshire

                                               SK9 5AF

 

Regards,

 

Katy

 

Katy Budge | FOI Manager

Boundary Commission for England | 35 Great Smith Street | London SW1P 3BQ

T: 020 7276 3513 | E: [1][email address]

[2]www.independent.gov.uk/boundarycommissionforengland | [3]Twitter
@BCE2013

 

 

 

 

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Dear Mr Smyth,
 
Ref: FOI/012
 
Thank you for your request for information which has been considered under
the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.  Specifically, you
requested copies of minutes of all meetings at which the initial proposals
were discussed and copies of any draft reports that were considered. 
 
I can confirm that the Commission does hold certain records that would
fall within the scope of your request.  Specifically, we hold:
 

i. records of certain Commission meetings at which the initial proposals
were discussed;
ii. records of certain preliminary deliberations between Commissioners
regarding options for the development of initial proposals for
England; and
iii. a number of drafts of each of the nine initial proposals reports. 

However, as detailed below, we are choosing to withhold that information
as per the exemptions from disclosure provided by sections 22 and 36 of
the Freedom of Information Act 2000. 
 
Section 22
 
Section 22 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 provides public
authorities with an exemption from the disclosure of information that is
intended for publication at a future date where it is reasonable in all
the circumstances that that information should be withheld from disclosure
until that date.  As the Commission has committed to publish the minutes
of its meetings following the completion of the 2013 Review (as detailed
in the Guide to Information that accompanies our publication scheme),
these records constitute information intended for future publication and
the Commission is therefore entitled to consider their exemption from
disclosure. 
 
Following consideration of the arguments both for and against the
disclosure of these records, the Commission has concluded that in all
circumstances of the case the public interest in maintaining the exemption
outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information in advance of
the determined publication date of the end of the 2013 Review.  That is,
due to the ongoing ‘live’ nature of the current Review, the public
interest in the disclosure of this information at present is outweighed by
the public interest in the Commission adhering to our stated publication
schedule in order to ensure consistent, comprehensive, accurate and
accessible information regarding our proposals for constituencies in
England.
 
Upon the publication of the Commission meeting minutes following the
conclusion of the 2013 Review, we would be happy to provide you with
copies in a format convenient to you.  Under the legislation to which the
Commission works, we must complete the Review by 1 October 2013. 
 
Section 36
 
Sub sections 36(2)(b)(i) and (ii) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000
provide public authorities with an exemption from the disclosure of 
information if, in the reasonable opinion of a qualified person, that
disclosure would, or would be likely to, inhibit the free and frank
exchange of advice, or the free and frank exchange of views for the
purposes of deliberation.  Both the notes of the preliminary deliberations
between Commissioners and the draft initial proposals reports constitute
records of advice and deliberation and, in this instance, the Secretary to
the Commission (as the Commission’s qualified person) has provided the
reasonable opinion that disclosing them would indeed inhibit the free and
frank exchange of advice or the free and frank exchange of views for the
purposes of deliberation.
 
Further, following consideration of the arguments both for and against the
disclosure of these records, the Commission has concluded that in all
circumstances of the case the public interest in maintaining the exemption
outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.  That is,
while there is a public interest in the disclosure of this information for
reasons of transparency and accountability, this is outweighed by the
public interest in ensuring that the freedom with which opinions are
expressed, discussed and refined within the Commission in future is not
restrained, decreased or suppressed and as such that the quality and
integrity of the Commission’s recommendations for constituencies in
England is not undermined. 
 
I understand that you may be disappointed by this response.  While the
Commission is committed to the spirit of the Freedom of Information Act
2000, and to the principles of transparency and accountability, in certain
circumstances, as outlined above, we cannot responsibly release the
requested information.
 
The Commission is committed to ensuring the provision of transparent,
accessible and detailed information regarding its policies and practices
and as such we have published a guide to the 2013 Review which I attach
for your information.  Additionally, we have sought to provide accurate
and comprehensive information regarding the development of our initial
proposals for constituencies in England and these are detailed in our nine
regional initial proposals reports which are available on our website. 
 
If you have any queries about the content of this letter, please contact
me.  Please remember to quote the reference number above in any future
communications.
 
If you are unhappy with the service you have received in relation to your
request or wish to request an internal review, you should write to:
 
        Deputy Secretary
        Boundary Commission for England
        35 Great Smith Street
        London SW1P 3BQ
 
If you are not content with the outcome of your internal review, you may
apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision.  Generally,
the Commissioner cannot make a decision unless you have exhausted the
complaints procedure provided by the Boundary Commission for England.  The
Information Commissioner can be contacted at:
 
        The Information Commissioner’s Office
        Wycliffe House
        Water Lane
        Wilmslow
        Cheshire
        SK9 5AF
 
Regards,
 
Katy
 
Katy Budge | FOI Manager
Boundary Commission for England | 35 Great Smith Street | London SW1P 3BQ
T: 020 7276 3513 | E: [1][email address]
[2]www.independent.gov.uk/boundarycommissionforengland | [3]Twitter
@BCE2013
 
 
 

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Dear P Smyth

Thank you for your email and apologies for not acknowledging your request for internal review sooner. I can confirm that the Deputy Secretary to the Commission is currently undertaking a review of the handling of, and decision with regards to, your information request of 12 October 2011. You will be provided with a response shortly.

Mark Cooper | Review Team Officer
Boundary Commission for England | 35 Great Smith Street | London SW1P 3BQ
T: 020 7276 0549 | E: [email address]
http://www.consultation.boundarycommissi... Twitter @BCE2013
          Think of the environment...please don't print this e-mail unless you really need to

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Dear Mr Smyth,

Our Ref: FOI/012

Thank you for your e-mail of 24 November, requesting an internal review of your earlier Freedom of Information request. I apologise for any delay in responding to that request.

I was asked to undertake the review because I was not in any way involved in the original decision-making process. I have undertaken a thorough review of handling issues and of decisions taken pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act (‘the Act’) with regards to your request and I have outlined my findings below.

You submitted a Freedom of Information request on 13 October 2011, asking for copies of minutes of all meetings at which the initial proposals were discussed and copies of any draft reports were considered. The Commission acknowledged this request on 23 October 2011. On 9 November 2011, the Commission contacted you, confirming that it does hold information that falls within the scope of your request, explaining that the qualified exemptions outlined in sections 22 and 36 of the Act apply to that information, and that in order to reach a decision as to whether the balance of interest favoured the disclosure of the requested information or the application of the relevant exemptions it would be necessary to extend the response deadline. It was estimated in this correspondence that a response would be provided by 24 November.

On 24 November the Commission responded to your request, to the effect that we do hold information that falls within the scope of your request. Specifically, we hold: a) records of certain Commission meetings at which the initial proposals were discussed; b) records of certain preliminary deliberations between Commissioners regarding options for the development of initial proposals for England; and c) a number of drafts of each of the nine initial proposals reports. It was explained, however, that it was considered that the Commission meeting minutes were exempt from disclosure under section 22 of the Act, and that the notes of the preliminary deliberations and drafts of reports were exempt from disclosure under section 36(2)(b)(i) and (ii) of the Act. You were provided with details of the reasoning that led to this conclusion and were directed to certain published information regarding both our policies and our initial proposals.

In respect of the details outlined above, I conclude that the correct processes were followed in the handling of your original Freedom of Information request, and where exemptions have been identified under the Act, these were applied appropriately to the information in question.

In your e-mail of 24 November you specifically question the application of the section 22 exemption to the disclosure of the Commission meeting minutes. Section 22 of the Act provides public authorities with an exemption from the disclosure of information that is intended for publication at a future date where it is reasonable in all the circumstances that that information should be withheld from disclosure until that date. You dispute, however, that it is reasonable to withhold this information until October 2013, particularly as you consider that these minutes would provide reasoning for the initial proposals beyond that which is currently publicly available.

Having considered the Commission meeting minutes in question, I can confirm that they do not provide any substantive reasoning for the initial proposals, beyond that which was subsequently published in the initial proposals reports. That is, the meetings to which these minutes relate were where the formal ‘sign-off’ of the initial proposals was agreed, substantive discussion and deliberation over the detail of the proposals having taken place in the separate earlier deliberations regarding options, for which separate notes exist and to which section 36 considerations apply (see above).

You also state that the disclosure of these minutes would provide further clarification on the Commission’s policy with regard to splitting wards. The Commission’s policy on this is outlined in our ‘Guide to the 2013 Review’ (with which you were provided in response to your request), at paragraph 31. I can confirm that the Commission meeting minutes in question do not contain any information beyond or in contradiction of that stated policy.

Having considered the points you raise in relation to the application of the section 22 exemption, your original request, the information that falls within the scope of that request, and the Commission’s response, I have concluded that in all the circumstances of the case it is reasonable that the information should be withheld from disclosure until the intended publication date. Further, it is my belief that the public interest test supports this conclusion and as such the decision to not disclose the information is sound. Were there some substantive information in the minutes shedding additional light on the reasons for the initial proposals or for related policies such as that on splitting wards, which was information over and above that already published by the Commission in its Guide to the 2013 Review and/or the initial proposals reports, then the balance of public interest may have lain in favour of earlier publication. However, in the absence of such additional reasoning, in my view early publication now would be not in the public interest, as it would distract the public’s focus from consideration of the substance of the proposals and counter-arguments, which are the priority at this stage of the review.

Your e-mail also states that you do not concur with the conclusion that the disclosure of both the notes of the preliminary deliberations between Commissioners and the draft initial proposals reports would, or would be likely to, inhibit the free and frank exchange of advice, or the free and frank exchange of views for the purposes of deliberation.

Having considered this point, your original request, the information that falls within the scope of that request, and the Commission’s response, I have concluded firstly that the opinion provided by the Commission’s qualified person (the Secretary to the Commission) that the disclosure of the requested information would, or would be likely to, inhibit the free and frank provision of advice, or the free and frank exchange of views for the purposes of deliberation is a reasonable one in the context of developing the Commission’s proposals prior to publication. Further, it is my belief that the public interest test applied in light of this opinion supports the conclusion that the information should be withheld from publication and as such the decision to not disclose the information is sound. Specifically, if the information was disclosed, the consequence (in light of the opinion given by the qualified person) would be to inhibit the free and frank provision of advice and exchange of views within the Commission in developing its proposals. As such inhibition could lead to important possible options not being raised and/or discussed internally, such an outcome is in my view clearly not in the public interest.

I am sorry that this decision may be disappointing to you. If you remain dissatisfied, you may apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:

The Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Yours sincerely,

Tony Bellringer | Deputy Secretary to the Commission
Boundary Commission for England | 35 Great Smith Street | London SW1P 3BQ
T: 020 7276 1402 | E: [email address]
http://www.independent.gov.uk/boundaryco...

Tony Bellringer | Deputy Secretary to the Commission
Boundary Commission for England | 35 Great Smith Street | London SW1P 3BQ
T: 020 7276 1402 | E: [email address]
http://www.independent.gov.uk/boundaryco...

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