Big City Plan Bus on Weds 14 Jan

Date: 30 January 2009
Our Ref: FOI2692

Thank you for your enquiry received on 27 January 2009, for information
held by the Council under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act
2000.

In some circumstances a fee may be payable and if that is the case, we
will let you know. A fees notice will be issued to you, and you will be
required to pay before we will proceed to deal with your request.

If you require any further information or are not happy with our response
please do not hesitate to contact a member of our team on 0121 303 3912
quoting the reference number above in any future communications.

Yours sincerely

Dean Robinson
Freedom of Information and Data Protection Officer
Birmingham City Council
Development Directorate
Performance and Corporate Services
16th floor, Alpha Tower
Suffolk Street Queensway
Birmingham
B1 1TR

Tel: 0121 303 3912
Fax: 0121 303 2315
Email: [email address]

Data Protection Act 1998
The information you have provided within your Freedom of Information
request will be held on our database and may also be held within manual
records for a period of 2 years from the date Birmingham City Council
received your request. Any personal data that you provide to Birmingham
City Council will be held in line with the requirements set out within the
Data Protection Act 1998.
Re Use of Public Sector Information
Where Birmingham City Council is the copyright holder of any information
that may be released, re-use for personal, educational or non-commercial
purposes is permitted without further reference to the City Council. Where
the re-use is for other purposes, such as commercial re-use, the applicant
should notify the City Council in writing to seek approval or agree terms
for re-use.

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Date: 17 February 2009
Our Ref: FOI2692

Dear Mr Getgood

Freedom of Information Act 2000 - Request for Information.

I refer to your request for information regarding 'Big City Plan Bus on
Wednesday 14 January 2009'.

I have become aware of concerns that have been raised regarding the
relocation of the Big City Plan consultation team from their
pre-advertised location during the afternoon of Wednesday 14th Jan. It
was an error in judgement that when the bus was temporarily relocated no
staff stayed behind to continue the consultative work, or to explain to
members of public that the absence was only temporary and the full team
would return shortly. I would like to apologise for any inconvenience
caused.

Further to your request to see the audit trail behind the decision to
change the scheduled route of the Big City Plan's Beyond Midnight bus on
Wednesday 14 January. The change to the arrangements was organised
verbally at very short notice that afternoon and therefore there were no
emails, letters, memos and records relating to the change of the bus'
schedule.

I very much wish to ensure that the Highgate Community's views are
comprehensively understood. I would expect that dialogue to be ongoing
and comprehensive and so in that regard I really do hope we can move
forward beyond this unfortunate experience towards an ongoing fruitful and
very beneficial relationship with the people of Highgate.

If you are unhappy with the handling or the outcome of this request, you
are entitled to make a request for an internal review / appeal, such view
to be undertaken by Council officers not involved in the handling of your
request.

If you wish to take advantage of the internal appeal / review process,
this can be done by either contacting myself directly, or by contacting
the Corporate Information Manager at the following address quoting the
following reference FOI 2692: -

ICF
First Floor
1 Lancaster Circus
Birmingham
B4 7AB

Tel No: 0121 303 1909
Email: [email address]

If, following the outcome of the internal review/appeal you are not
satisfied with Birmingham City Council***s response in relation to your
request, you are then entitled to apply to the office of the Information
Commissioner for an independent investigation/adjudication.

The Information Commissioner can be contacted by post at:

Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

or by telephone via their helpline: 08456 30 60 60
or via their online enquiries form which is available on their website
www.ico.gov.uk

Yours sincerely

Dean Robinson
Freedom of Information and Data Protection Officer
Birmingham City Council
Development Directorate
Performance and Corporate Services
16th floor, Alpha Tower
Suffolk Street Queensway
Birmingham
B1 1TR

Tel: 0121 303 3912
Fax: 0121 303 2315
Email: [email address]

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Dear Mr Getgood

Further to your email dated 19th February 2009 requesting an internal
review. We have noted your comments below and have asked the relevant
directorate to confirm again whether there was any information relating to
your request. As soon as we receive a response we will contact you.

Yours sincerely

Corporate Information Governance Team

Nicky Getgood
<request-6736-ee7
da2b8@whatdotheyk To
now.com> FOI requests at Birmingham City
Council
19/02/2009 19:38 <[Birmingham City Council request email]>
cc

Subject
Internal review of Freedom of
Information request - Big City Plan
Bus on Weds 14 Jan

Dear Sir or Madam,

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

I am writing to request an internal review of Birmingham City
Council's handling of my FOI request 'Big City Plan Bus on Weds 14
Jan'.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is
available on the Internet at this address:

http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/bi...

As part of my original FOI request I asked to see the audit trail
behind the decision to change the scheduled route of the Big City
Plan's Beyond Midnight bus on Wednesday 14 January. In the FOI
response I was told 'The change to the arrangements was organised
verbally at very short notice that afternoon and therefore there
were no emails, letters, memos and records relating to the change
of the bus' schedule.' I would like the review to double check that
this is actually the case and that there is no audit trail behind
that decision.

Yours sincerely,

Nicky Getgood

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Dear Mr Getgood

Further to your email dated 19th February 2009 requesting an internal
review of the information provided to you regarding:

I would like to see the audit trail behind the decision to change the
scheduled route of the Big City Plan's Beyond Midnight bus on Weds 14 Jan,
which resulted in some Highgate stops being cancelled. Can I please see
all correspondence (emails, letters, memos, etc.) and records relating to
the changing of the bus' schedule on Weds 14 Jan 2008?

We referred your request back to the relevant directorate to confirm once
again whether there were any audit trails behind the decision. We have
received confirmation that there is no audit trail regarding this decision.
As stated in our response to you the decision to temporarily relocate the
bus and change of arrangements was organised verbally which involved a
couple of phone calls, therefore there were no emails, letters or memos
relating to the change of the bus schedule.

If however, you are not satisfied with the City Council’s decision, you may
apply to the Information Commission for an independent review 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

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