Civil Enforcement Officers & Fixed Penally Income

Thank you for you Freedom of Information request.

This is an automated response. Your message has been received by East
Dunbartonshire Council.

Your request will be dealt with promptly and a full response will be issued
within 20 working days.

Should you not receive a response within this period, or you have any other
queries about your request please contact: [East Dunbartonshire Council request email] or 0141
775 4571.

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East Dunbartonshire Council Web Site http://www.eastdunbarton.gov.uk

Hi Peter,

I work within the ICT department and developed the online FOI system -
therefore the email confirmation you received only appears to be sent from
me.

I have copied our FOI Officer into this email and he should reply to you
direct.

Cheers,

Kenny Rae
ICT Engineer
East Dunbartonshire Council
Tom Johnston House
Civic Way
Kirkintilloch
Glasgow, G66 4TJ
t: 0141 578 8478
f: 0141 578 8440
e: mailto:[email address]
w: http://www.eastdunbarton.gov.uk

Peter Grant
<request-17357-43
840f6b@whatdothey To
know.com> [email address]
cc
25/09/2009 08:24
Subject
Re: Freedom of Information request
- Civil Enforcement Officers &
Fixed Penally Income

Dear Sir or Madam,

Following your confirmation that my FoI request would receive a
substantive reply within 20 working days this has not happened, and
the Council are now in breach of the FoI timeframe requirements.

I would be obliged if this information could now be supplied
without further delay.

Yours faithfully,

Peter Grant

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Hi Peter,

I have spoken to our FOI Officer who will be in touch this afternoon with
regards to your enquiry.

Cheers,

Kenny Rae
ICT Engineer
East Dunbartonshire Council
Tom Johnston House
Civic Way
Kirkintilloch
Glasgow, G66 4TJ
t: 0141 578 8478
f: 0141 578 8440
e: mailto:[email address]
w: http://www.eastdunbarton.gov.uk

Peter Grant
<request-17357-43
840f6b@whatdothey To
know.com> [email address]
cc
05/10/2009 10:14
Subject
Re: Freedom of Information request
- Civil Enforcement Officers &
Fixed Penally Income

Dear Sir or Madam,

Further to your response from ICT advising your 'FoI' officer would
respond, there has been no reply to my request since the original
acknowledgement promising a response within 20 working days (the
maximum period allowed by law).

As you are aware, you are now seriously in breach of your
obligations under the act and I must therefore advise should there
NOT be an acceptable response to my valid request for information,
I will have no alternative but raise the issue with the ICO for non
compliance. I do hope this will not be necessary?

Your reply with the requested information was required by 24th
September at the latest.

Yours faithfully,

Peter Grant

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Dear Mr Grant,

I am writing to apologise for the delay in providing you with a response to
your Freedom of Information enquiry. I can assure you that East
Dunbartonshire Council is treating your request as a matter of urgency and
I am confident that a full response will be made in the next few days.

Yours sincerely,

Stephen Armstrong

Freedom of Information/Data Protection Officer,
Libraries & Cultural Services,
East Dunbartonshire Council,
Telephone No. 0141-775 4571
Fax No. 0141-776 0408
[email address]

Peter Grant
<request-17357-43
840f6b@whatdothey To
know.com> [email address]
cc
05/10/2009 10:14
Subject
Re: Freedom of Information request
- Civil Enforcement Officers &
Fixed Penally Income

Dear Sir or Madam,

Further to your response from ICT advising your 'FoI' officer would
respond, there has been no reply to my request since the original
acknowledgement promising a response within 20 working days (the
maximum period allowed by law).

As you are aware, you are now seriously in breach of your
obligations under the act and I must therefore advise should there
NOT be an acceptable response to my valid request for information,
I will have no alternative but raise the issue with the ICO for non
compliance. I do hope this will not be necessary?

Your reply with the requested information was required by 24th
September at the latest.

Yours faithfully,

Peter Grant

show quoted sections

Dear Mr Grant,

Thank you for your Freedom of Information enquiry dated the 26th of August
2009, below. Please allow me to apologise for the delay in providing you
with the information you have requested. In response to your enquiry I am
able to provide you with the following response.

1) When were Enforcement staff first employed by the Council?
1) The Council's Civil Enforcement Officers or Community Support
Officers ( CSOs ) were first employed in 2004 , but were not given
powers to issue Fixed Penalty Notices ( FPNs ) until 1st April , 2008.

2) Are operatives Council employees or sub-contracted from a facilities
provider?
2) The CSOs are Council employees.

3) How many operatives are active on a 'typical' working day, and the
total number of hours billed per week? Also, how many operatives are
employed across the Council area - are these allocated specific
districts or are they deployed anywhere within the EDC area as required?
3) There are ten CSOs and two Supervisors. The normal working hours for
the CSOs are Tuesday - Saturday 09:00-17:00 and 14:00-23:00 operated
over alternative weeks. The CSOs mainly cover certain areas within East
Dunbartonshire Council , namely Milngavie & Bearsden Woodhill &
Auchinairn , Lennoxtown & Hillhead , but will also cover other areas if
required to do so.

4) What is the cost of providing this service (staff & administration)
on an annualised basis for the last 5 years to date?
4 ) Since the time spent by CSOs on issuing FPNs is so small compared
with the time they spend carrying out their other duties it is not
possible to quantify the cost of the Council proving a service for
issuing FPNs for dog fouling and litter. Therefore under Section 17(1)
of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 I must inform you that
the Council does not hold this information.

5) What types of 'Fixed Penalty Notices' can be issued, and for what
reasons (Noise, Dog Fouling etc)?
5) The CSOs currently only issue FPNs for dog fouling and litter
offences

6) How many Notices were issued in the period 2006/7, 2007/8 and 2008/9?
6) Since CSOs were only given powers to serve FPNs on 1/4/08 then the
only relevant period requested is 2008/2009.during this period 17 FPNs
were issued for dog fouling and 21 for litter.

7) For those periods, how many were paid, and how many disputed and/or
cancelled?
7) During 2008/9 no notices were disputed or cancelled and 33 (16 for
dog fouling and 17 for litter) were paid.

8) For those disputed, how many recipients subsequently opted for a
Court Hearing? Of those appealing, what classes of Notice were
challenged, and how many succeeded in overturning the Notice at appeal?
8) No FPNs for littering or dog fouling offences have been appealed
against so far.

9) What has been the income received from CEO-issued Penalty Notices for
2006/7, 2007/8 and 2008/9.
9) The income received for 2008/9 from CSO issued FPNs for 2008/9 is
£1650, with the Council being allowed to keep 25%.

I hope that this information is to your satisfaction. If there are any
problems please do not hesitate to contact me.

If you are dissatisfied with the way in which East Dunbartonshire Council
has dealt with your request, you are entitled to require the Council to
review its decision. Please note that in order for a review to take place
you must:

- Lodge a written requirement for a review within 40 working days of the
date of this letter
- Include a correspondence address and a description of the original
request and the reason why you are dissatisfied.
- Address your request to the Freedom of Information Officer:

Yours sincerely

Stephen Armstrong

Freedom of Information/Data Protection Officer
Libraries & Cultural Services,
East Dunbartonshire Council,
Telephone No. 0141-775 4571
Fax No. 0141-776 0408
[email address]

Peter Grant
<request-17357-43
840f6b@whatdothey To
know.com> FOI requests at East Dunbartonshire
Council <[East Dunbartonshire Council request email]>
26/08/2009 13:08 cc

Subject
Freedom of Information request -
Civil Enforcement Officers & Fixed
Penally Income

Dear Sir or Madam,

I would appreciate information clarifying details of the Civil
Enforcement responsibilities of the Council under the Freedom of
Information Act.

1) When were Enforcement staff first employed by the Council?

2) Are operatives Council employees or sub-contracted from a
facilities provider?

3) How many operatives are active on a 'typical' working day, and
the total number of hours billed per week? Also, how many
operatives are employed across the Council area - are these
allocated specific districts or are they deployed anywhere within
the EDC area as required?

4) What is the cost of providing this service (staff &
administration) on an annualised basis for the last 5 years to
date?

5) What types of 'Fixed Penalty Notices' can be issued, and for
what reasons (Noise, Dog Fouling etc)?

6) How many Notices were issued in the period 2006/7, 2007/8 and
2008/9?

7) For those periods, how many were paid, and how many disputed
and/or cancelled?

8) For those disputed, how many recipients subsequently opted for a
Court Hearing? Of those appealing, what classes of Notice were
challenged, and how many succeeded in overturning the Notice at
appeal?

9) What has been the income received from CEO-issued Penalty
Notices for 2006/7, 2007/8 and 2008/9.

Yours faithfully,

Peter Grant

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