Community Schools that have contravened the Freedom Of Information Act

Link: [1]File-List

4th March 2009

Case Reference Number IRQ0237393

Dear Mr Gardner

Thank you for your email dated 3 March 2009 in which you have made a
request for information to the Information Commissioner’s Office.

Your request is being dealt with in accordance with the Freedom of
Information Act 2000.  We will respond by 31 March 2009 which is 20
working days from the day after we received your request.

Yours sincerely

Joanne Crowley

Assistant Internal Compliance Manager

show quoted sections

http://www.ico.gov.uk or email: [email address]
Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow,
Cheshire, SK9 5AF
Tel: 01625 545 700 Fax: 01625 524 510

References

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1. file:///tmp/rad23689_files/filelist.xml

Link: [1]File-List

31st March 2009

Case Reference Number IRQ0237393

Dear Mr Gardner

Request for Information

Further to our acknowledgement of 4 March 2009 we are now in a position to
provide you with a response to your request for information dated 3 March
2009.

In your e-mail of 3 March you asked:

“Could you please confirm and identify, since the inception date of the
FOI Act, the Schools in England:

i) That have been reported to the Information Commissioner for not
undertaking their obligations as per the requirements of the FOI Act?

ii) How many of those schools identified in i) above have then
subsequently complied with their obligations under the FOI Act when
reminded or prompted by the Commissioner? (.ie. No formal action was
required)

iii) How many of those schools, identified in i) above refused to comply
with the Act which then led to formal action by the Commissioner.

iv) How many schools identified in iii) above then complied with their
obligations and those that did not.”.

Please find attached an Excel spreadsheet which details, in largely
chronological order, all the complaints we have received about schools
(some of which have been renamed as a ‘college’) under section 50 of
the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) since the ‘right to know’
under section 1 of the Act came into effect, ie 1 January 2005.  

I should explain that the list of cases included within this spreadsheet
have been collated by our Operations Support Team by carrying out a search
of our electronic case records management system (known as CMEH).  This
search was carried out by searching for all FOI cases falling within the
‘education’ sector, and then removing non –school cases (ie
universities, 6^th form colleges etc’.  Therefore, to the best of our
knowledge it does include all the schools we have received complaints
about. 

Further to the specific categories of information you have asked for, in
the spreadsheet I have used headings which, whilst not exactly mirroring
your own terminology, do still reflect the information you have asked for.

I would also mention that where a ‘?’ is shown this generally relates
to complaints which allege that the school has failed to comply with a
request for information, or provided an inadequate refusal notice. 
Although we have then contacted the school, and generally have asked them
to provide us with a response (usually a copy of their reply to the
original request), if the case does not in fact include a copy of that
response, and if we have not heard further from the complainant, we cannot
say for certain whether the PA has in fact complied with the requirements
of the FOIA or not.  These cases have been closed in accordance with our
‘Robust approach to FOI cases’ policy, which can be viewed on our
website via the following link:

[2]http://www.ico.gov.uk/upload/documents/l...

I hope that this provides you with the information you require.  However,
if you are dissatisfied with this response and wish to request a review of
our decision or make a complaint about how your request has been handled
you should write to the Internal Compliance Team at the address below or
e-mail [3][email address]

Your request for internal review should be submitted to us within 40
working days of receipt by you of this response. Any such request
received after this time will only be considered at the discretion of the
Commissioner.

If having exhausted the review process you are not content that your
request or review has been dealt with correctly, you have a further right
of appeal to this office in our capacity as the statutory complaint
handler under the legislation.  To make such an application, please write
to the Case Reception Team, at the address below or visit the
‘Complaints’ section of our website to make a Freedom of Information
Act or Environmental Information Regulations complaint online.

 

A copy of our review procedure is attached.

Yours sincerely

Antonia Swann

Assistant Internal Compliance Manager

Information Commissioner's Office

Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF.

Tel: 01625 545894

Email: [4][email address]

[5]www.ico.gov.uk

show quoted sections

http://www.ico.gov.uk or email: [email address]
Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow,
Cheshire, SK9 5AF
Tel: 01625 545 700 Fax: 01625 524 510

References

Visible links
1. file:///tmp/rad7C64E_files/filelist.xml
2. http://www.ico.gov.uk/upload/documents/l...
3. mailto:[email address]
4. mailto:[email address]
5. http://www.ico.gov.uk/

Link: [1]File-List

1st April 2009

Case Reference Number IRQ0237393

Dear Mr Gardner

Request for Information

Further to my e-mail yesterday, I reviewed the case this morning prior to
closure and realise, on re-reading your original request of 3 March, that
you had in fact only asked for details of complaints against schools in
England.  As you may have realised I mistakenly included schools from
Wales and Northern Ireland in the Excel spreadsheet I attached to my
e-mail.

I have therefore prepared a new spreadsheet which, in accordance with your
request, only contains details of schools in England.

Please accept my apologies for this error, and I hope that the attached
spreadsheet now satisfies your request for information.

Yours sincerely

Antonia Swann

Assistant Internal Compliance Manager

Information Commissioner's Office

Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF.

Tel: 01625 545894

Email: [2][email address]

[3]www.ico.gov.uk

show quoted sections

http://www.ico.gov.uk or email: [email address]
Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow,
Cheshire, SK9 5AF
Tel: 01625 545 700 Fax: 01625 524 510

References

Visible links
1. file:///tmp/rad79460_files/filelist.xml
2. mailto:[email address]
3. http://www.ico.gov.uk/