Community Sentences Served With Cambridge City Council

The request was successful.

Richard Taylor

Could you please release details of how Cambridge City Council has worked with the probation service to offer "community payback" work for those sentenced to community service.

I would like to specifically request:

* a list of projects (past, present and future), including the number of hours worked and what has been, or is to be, achieved in relation to each project.

* details of arrangements relating to who pays for materials, tools, protective clothing etc. and the amount the council has spent on such items in relation to "community payback" projects.

* details of any publicity carried out highlighting the community payback work.

* copies of any reports on the community payback program; either internal reports or reports to councillors.

I hope this is a straightforward request, and would like to suggest this kind of information be published routinely on the council's website.

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Richard Taylor

Cambridge

http://www.rtaylor.co.uk

Richard Taylor left an annotation ()

I received an acknowledgement via email to a personal email address:

Mr Richard Taylor

8th July 2009

Our ref: L:/Admin/Ceri/Freedom of Information/FOI93

Dear Mr Taylor

Acknowledging a request for information under Freedom of Information

I acknowledge receipt of your request for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Your request has been passed to all Heads of Service at City Services and, in accordance with the Act; we will send you the information within 20 working days i.e. by the 5th August at the latest.

A fees notice outlining the cost, if any, will be sent to you.

Yours sincerely

Ceri Littlechild
PA to Director of City Services

Cambridge City Council
Mill Road Depot
Cambridge
CB1 2AZ

The above was contained in an attached Microsoft Word Document; the body of the accompanying email stated:

Dear Mr Taylor

Thank you for your recent Freedom of Information request.

Please find attached a formal acknowledgement of your request. The Heads of Service in this department (City Services) will send me all relevant information and I will then coordinate a response for you.

May I ask for clarification as to what time period you refer to in relation to these questions?

Many thanks

Ceri Littlechild
PA to Director of City Services
Mill Road Depot

Richard Taylor

FAO: Ceri Littlechild,

Many thanks for your email which you sent to my personal private email address.

I would like to note that I made my freedom of information requesting using the website WhatDoTheyKnow.com and the address for correspondence I provided was an @whatdotheyknow.com address. I would prefer you to reply via that address, one reason is so that information released is automatically made publically available on the internet for anyone who is interested to view.

Turning to your clarification request. I was anticipating that the number of projects carried out since the scheme began would be small enough such that the information I requested could be provided within the cost limits for responding to FOI requests without having to limit the request to a particular time period.

I would like to ask you to first consider my request without restriction to a specific time period. If you determine you are unable to comply with the request because the cost limit would be reached, I would then appreciate your advice on how I could reduce the scope of my request to bring it within the cost limit.

Many thanks,

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Richard Taylor

Cambridge

http://www.rtaylor.co.uk

Ceri Littlechild, Cambridge City Council

2 Attachments

Dear Mr Taylor

In response to your request;

Within City Services, Customer and Business Support (namely, the Rangers service) is the only section to offer community payback/service work. However, our records do not distinguish between work undertaken as community service or community payback. I have therefore attached a list of work undertaken with the Probation Service up to the date of your request (July 09) for your information. In addition to those listed, some work has been undertaken on garden clearances for elderly or infirm residents amounting to 192 hours.

The majority of the jobs the Probation Service do on our behalf costs very little or nothing at all, though exact details are unknown. The Probation Service provides their own tools and protective clothing. Materials for painting jobs are normally provided by the client (i.e. City Homes) and the Rangers pick up truck use and time is contributed to by City Homes South, but the Ranger's attendance is considered part of their duty and is at no additional cost.

Some of the work may be mentioned in the City Ranger Newsletters, which are distributed to schools, the police, Councillors and residents associations. An example is attached. This is the only example of publicity for the community service/payback projects.

Reports - no reports have been made on the community payback/service projects.

Should you have any further queries, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Yours sincerely

Ceri Littlechild
PA to the Director of City Services

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Francis Irving left an annotation ()

Blog post by the requester about this request: http://www.rtaylor.co.uk/taming-guerrill...

Richard Taylor left an annotation ()

I have written another article citing this request:

http://www.rtaylor.co.uk/friends-of-mids...

This time highlighting a revelation that community sentences in Cambridge have to involve "skills development" so painting is allowed but litter picking is unacceptable.