Complaints from MP's

Dear Mr Harris

Thank you for your email.

I acknowledge your request for information under the Freedom of
Information Act 2000. Assuming we hold this information, I will endeavour
to supply the data to you as soon as possible but no later
than 21st August 2009 (20 working days from date of receipt).

I will advise you as soon as possible if we do not hold this information
or if there are exemptions to be considered and/or any costs for providing
the information. Please quote our reference - FOI/09/825 - in any
communication regarding this particular request.

Best regards
Corporate Access to Information Team, Chief Executive's Department
Kent County Council, Legal & Democratic Services, Room 1.94, Sessions
House, County Hall, Maidstone. ME14 1XQ.
Tel: 01622 696265 or 01622 694261 - Fax: 01622 694383
[1]http://www.kent.gov.uk/council-and-democ...

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Dear Mr Harris

Thank you for your request for information. You asked for the number of
complaints made to KCC by MPs on a yearly basis but you did not specify
for what time period.

Kent County Council is a very large authority; our employee headcount is
over 44,000. KCC is split into five directorates, each with their own
devolved powers and financial management so consequently, very few records
are centralised making our ability to answer authority-wide requests for
information very difficult within the appropriate limit. Each directorate
has a different process for recording and monitoring complaints, and many
units record the complaint under the name of the MP's constituent rather
than the MP. Majority of MPs communicate directly with the Chief Executive
and these are recorded by my team. Therefore, I have managed to collate
the following statistics - see the attached document - which I hope
meets some of your requirements. Kent County Council does not hold any
registers of complaints prior to 2006-2007 and to extrapolate the
information you require from individual complaint files would exceed the
appropriate limit of £450 (equivalent to 18 hours @ £25 hours).

In summary; there have been at least 20 complaints from MPs since 1st
April 2009 to date, 48 complaints from MPs in 2008/2009, 52 complaints
from MPs in 2007/2008. Further information on the total number of
complaints received by KCC can also be viewed on our website; please see
the annual report to Governance & Audit Committee
[1]http://democracy.kent.gov.uk/Published/C...

If you are unhappy with this response, and believe KCC has not complied
with legislation, please ask for a review by following our complaints
process; details can be found at this link
[2]http://www.kent.gov.uk/council-and-democ...
on our website. Please quote reference FOI/09/825.

If you still remain dissatisfied following an internal review, you can
appeal to the Information Commissioner, who oversees compliance with the
Freedom of Information Act 2000. Details of what you need to do, should
you wish to pursue this course of action, are available from the
Information Commissioner*s website
[3]http://www.ico.gov.uk/complaints/freedom...

Best regards

Caroline Dodge
Corporate Access to Information Coordinator, Chief Executive's Department
Kent County Council, Legal & Democratic Services, Room 1.94, Sessions
House, County Hall, Maidstone. ME14 1XQ.
Tel: 01622 221652 - Fax: 01622 694383
[4]http://www.kent.gov.uk/council-and-democ...

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