Consultation with the BMF

Dear Westminster City Council,

And yet you still ignore my FOI request, so here it is yet again.

In response to FOI 4225, you advise that you consulted the British
Motorcyclist Federation (BMF) with regards to the motorcycle
parking. You also provide a web link to your website to prove this.
Unfortunately, as your website is neither unbiased or independent,
and is generally full of inaccurate or mis-calculated facts and
figures, i question the authenticity of the records you hold.

The BMF have stated in a letter sent to all Westminster Councillors
"We were particularly aggrieved by the fact that we were
not given an opportunity to present our case to the councillors
before you
made a policy decision on the issue based on false information. We
have now
witnessed Councillor Chalkley, on numerous occasions, stating that
both
MAG and BMF had been consulted on this point and thus inferring
that we
were in tacit agreement. I think you will find that we are clearly
not, as
evidenced by our strong support for the No To Bike Parking Fees
Campaign,
our historic campaigns against motorcycle parking charges and this
letter."

So judging by that letter, either Westminster City Council are
lying or the BMF are lying.

To put my mind at rest, please provide all correspondence between
Westminster City Council and the BMF with regards to motorcycle
parking. This should include emails and letters where
applicable/appropriate. It may be wise of you to also provide any
minutes of any meetings you have held with them with regards to
motorcycle charging.

Please also explain to me why the BMF are said to have been
consulted in the recently published Cabinet Member Report when they
have CLEARLY and EXPLICITLY stated to ALL Westminster City
Councillors that they were not.

Yours faithfully,

Ben Tweedy