conway council legality

Dear Peter,

Thank you for your enquiry to the Ombudsman’s office which we received earlier today.

Because we are not an advisory service, I am not able to provide you with a comprehensive answer to all of the questions which you raise. However, you may find independent information and advice on the planning system in Wales from an organisation called Planning Aid Wales. Its helpline telephone number is 029 20 485765. Its website also contains useful information. Please see www.planningaidwales.org.uk. You will also find valuable information in the planning portal. This is the UK Government’s information base on planning matters. It can be found at www.planningportal,gov.uk. The Welsh Assembly Government’s website also contains useful information including reference to guidance and policy.

With regard your difficulty in obtaining information from Conwy County Council to which you believe you are entitled. The Ombudsman regards such issues as primarily ones for the Information Commissioner to look into and we do not investigate them unless they are incidental to a complaint which is mainly about other matters.

You may therefore wish to direct you enquiry to the Information Commissioner’s office. The contact details are as follows:

Information Commissioner's Office - Wales,
Cambrian Buildings
Mount Stuart Square,
Cardiff,
CF10 5FL
Telephone: 029 2044 8044

You also mention that there is an ongoing legal dispute with the Council. It may be worth noting at this time that there are certain restrictions to the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction. He may not investigate the commencement or conduct of legal proceedings. This restriction would appear to be relevant to your enquiry because you mention the solicitor stating in court that the Council are exempt from freedom of information. The Ombudsman also cannot investigate a complaint where you have a right to take the matter to court, therefore if you are already seeking a legal resolution of your complaint, he may not be able look into this matter for you.

If you are still not sure about whether you can complain to the Ombudsman, you can ring and talk to someone on 0845 601 0987 (this will cost no more than a local call, no matter where you are calling from). Examples of cases that the Ombudsman has looked at can be found on our website which may help you. Please see www.ombudsman-wales.org.uk. If you do decide that you want to submit a complaint to the Ombudsman, if possible, you should put your complaint in writing. There is an online form available on our website although we would also like to see copies of any correspondence you may have with the body you are complaining about.

Yours sincerely,

Assessment Officer

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Dear Peter

Thank you for your e-mail of 27 May.

As stated in our previous response to your e-mail of 26 May, the Ombudsman’s office is not an advisory body and we cannot therefore advise you on whether a Council is entitled to withhold information from you. If you believe that the Council is improperly withholding information from you through misapplying an exemption under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 then you should consider contacting the Information Commissioner’s Office. The contact details for the ICO’s office in Wales are:

ICO – Wales
Cambria Buildings
Mount Stuart Square
Cardiff
CF10 5FL

Tel: 02920 448044
E-mail: [email address]

Yours sincerely

Assessment Officer

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