COSLA Strategic Migration Partnership Minutes and Home Office UKBA UASC Reform Programme (Glasgow 19/03/09)

Dear Sir or Madam,

Can you please email me an electronic copy of the following
information,

1) Minutes of any meeting of the COSLA Strategic Migration
Partnership, since the inception of this Partnership.

2) Copies of any information produced or distributed by the COSLA
Strategic Migration Partnership in connection with the Home Office
UKBA UASC Reform Programme.

which I understand you hold, due to you being a member of the
Partnership. The request is being made of yourself as no other
Public Authority has made this information accessible to the
Public.

Please ensure that any general correspondence, acknowledgment or
holding letters etc are included in the body of the email messages,
rather than as attachments. As this will ensure the correspondence
is much easier to access, read and respond to.

When providing any information disclosures please provide it in the
original format such as:

a. MS Word .doc or Rich Text Text .rtf format or equivalent

b. Plain text .txt format

c.Spreadsheets in MS Excel .xls format or equivalent

d.Presentations in MS Powerpoint .ppt format or equivalent

or converted to Portable Document Format (PDF), ONLY if none of the
above formats are available

if you only have a paper version (hard copy) available, please
provide a Digital Photo Copier Scanned version in PDF format.

Providing correspondence and disclosed information via these means
will also help ensure that text based information is accessible for
use with a Screen Reader or a Magnifier for none text based
information.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screen_reader>

Yours faithfully,

Cassidy, J

Dear Sir or Madam,

To add and clarify, please also ensure you provide copies of:

2.1) Minutes of the COSLA UASC Reform Working Group, since the
group's inception

2.2) Copies of any information produced or distributed by or
through the COSLA UASC Reform Working Group, as may or may not have
been be noted in the above Minutes (2.1)

Yours sincerely,

Cassidy, J

Dear CED_FOI,

Thank you for your message. Can you please provide an
estimate/time-frame of when you will be able to send me the
information requested, noting your earlier comments:

"We are currently in the process of collating the information you
have requested and aim to send this out to you as soon as
possible."

As requested in my original request, can you please NOT send
responses as letters attached to emails, but cut and paste such
into the body of the emails message, as I am doing now, see:

"Please ensure that any general correspondence, acknowledgment or
holding letters etc are included in the body of the email messages,
rather than as attachments. As this will ensure the correspondence
is much easier to access, read and respond to."
http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/co...

Because:

"Providing correspondence and disclosed information via these means
will also help ensure that text based information is accessible for
use with a Screen Reader or a Magnifier for none text based
information.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screen_reader>"
http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/co...

Yours sincerely,

Cassidy, J

Dear Sir or Madam,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of
Information reviews, as no information has been provided, no
additional time requested to meet your deadline.

This request is currently overdue a response from Glasgow Council.
By law, the response had to be prompt but no later than 20 April
2009

I am writing to request an internal review of Glasgow Council's
handling of my FOI request 'COSLA Strategic Migration Partnership
Minutes and Home Office UKBA UASC Reform Programme (Glasgow
19/03/09)'.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is
available on the Internet at this address:
http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/co...

Yours sincerely,

Cassidy, J

Dear CED_FOI,

Please see my request for an Internal Review:
http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/co...

Yours sincerely,

Cassidy, J

Dear Drummond, Ian,

As requested in my original request, can you please NOT send
responses as letters attached to emails, but cut and paste such
into the body of the emails message, as I am doing now, see:

"Please ensure that any general correspondence, acknowledgment or
holding letters etc are included in the body of the email messages,
rather than as attachments. As this will ensure the correspondence
is much easier to access, read and respond to."

Yours sincerely,

Cassidy, J

Dear CED_FOI,

Can you advise on whether it is your common practice unwritten
policy to delay the release of information requests, once 20 days
has elapsed and an applicant subsequently requests an Internal
Review, thereby doubling the time an applicant has to wait for the
requested information. Resulting in at least a 40 working day wait
for requested information, rather that just 20 which is required by
law? If not can you give me a date when I can expect to receive the
information I requested. You did not request any more time beyond
the 20 days or give any reason for the unlawful delay, or indicate
that any information held may be subject to a Public Interest test.

Please explain what you mean when using the term 'priority'?

"We are treating your request as a priority and aim to forward the
required information across to you in a timely manner."
http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/co...

Yours sincerely,

Cassidy, J

Dear Drummond, Ian,

As the Council Solicitor, can you advise how your recent letter can
be considered to comply with Section 16 of the Freedom of
Information (Scotland) Act 2002?

You seem to be making the claim that the Council has made a
"decision" not to provide me with the requested information.
However, I have not received any 'Refusal Notice' as required by
said Section.

"I acknowledge receipt of your email requesting that the Council
reviews its decision not to provide you with information in terms
of the above Act. "

To help with your apparent deliberations, below I have
cut-and-pasted said Section:

"16 Refusal of request

(1) Subject to section 18, a Scottish public authority which, in
relation to a request for information which it holds, to any extent
claims that, by virtue of any provision of Part 2, the information
is exempt information must, within the time allowed by or by virtue
of section 10 for complying with the request, give the applicant a
notice in writing (in this Act referred to as a “refusal notice”)
which—

(a) discloses that it holds the information;

(b) states that it so claims;

(c) specifies the exemption in question; and

(d) states (if not otherwise apparent) why the exemption applies.

(2) Where the authority’s claim is made only by virtue of a
provision of Part 2 which does not confer absolute exemption, the
notice must state the authority’s reason for claiming that, in all
the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining
the exemption outweighs that in disclosure of the information.

(3) The authority is not obliged to make a statement under
subsection (1)(d) in so far as the statement would disclose
information which would itself be exempt information.

(4) A Scottish public authority which, in relation to a request for
information, claims that section 12(1) applies must, within the
time allowed by or by virtue of section 10 for complying with the
request, give the applicant a notice which states that it so
claims.

(5) A Scottish public authority which, in relation to such a
request, claims that section 14 applies must, within that time,
give the applicant a notice which states that it so claims; except
that the notice need not be given if—

(a) the authority has, in relation to a previous identical or
substantially similar such request, given the applicant a notice
under this subsection; and

(b) it would in all the circumstances be unreasonable to expect it
to serve a further such notice in relation to the current request."
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/legislation/scotl...
(6) Subsections (1), (4) and (5) are subject to section 19.

Please explain how, as a solicitor, you are providing me with
assistance with this Internal Review, as it I am unable to give
specific reason for my Internal Review request, as alluded to in
Section 2 (iii) IE:

"the matter which gives rise to the applicant’s dissatisfaction
mentioned in subsection"

http://www.opsi.gov.uk/legislation/scotl...

Per your duties under Section 15, please provide me with advice and
assistance as a matter of "priority" and in a "timely manner".

Yours sincerely,

Cassidy, J

Dear CED_FOI,

Letter sent to your solicitor:
http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/co...

Yours sincerely,

Cassidy, J

Dear Customer Care Centre,

Please see letter sent to your Solicitor:
http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/co...

Yours sincerely,

Cassidy, J

Dear Sir or Madam,

In your deliberation as to whether Glasgow Council will disclose
the information I have requested, in so far as it is not already
available to the Public. Please note that the information I am
requesting is already widely shared, with many non Public
authorities, such as:

Scottish Refugee Council

International Organization for Migration

Glasgow Housing Association

The Angel Group

YMCA Glasgow

ACPOS

Therefore I do not consider any exemptions to the release oft he
requested information can apply.

Yours sincerely,

Cassidy, J

Dear Drummond, Ian,

This is a reminder of your promise to respond to my request in a
legal and timely manner.

"Our Ref: IAD/MB/foi/ack/review/cassidy2

Date: 22 April 2009

FAO Mr Cassidy

Via email to: [email address]

Dear Mr Cassidy

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION (SCOTLAND) ACT 2002

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION - REVIEW

I acknowledge receipt of your email requesting that the Council
reviews its decision not to provide you with information in terms
of the above Act.

I confirm that I am reviewing your request and shall notify you of
the result within 20 working days of receipt of your request.

Yours sincerely "
http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/95...

Yours sincerely,

Cassidy, J