Dear Sir or Madam,

Please can you inform me of your intentions for managing the
provision of digital TV in preparation for analogue switch-off for
the residents of your council-run properties. I would like to know
what process is being used to establish the needs of residents,
costs to residents and services to be provided.

Yours faithfully,

Michael

Dear Mr Grade,

Freedom of Information Act 2000 – Request for Information

Thank you for your request which was received on 7th August 2008, for
information held by the Council under the provisions of the Freedom of
Information Act 2000.

In some circumstances a fee may be payable and if that is the case, we
will let you know. A fees notice will be issued to you, and you will be
required to pay before we will proceed to deal with your request.

If you require any further information or are not happy with our response
please do not hesitate to contact me on 0121 303 4428 quoting the
reference number above in any future communications.

Kindest regards

Donna Walton
Governance & Facilities

Tel: 0121 303 4428
Fax: 0121 303 4844
Email: [email address]

show quoted sections

Dear Mr Grade,

I am writing in respect of your recent enquiry for information regarding
managing the provision of digital TV in preparation for analogue
switch-off for the residents of your council-run properties. Also what
process is being used to establish the needs of residents, costs to
residents and services to be provided, all held by the Authority under the
provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Please find herewith the following:

We are currently in the second year of a 4 year contract with G. F.
Tomlinson's Birmingham Ltd, to install a new integrated reception system
(irs) to roughly 19000 homes comprising of high and low rise blocks,
warden controlled sheltered housing schemes and in specific instances
individual houses. This contract will coincide with the digital switch off
in the central region due to take place in 2011, for all of the properties
on the programme who currently receive analogue television through a
communal aerial system maintained by Birmingham City Council.

The installation of the new i.r.s.system is being funded by Birmingham
City Council and will provide residents with free access to a multitude of
services including d.a.b. radio,digital freeview t.v., freesat ,a hot bird
- dish and a sky dish through one four - way socket provided to every
home, free of charge. The hot - bird dish is an additional free service
being provided in the Birmingham area to ensure that the diverse
demographic areas in the region is fully catered for, in particularly poor
reception areas properties have had freesat boxes installed so that they
too receive all of the available services.

The guide lines set out for year one of the program is to focus on the
areas of poor reception (black spots) followed by warden/sheltered housing
schemes. In the first year of the contract we have installed the new
system in 6500 homes, and are scheduled to complete the program in
advance of the switch off date in 2011 to ensure that everyone can receive
the new services.

Once the new system has been successfully installed the old equipment is
switched off and finally removed from the building, thus completing the
switch over to digital.

There are no cost implications for the council tenants.

Whilst we have undertaken a thorough search of the information held by
Birmingham City Council, it may be that, due to the size and amount of
information held by Birmingham City Council, some information may have
been inadvertently missed.

If you have any information which may assist us in determining or locating
any missed information, we would be grateful if you would contact us with
details of this information, so that we can conduct a further search.

If you are not satisfied with the response you may ask for an internal
review. If subsequently you are not satisfied with the Council’s decision
you may apply to the Information Commissioner for a decision. Generally,
the ICO cannot make a decision unless you have exhausted the complaints
procedure provided by the Council. The Information Commissioner can be
contacted at the following address:

The Information Commissioner
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Telephone: 01625 545745
Web Address: www.ico.gov.uk

Yours sincerely

Donna Walton
Governance Department
Tel: 0121 303 4428

Data Protection Act 1998
The information you have provided within your Freedom of Information
request will be held on our database and may also be held within manual
records for a period of 2 years from the date Birmingham City Council
received your request. Any personal data that you provide to Birmingham
City Council will be held in line with the requirements set out within the
Data Protection Act 1998.

Re Use of Public Sector Information
Where Birmingham City Council is the copyright holder of any information
that may be released, re-use for personal, educational or non-commercial
purposes is permitted without further reference to the City Council. Where
the re-use is for other purposes, such as commercial re-use, the applicant
should notify the City Council in writing to seek approval or agree terms
for re-use.

show quoted sections