functions council

Re: FOI request - Ref FI/08/0202

I wish to acknowledge receipt of your request for information.

I have asked the relevant officers of the Authority to commence enquiries
immediately to find all applicable information relating to your request
under the FOI Act and to supply any which is found to me.

Your request has to be processed within a maximum of 20 working days,
which means the Council must provide you with the information it has
(assuming no exemptions are claimed) by 23 September 2008. If it is
possible to provide you with the information within a shorter timescale
then that will be done.

Should you have any queries about this matter please don***t hesitate to
contact me.

Kind regards
Ken Hamer
Constitution Officer

Stuart Hardwicke CARRUTHERS
<[FOI #2177 email]> To: FOI requests at Redcar &
Cleveland Council
24/08/2008 08:32 <[Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council request email]>
cc:
Subject: [Possible SPAM]
Freedom of Information request - functions
council

Dear Sir or Madam,

Sirs

I would like to know the average proportion of time the elected
representatives of your authority spend as part of their duties for
2005/2006, 2006/2007 and 2007/2008 on their main activities. The
activities that form their duties (employment) as an elected
representative are:

1 directly resolving complaints against the executive (Council
Staff) of the Council by residents; 2 sitting on committee's; 3
acting for the political parties that they represent and/or
ceremonial duties (i.e. all time not spent on sitting on a
Committee or resolving a complaint against the executive);

The total time spent by an elected representative for a Council on
these three activities should be 100 per cent of the time they
spend 'working for a Council' as an elected representative.

I would additionally like to know how much in total was paid to
local councillors to meet all their duties (including expenses) for
2005/2006, 2006/2007 and 2007/2008 by your authority, and how many
elected representatives are (and were) represented on your
authority for these years.

I would also like to know how many Complaints in total were
submitted to your Council in 2005/2006, 2006/2007 and 2007/2008 for
each year. I would further like to know how many of these
complaints were formally considered by an elected representative
for each of these years.

I would further like to know how many complaints against the
Executive (Council staff) led to the elected representatives
formally identifying that the Executive had acted wrongly for the
years 2005/2006, 2006/2007 and 2007/2008, and how many of these
formal determinations by the elected representatives identify that
there was no wrong-doing by the Executive. How many staff employed
by your authority in 2005/2006, 2006/2007 and 2007/2008 ceased to
be employed by your authority as a direct result of a complaint
against the Executive, and the Councillors identifying this to be
the case.

I would further like to know how much money the Council has paid to
a complainant (i.e. victim of a Council's wrongdoing) through its
own complaints system (i.e. excluding any intervention by the Local
Government Ombudsman, Valuation Tribunal or similar body) in
2005/2006, 2006/2007 and 2007/2008.

I would like to know how much money either in the form of local
settlement or additional formal finding of maladministration
causing injustice the Local Government Ombudsman has recommended
that your Council pay in 2005/2006, 2006/2007 and 2007/2008 (for
each year) and if the Local Government Ombudsman's recommendations
have been met in full (including any non-financial recommendations
for each year)). Please detail any recommendation that has not been
met in full and provide a copy of the Elected representatives
decision. Please additionally identify if these costs were met
directly by Council Tax Payers or the Council's insurers (excluding
self insurance by a Council)

Finally, please provide details of the financial cost of
administering all your complaints systems (including FoI and DP) by
the Executive for 2005/2006, 2006/2007 and 2007/2008 and the number
of staff employed in administering complaints and resolving these
(Full time equivalent staffing levels). Please also provide details
of your total administrative costs for 2005/2006, 2006/2007 and
2007/2008 and the total number of staff employed by your authority,
as well as any pay increase (including increments) made to the
Council's Chief Executive (Head of Paid Service) in pounds sterling
for each of these years. Please additionally identify if the Chief
Executives wages included performance related payments.

If you do not have this reasonably basic management information
related to complaints and/or identify that the costs of accessing
the information requested will be more than **450 please state this
and identify that your Authority does not have either a functioning
or accountable complaints system, and does not maintain any basic
management information related to this issue.

If you have a complaints system not fit for purpose please identify
which political party currently controls your Council, and if this
political party has appointed the current Electoral Registration
and Returning Officer through its control of the Council (with date
of their formal appointment). Please name the current Electoral
Registration and Returning Officer, and identify if they are also
Head of Paid Service, and Clerk to your Authority. Please
additionally provide any documentation maintained by your Local
Authorities Head of Paid Service identifying that they personally
do not believe it to be appropriate for your Council to have a
complaints system that is fit for purpose. This documentation
should be in existence due to the provisions of s4 of the Local
Government Act 1989.

Yours faithfully

Stuart HARDWICKE CARRUTHERS

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Re: FI 08 0202
Further to my acknowledgement of your request, I have received some
information from various officers across the authority. I can confirm some
of the information is held and some is already available by some other
means. It is also the case that some of the assumptions made in your email
are not correct and hence the information is not held in the format you
have requested.

The responses to each of your questions is emboldened below.

You asked:

I would like to know the average proportion of time the elected
representatives of your authority spend as part of their duties for
2005/2006, 2006/2007 and 2007/2008 on their main activities. The
activities that form their duties (employment) as an elected
representative are:

1 directly resolving complaints against the executive (Council
Staff) of the Council by residents; 2 sitting on committee's; 3
acting for the political parties that they represent and/or
ceremonial duties (i.e. all time not spent on sitting on a
Committee or resolving a complaint against the executive);

The total time spent by an elected representative for a Council on
these three activities should be 100 per cent of the time they
spend 'working for a Council' as an elected representative.
1) The breakdown of member activity that you present is not factually
accurate and does not cover many of the other activities undertaken by
members. The basic principles of the members allowance scheme is available
on our website along with details of the Special responsibility
allowances. Please follow the link below to find this information.
http://www.redcar-cleveland.gov.uk/main....
I would additionally like to know how much in total was paid to
local councillors to meet all their duties (including expenses) for
2005/2006, 2006/2007 and 2007/2008 by your authority, and how many
elected representatives are (and were) represented on your
authority for these years.
2) The details of the amount received by members in allowances is
available on our website for 2006/07 and 2007/08 at the following link:
http://www.redcar-cleveland.gov.uk/main....
Details of the 2005/06 allowances are attached below.

I would also like to know how many Complaints in total were
submitted to your Council in 2005/2006, 2006/2007 and 2007/2008 for
each year.
3)The following complaints were received:
2005/06 - 51 complaints recorded (the computer system was implemented in
2005/06 and therefore full records for this year are not held)
2006/07 - 543 complaints
2007/08 - 645 complaints

I would further like to know how many of these
complaints were formally considered by an elected representative
for each of these years.
4) Of these complaints the following were considered by councillors as
part of a stage 3 panel investigation:
2005/06 - zero
2006/07 - 7
2007/08 - 10
I would further like to know how many complaints against the
Executive (Council staff) led to the elected representatives
formally identifying that the Executive had acted wrongly for the
years 2005/2006, 2006/2007 and 2007/2008, and how many of these
formal determinations by the elected representatives identify that
there was no wrong-doing by the Executive.
5) Information is held regarding complaints against officers of the
council. During the period in question 2 complaints were taken to elected
members but none of these were against the Executive Management Team. Of
the 2 complaints against staff, neither of these were upheld.
How many staff employed
by your authority in 2005/2006, 2006/2007 and 2007/2008 ceased to
be employed by your authority as a direct result of a complaint
against the Executive, and the Councillors identifying this to be
the case.
6) Nil.
I would further like to know how much money the Council has paid to
a complainant (i.e. victim of a Council's wrongdoing) through its
own complaints system (i.e. excluding any intervention by the Local
Government Ombudsman, Valuation Tribunal or similar body) in
2005/2006, 2006/2007 and 2007/2008.
7) From the records that are held we have determined that the
compensation paid excluding ombudsman intervention is as follows:
2005/06 **0.00
2006/07 **0.00
2007/08 **359.06 from Finance and Procurement and **2500 from Area
Management
I would like to know how much money either in the form of local
settlement or additional formal finding of maladministration
causing injustice the Local Government Ombudsman has recommended
that your Council pay in 2005/2006, 2006/2007 and 2007/2008 (for
each year) and if the Local Government Ombudsman's recommendations
have been met in full (including any non-financial recommendations
for each year)). Please detail any recommendation that has not been
met in full and provide a copy of the Elected representatives
decision. Please additionally identify if these costs were met
directly by Council Tax Payers or the Council's insurers (excluding
self insurance by a Council)
8) From the records that are held we have determined that the compensation
paid with ombudsman intervention
2005/06 **25.00
2006/07 **200.12
2007/08 **700.00
Findings of maladministration, local settlement, etc. are detailed in the
annual reports produced by the Local Government Ombudsman which I attach
below. For clarity, any costs made to complainants are met from Council
revenue budgets. I can confirm that all recommendations have been met in
full.
Finally, please provide details of the financial cost of
administering all your complaints systems (including FoI and DP) by
the Executive for 2005/2006, 2006/2007 and 2007/2008 and the number
of staff employed in administering complaints and resolving these
(Full time equivalent staffing levels).
9) The administration of complaints and data subject access requests are
undertaken centrally by one member of staff who also has other duties and
responsibilities relating to governance and democratic services.
Additionally, one senior member of staff in each directorate has agreed to
act as conduit for complaints at an early informal stage, although this is
in addition to their other duties.

Although this information is not actually held, in order to be helpful and
to assist you, an estimate has been made based on a realistic percentage
of the time spent dealing with complaints, data subject access requests
and freedom of information requests such as yours. This is based on 2.63
full time equivalent staff:
2005/06 - **73,186
2006/07 - **66,208
2007/08 - **79,094

Please also provide details
of your total administrative costs for 2005/2006, 2006/2007 and
2007/2008
10) I can confirm that the CIPFA accounting code does not require us to
identify 'administrative' costs in this way and therefore the information
you seek is held in individual cost centre budgets. In order to identify
administrative costs for each service area - in addition to the time
already spent collating information for you - would exceed the **450 costs
limit specified in Section 12 of the Freedom of Information Act. Therefore
this part of your request is refused.

and the total number of staff employed by your authority,
11) The total number of staff employed is:
2005/06 - 6393
2006/07 - 5763
2007/08 - 5919
as well as any pay increase (including increments) made to the
Council's Chief Executive (Head of Paid Service) in pounds sterling
for each of these years.
12) The pay increase made to the Chief Executive was:
2005/06 - **13,344
2006/07 - **3,984
20007/08 - **2,782
Please additionally identify if the Chief Executives wages included
performance related payments.
13) I can confirm that the Chief Executive's salary does not include
performance related pay.

If you do not have this reasonably basic management information
related to complaints and/or identify that the costs of accessing
the information requested will be more than **450 please state this
and identify that your Authority does not have either a functioning
or accountable complaints system, and does not maintain any basic
management information related to this issue.

If you have a complaints system not fit for purpose please identify
which political party currently controls your Council, and if this
political party has appointed the current Electoral Registration
and Returning Officer through its control of the Council (with date
of their formal appointment). Please name the current Electoral
Registration and Returning Officer, and identify if they are also
Head of Paid Service, and Clerk to your Authority. Please
additionally provide any documentation maintained by your Local
Authorities Head of Paid Service identifying that they personally
do not believe it to be appropriate for your Council to have a
complaints system that is fit for purpose. This documentation
should be in existence due to the provisions of s4 of the Local
Government Act 1989.

14) Not applicable as the Council's complaints system is fit for
purpose.

I hope that this satisfies your request for information. If you are not
satisfied with how your request has been dealt with then you are free to
make a complaint either to the Council or to the Information Commissioner.
You will find details of the complaints procedure on the Council's Website
at
http://www.redcar-cleveland.gov.uk/YrCou...
(alternatively by using the A-Z Index from the home page). The Information
Commissioner is an independent person who has responsibility for
overseeing the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Freedom of Information Act
2000. More details can be obtained from the Information Commissioner***s
website at [1]www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk .

Should you have any queries about this matter please don***t hesitate to
contact me.

FOI Officer
Redcar and Cleveland BC

References

Visible links
1. http://www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk/