Kent County Council - Policy on Transparency

Dear R Soles

Thank you for your request for information.

Kent County Council does not have a specific "open, honest, transparent
and accountable" policy as such, but these are principles which underpin
KCC's policies, in particular KCC's Constitution
[1]http://www.kent.gov.uk/council-and-democ...

Please also see KCC's Communication Framework (attached), our media
protocol
[2]http://www.kent.gov.uk/news/press-centre... , and
our Customer Care Charter
[3]http://www.kent.gov.uk/publications/coun... all
of which refer to these principles.

I hope this satisfies your request. If you have a query with the
information provided, please contact me on 01622 221652. However, if you
are unhappy with this response, and believe KCC has not complied with
legislation, please ask for a review by following our complaints process;
details can be found at this link
[4]http://www.kent.gov.uk/council-and-democ...
on our website. Please quote reference FOI/09/209.

Best regards

Caroline Dodge
Corporate Access to Information Coordinator, Chief Executive's Department
Kent County Council, Legal & Democratic Services, Room 1.94, Sessions
House, County Hall, Maidstone. ME14 1XQ.
Tel: 01622 221652 - Fax: 01622 694383
[5]http://www.kent.gov.uk/council-and-democ...

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Dear R Soles

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 gives you the right to ask for
official information from public authorities such as Kent County Council
and it also give you a right to seek an internal review if you believe
that the public authority has wrongly withheld information from you.
However, in this case we did not withhold information from you, in
fact we provided you with all the recorded information KCC holds meeting
the scope of your request. As I understand it, your complaint is that we
did not provide you with a more direct response i.e.: "a simple yes or no
answer would suffice" but I do not believe that this in itself is grounds
for an internal review.

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 does not oblige any public
authority to create information to satisfy requests, nor does it give you
a right to elicit officer opinion (unless of course that opinion is
already recorded), so we could only confirm the statement "Yes, Kent
County Council is committed to openness, honesty, transparency and
accountability when providing its public services", if an officer or
elected member had gone on record quoting words to this effect.

I have provided a link to the Information Commissioner's website to their
guidance for the public on how and when to complain.
[1]http://www.ico.gov.uk/upload/documents/l....

To assist you further, the following are grounds for complaint under the
Freedom of Information Act 2000:-

* failure to provide the information you asked for;
* failure to tell you whether or not we held information you requested;
* failure to respond to your request within time limits (normally 20
working days);
* failure to give you proper advice and help;
* failure to give information in the form in which you requested it;
* failure to properly explain the reasons for refusing the request;
* failure to correctly apply an exemption under the Act
* overcharging you for providing information.

So, as soon as you explain why you believe our response to be
non-compliant with the Freedom of Information Act 2000, we can then
investigate your complaint and instigate an internal review.
Alternatively, if you are unable to do this, or are unhappy with this
stance, you can escalate your complaint direct to the Information
Commissioner.
[2]http://www.ico.gov.uk/complaints/freedom...

Best regards

Caroline Dodge
Corporate Access to Information Coordinator, Chief Executive's Department
Kent County Council, Legal & Democratic Services, Room 1.94, Sessions
House, County Hall, Maidstone. ME14 1XQ.
Tel: 01622 221652 - Fax: 01622 694383
[3]http://www.kent.gov.uk/council-and-democ...

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Dear R Soles

I have been asked to review the response that you have received to your
FOI request number 09/209.

There is, however, reason to doubt that R Soles is your true name and that
you may in fact be using a "humorous pseudonym". Under Section 8(1) of the
Freedom of Information Act 2000 the failure of the requester to provide
his or her name renders the request invalid and outside of the scope of
the Act. I will therefore not proceed to consider your request for a
review unless and until you are able to provide me with authentic
identification (such as an original utility bill) showing your full name
and postal address. If your name really is R Soles I apologise for this
inconvenience in advance. I look forward to hearing from you.

If you are unhappy with this decision, you can appeal to the Information
Commissioner, who oversees compliance with the Freedom of Information Act
2000. Details of what you need to do, should you wish to pursue this
course of action, are available from the Information Commissioner's
website
[1]http://www.informationcommissioner.gov.u...

Yours sincerely

Mark Radford
Mark Radford
Senior Solicitor,
Litigation, Employment and Education Team,
Legal and Democratic Services,
Room 1.110 Sessions House,
Kent County Council,
Maidstone, Kent. ME14 1XQ.
Tel - (01622) 694396

[2]www.kent.gov.uk/legal

References

Visible links
1. http://www.informationcommissioner.gov.u...
http://www.informationcommissioner.gov.u...
2. http://www.kent.gov.uk/legal

I am on leave until 23rd June. I will not be looking at my e-mails during
my absence. If you would like to speak to someone about my work please
send an e-mail to my secretary Kim Ogle or telephone her (01622) 694301.

Mark Radford
x4396

I am on leave until 24th August. I will not be looking at my e-mails
during my absence. If you would like to speak to someone about my work
please send an e-mail to my secretary Kim Ogle or telephone her on (01622)
694301.

Mark Radford
x4396

Dear R Soles

Thank you for your emails of 20th June & 20th August.

As you have already been advised, as soon as you provide proof that R
Soles is your real name, Kent County Council will arrange an internal
review of the 12th March reply to your original request which you
submitted 3rd March, to ascertain whether the Council complied with
Freedom of Information legislation or not. For a request for information
to be valid, the applicant must use their real name - this is a
requirement of section 8 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. If you
disagree with the Council's interpretation of section 8 of the Act, you
should pursue the matter with the Information Commissioner who,
incidentally, will also ask for proof that you are using your real name
if he suspects you are using a pseudonym
http://www.ico.gov.uk/complaints/freedom...

Other information about Mark Radford's identity is already accessible to
you via the whatdotheyknow website
http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/ma...

Best regards

Caroline Dodge
Corporate Access to Information Coordinator, Chief Executive's
Department Kent County Council, Legal & Democratic Services, Room 1.94,
Sessions House, County Hall, Maidstone. ME14 1XQ.
Tel: 01622 221652 - Fax: 01622 694383
http://www.kent.gov.uk/council-and-democ...
s/access-to-info.htm

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