LG Act 1974 Part III Section 32(3) notices

Thank you for your recent enquiry

I have passed this onto the relevant service and will contact you again once a reply has been received

Regards

Information Access Team

Dear Mr Nunn

I refer to your recent freedom of information request relating to Section 32(3) notices and have received the following reply from the service concerned:

Over the last five years

(1) How many Local Government Act Part III Section 32(3) notices has your council served on a Local Government Ombudsman.

Kirklees Council does not routinely collect this information, and I regret that it would exceed the permitted costs to check each individual case record over the past five years to provide it.

(3) How many times has the Ombudsman concerned found the council guilty of maladministration for misusing a Section 32(3) notice.

None.

Yours sincerely

Information Access Team

Dear Mr Nunn

I refer to your email 7 November regarding your recent freedom of information request.

Unfortunately, our legal department does not hold information about the numbers of 32(3) notices applied, and I must refer you to my previous response of 6 November.

Yours sincerely

Information Access TReam

This is an automatically generated Delivery Status Notification.

Delivery to the following recipients failed.

[email address]

Dear Mr Nunn

I refer to your email below and have noted your comments.

I would advise you that the last email received from you requesting an internal review was 7 November 2009.

I sent a reply to you on 20 November (copy below) and have heard nothing else from you.

I refer to your email 7 November regarding your recent freedom of information request.

Unfortunately, our legal department does not hold information about the numbers of 32(3) notices applied, and I must refer you to my previous response of 6 November.

As far as I am aware there is nothing further I can add to your previous request.

Regards

Information Access Team

show quoted sections

Dear Mr Nunn

We have answered your second question, and we have informed you that we do not hold the information in answer to the first. We have also informed you that it would take in excess of the cost limit (i.e the 18 hours prescribed in the Fees Regulations) to examine each case file over the last five years. I cannot see that a 'review' would add anything to this. However, you will be aware that before approaching the Information Commissioner it is expected that you will have exhausted the internal complaints procedure. If you are not satisfied, it is suggested that you contact The Corporate Customer Standards Officer, Civic Centre 3, Market Street, Huddersfield, HD1 2YZ, who will look into your complaint.

Yours sincerely

Information Access Team

show quoted sections

Dear Mr Nunn

I have passed your email onto the Corporate Customer Standards Officer in order to deal with your further comments as described in my earlier email.

Yours sincerely

show quoted sections

Dear Mr Nunn

I have passed your email onto the Corporate Customer Standards Officer in order to deal with your further comments as described in my earlier email.

Yours sincerely

show quoted sections

Dear Mr Nunn

I am sorry to hear you remain dissatisfied with our council response.

Unfortunately, our internal review could not provide you with figures that the council does not physically hold, and as explained previously, to check through each record between us and the ombudsman would prove prohibitive in cost.

As part of the internal review, I did discuss whether our legal department should have been keeping a record of any 32(3) notices applied, and if not whether it should start doing so. We concluded it would serve no useful purpose for us, as 32(3) notices would only be applied rarely and in relation to individual situations. However, as instances where we might consider applying a 32(3) notice would be very rare, I confirmed I would obtain the advice of our legal section were I to consider applying one in future (on a case by case basis).

While it doesn't answer your enquiry, I can confirm that since I became the post holder responsible for liaison between Kirklees Council and the Local Government Ombudsman in August 2008, I do not recall any 32(3) notices being applied.

I am sorry that I am not able to assist you any further. I understand you have been referred to the Information Commissioner if you remain dissatisfied with my response.

Yours sincerely

Chris Read
Corporate Customer Standards Officer
Kirklees Council

Dear Mr Nunn

Thank you for your reply. I am sorry if our responses led you to draw this conclusion.

I think the message that our original e-mails was intending to convey was that if we simply do not record the information you had asked for, then any outcome of an internal review would still not be able to give you an answer to your FOI request.

However, I can confirm that when I received details of your request for an internal review, I spoke with our legal section to discuss whether there were any learning lessons or value to the authority in collecting the data. The outcome is as described to you in my last message.

I would also like to point out that between 20 November when we responded to you to confirm we did not have the data you requested, we did not receive any further query from you until 27 January. When we have received a query, we have responded to it withing the required deadlines.

Obviously, you may choose to progress your complaint to the ICO if you wish, but I hope my response helps clarify the position.

Regards

Chris Read

show quoted sections

Dear Chris Read,

I submitted a request for an internal review on the 7th November
2009 with a reminder on the 20th November 2009. Your first email on
the 3rd February 2010 confirms that the council can't see the point
of an internal review the second email later that day suggests that
you have now carried out an internal review. One can only conclude
from those emails that you carried out the internal review on the
3rd February 2010.

Having to wait nearly 3 months for an internal review is just not
acceptable. As you should be aware it should normally be carried
out within 20 days and in any event should take no longer than 40
days. If you need longer than 20 days you should have informed me
of the reason for the delay.

My complaint will be with the ICO later today.

Yours sincerely,

Trevor R Nunn

show quoted sections

Dear Mr Nunn

Please see the refusal notice attached, which we have copied to the Information Commissioner's Office.

Yours sincerely

The Information Team

Kirklees Council
Performance and Communication
2nd Floor
Civic Centre 3
Huddersfield HD1 2YZ