Dear Sir or Madam,

I would like to know,

a) how many findings of maladministration the local government
ombudsman has made against your council over the last 10 years.

b) how many findings of maladministration your council, either in
full or in part, has refused to accept.

c) how many findings of maladministration your council has accepted
but refused to comply, either in full or in part, with the local
government ombudsman's recommended remedy.

Yours faithfully,

A Johnson (Mrs)

Dear Sir or Madam,

Under the Freedom of Information Act you should have replied to my
Freedom of Information request by now. You are breaking the law.

Yours sincerely,

A Johnson

Dear Sir or Madam

Please accept my apologies for the delay in responding to your enquiry.

I shall contact the officer responsible for dealing with Ombudsman
complaints and respond to you as soon as possible.

Yours faithfully,

Lee Gardiner
Corporate Records Manager
Business Support Services
Legal & Democratic Division
Wigan Council

Tel: 8427 (01942 488427)
Fax: 2093 (01942 827093)
Email: [email address]

Town Hall, Library Street, Wigan, WN1 1YN

show quoted sections

Dear Mrs Johnson

I write further to my previous email.

I have spoken to the Officer who deals with Ombudsman issues and he has
no record of your request being passed to him.

I am aware that we have been having some difficulties receiving requests
from the 'What Do They Know' website and I am aware from correspondence
from the controller of the site that your original request was one
effected. It was resent by the controller but from looking at our
Freedom of Information inbox it does not appear to have been received
again after it was resent.

In light of this I have visited the website and obtained a copy of your
request which we will respond to in due course however please be aware
that in light of the apparent failure of the original request to be
received I do not consider that Wigan Council has failed in its duty
under Section 1 of the Freedom of Information Act by failing to respond
to you.

As a matter of courtesy I will be asking my colleague who deals with
Ombudsman issues to address your request urgently and we will endeavour
to respond to you as soon as possible.

Should you require any additional information or assistance please
contact me on the details shown.

Yours sincerely

Lee Gardiner
Corporate Records Manager
Business Support Services
Legal & Democratic Division
Wigan Council

Tel: 8427 (01942 488427)
Fax: 2093 (01942 827093)
Email: [email address]

Town Hall, Library Street, Wigan, WN1 1YN

show quoted sections

Dear Mrs Johnson

I am writing further to my previous emails.

My colleague who deals with Ombudsman matters has looked into you request
and the answers to your questions are as follows:

a) How many findings of maladministration the local government ombudsman
made against your local council over the last 10 years? Two

b) How many findings of maladministration your council, either in full or
in part, has refused to accept? None

c) How many findings of maladministration your council has accepted but
refused to comply, either in full or in part, with the local government
ombudsman's recommended remedy? None

In both cases where we were found to be guilty of maladministration we
accepted the ombudsman's findings in full and acted as directed.

I hope that this information is clear and answers your request in full. If
you are unhappy with any aspect of this response, an independent senior
officer will review this decision. Please let me know if you would like to
arrange this.

You can also complain to the Information Commissioner, who is the
regulator for Freedom of Information. His website is [1]www.ico.gov.uk,
and his helpline number is 08456 30 60 60. His staff may ask you to
exhaust our internal complaints procedure if you choose to complain to his
office now.

Should you require any additional information or assistance please do not
hesitate to contact me on the details shown.
Yours sincerely,

Lee Gardiner
Corporate Records Manager
Business Support Services
Legal & Democratic Division
Wigan Council

Tel: 8427 (01942 488427)
Fax: 2093 (01942 827093)
Email: [email address]

Town Hall, Library Street, Wigan, WN1 1YN

show quoted sections