Dear Sir or Madam,

I would appreciate copies of all monitoring officer reports issued
by the Penwith DC following admission and or agreement by the
Penwith DC that they had committed maladministration causing
injustice, as evidenced through an local settlement agreed with the
Local Government Ombudsman, as well as any monitoring officer
report produced following a formal finding by the Local Government
Ombudsman for the last six years.

If a monitoring officer report has not been produced, I should
appreciate clarification if the Council rejected both the
Ombudsman's findings and their recommendations in relation to each
local settlement agreed, and copies of all associated documentation
for the last six years.

Yours faithfully,

Stuart Hardwicke Carruthers

To Stuart Hardwicke

Receipt of your request for information is acknowledged and has been
passed to the relevant area of the council for attention.

You will receive a response within twenty working days, which is by the
2 October 2008.

If you have any queries in the meantime, please contact me, or my
colleague, Barbara Mathews.

Regards,

Clare James

Stuart Hardwicke CARRUTHERS wrote:

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Clare James

_*Information Management & Licensing Officer*_

Penwith District Council

St. Clare

Penzance

Cornwall

TR18 3QW

Tel: 01736 336552

Fax: 01736 336791

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Dear Stuart Hardwicke Carruthers

With reference to your Freedom of Information Act request dated 4
September 2008, I have received the following reply from our Monitoring
Officer, Simon Mansell:

"We do not have records going back that far, all L.G.O files are
destroyed in line with our retention policy. However since 2005 we have
had no findings of maladministration".

Attached is our Freedom of Information complaints procedure for your
information.

Regards

Clare James

Stuart Hardwicke CARRUTHERS wrote:

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--

Clare James

_*Information Management & Licensing Officer*_

Penwith District Council

St. Clare

Penzance

Cornwall

TR18 3QW

Tel: 01736 336552

Fax: 01736 336791

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Dear Clare James,

In my request for information I made no reference to a need for an
Local Government Ombudsman Decision against Penwith District
Council. My request relates entirely to the duties of the
Monitoring Officer under the Local Government and Housing Act, 1989
and a need for them to produce a report.

It states in the annual letters from the LGO in relation to a
number of local settlements that the Penwith has admitted fault,
has provided compensation, changed procedures and apologised.
Further it is identified that the Penwith District Council has
contravened FoI in responding to the LGO in the LGO's annual
letters. The LGO has also identified that a number of complaints
fall outside of their jurisdiction.

Your reply fails to answer the questions asked. The Council have
identified and agreed with the LGO that a monitoring officer report
should be produced. This is clearly identified when the relevant
sections of the Local Government and Housing Act are placed next to
the LGO's annual letter to the Council.

The records must exist othewise the Council would have not been
able to reach any agreement with the LGO, and would have disputed
their annual letters.

Please provide the answers and/or any delegation given to the
Council's monitoring officer that they can ignore their duties.

If the Council has identified that the monitoring officer can
ignore their duties records relating to a number of decisions by
different Council's as identified by s2 of the Local Government Act
1972 should be available. I would also point out to the current
monitoring officer that the position is a function (not a person)

Please additionally identify the monitoring officers employed by
the Council's for the last six years, and if they are a solicitor.

it is very clear from guidance that complaint files that have been
subject to an investigation should be retained for at least ten
years.

Internal review is requested.

Yours sincerely,

Stuart Hardwicke Carruthers

Dear Mr Carruthers,

I am of course familiar with my duties and responsibilities under the s5 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 which requires me to prepare a report which relates to any finding of maladministration or injustice on behalf of the authority.

As we have had no such findings made against the Council during my time as Monitoring Officer there are no such reports. Should you wish to contend this finding I would respectfully request you contact the Information Commissioner as previously advised.

Our retention policy relating to investigation files mirrors that of the Local Government Ombudsman who retain their investigation files, again should you have concerns relating to this please contact the Information Commissioner and the LGO.

The Monitoring Officers at Penwith in the last 6 years have been Mr David Hooper (Solicitor) 2002 - 2005 and myself as a Fellow of the Institute however professional qualifications are not relevant to the post of Monitoring Officer as no formal qualification is require to hold this post, indeed at the last survey conducted by the Standards Board for England 11% of Monitoring Officers in England were not legally qualified.

Regards

Simon Mansell MBE
Monitoring Officer
Penwith District Council

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