More Climategate Loose Ends
Dear Mr Palmer,
While I am still digesting the disclosures you have made under FOI_10-112; EIR_10-14 a more fundamental issue has arisen. Sir Muir and his team appear to be reticent to provide answers on a number of issues in relation to their Review undertaken on behalf of UEA. This is in contrast with the House of Commons Select Committee recommendation that the Review should be open and transparent. I wish therefore to understand better the relationship between the University and the Review as on the face it information held by the Review team members and their service providers may technically “be held” by the University for the purposed of the EIR.
Please provide me copies of the Correspondence between the University and Sir Muir Russell that, in the view of the University, comprises the contractual basis under which Sir Muir and his team operated and under which the University was contractually obliged to pay the sums that you have disclosed of what, I assume, is taxpayers money.
Please advise me as to how the disbursements were made. For instance, were the fees of the legal advisors paid directly by the University? If not who paid and how were they reimbursed.
Yours sincerely
David Holland
Dear Mr. Holland,
Please find attached a letter acknowledging your request received yesterday, 22 December 2010. The letter also contains further information regarding the handling of this request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
Someone will be in contact with you further in due course
Yours sincerely,
Jane Baker
On behalf of Dave Palmer
*****************************************************
Jane Baker
LaRC Co-ordinator / Blackboard support
Learning and Resources Centre (LaRC)
Library
UEA
Norwich NR4 7TJ
01603 59 3483
For LaRC enquiries please email [email address]
For Blackboard enquiries please email the Staff or Student IT Helpdesk [email address] or [email address]
My office days are Wednesday to Friday
Bob Heath is in the office Mondays and Tuesdays
Mr. Holland,
Attached please find a response to your request received by us on 22
December 2010. Please note that there is one (1) .pdf file attached in
addition to our response letter which comprises part of our response. If
you have any further questions, do not hesitate to contact me.
Yours sincerely, Dave Palmer
____________________________
David Palmer
Information Policy & Compliance Manager
University of East Anglia
Norwich, England
NR4 7TJ
Information Services
Tel: +44 (0)1603 593523
Fax: +44 (0)1603 591010
Dear University of East Anglia,
Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.
I am writing to request an internal review of University of East Anglia's handling of my FOI request 'More Climategate Loose Ends'.
Dear Mr Palmer,
Your Ref: FOI_10-144
Thank you for your letter of 26 January 2011. I regret to say that I must, yet again, ask that you reconsider your response and advise that I shall later make further requests arising from this matter.
I am perplexed that the University does not consider that there was a contractual relationship between it and Sir Muir Russell, as you very kindly attached an email exchange which, though I am not lawyer, I am confident is proof positive that there was a contract, since:
(a) There is the unqualified acceptance by Sir Muir – “I am happy to sign up on this basis”.
(b) There is a specified “service” – “the Independent Review”, the terms of which were proposed in the attachment sent by the University and agreed by Sir Muir.
(c) There is a “consideration” offered by the University - £40,000 plus expenses and an unqualified undertaking to cover “fees” charged for the additional expertise required by Sir Muir.
(d) You have in response to another request revealed that the total cost to the University of the Independent Review was nearly £300,000.
Please supply the draft announcement sent to Sir Muir and which he was happy to sign up to as this rather than what was published appears to be the basis of the agreement.
Please confirm that the University now accepts that Sir Muir Russell carried out his Independent Review on behalf of the the University and under contract to it.
Please supply without redactions point 3 of Professor Acton’s email to Sir Muir which is clearly part of the contract or it would not have been written.
Please supply the earlier email from Professor Acton to Sir Muir referred to in the paragraph following point 5.
Please supply any contemporaneous note Professor Acton took of the the "taxi" conversation referred to.
Please carefully search for any earlier or later information which might amount to variations in the contract terms, for instance there must have been some discussions, invoices and documentation to support the substantial cost beyond the £40k fee to Sir Muir.
In particular I wish to see any document that instructs or permits Sir Muir to "centralise" or "consolidate" elsewhere all the information pertaining to the Review originally "held" by public authorities subject to FoIA/EIR and to then delete it from the original authority's records.
I note that you have not assigned an EIR reference to this request and would ask that you carefully reconsider the classification of it. I think this week’s Report of the Commons Select Committee on Science and Technology leaves no room to dispute that my requests are integral to a full understanding by the public of the most important “environmental matter” this country faces. This clearly alters the balance in favour of disclosure.
Yours sincerely
David Holland
Note:
A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address:
http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/mo...
Dear Mr Holland,
Further to your email of 27 January 2011, attached please find an
acknowledgement of your appeal of our response of 26 January 2011. Please
accept my apologies for the delay in acknowledging your appeal.
Feel free to contact me if you have any further questions
Yours sincerely, Dave Palmer
____________________________
David Palmer
Information Policy & Compliance Manager
University of East Anglia
Norwich, England
NR4 7TJ
Information Services
Tel: +44 (0)1603 593523
Fax: +44 (0)1603 591010
Dear Mr Holland,
Please find attached a letter acknowledging your request received 28
January 2011. The letter also contains further information regarding the
handling of this request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
We will be in contact with you further in due course.
Yours sincerely, Dave Palmer
____________________________
David Palmer
Information Policy & Compliance Manager
University of East Anglia
Norwich, England
NR4 7TJ
Information Services
Tel: +44 (0)1603 593523
Fax: +44 (0)1603 591010
Dear Mr. Holland,
Please find attached a response from Professor Tom Ward,
Pro-Vice-Chancellor - Academic, to your request of 27 January 2011 seeking
an internal review of your request under the Freedom of Information Act.
Yours sincerely, Dave Palmer
____________________________
David Palmer
Information Policy & Compliance Manager
University of East Anglia
Norwich, England
NR4 7TJ
Information Services
Tel: +44 (0)1603 593523
Fax: +44 (0)1603 591010
Mr. Holland,
Attached please find a response to your request received by us on 27
January 2011. Please note that there is one (1) .pdf file attached in
addition to our response letter which comprises part of our response.
If you have any further questions, do not hesitate to contact me.
Yours sincerely, Dave Palmer
____________________________
David Palmer
Information Policy & Compliance Manager
University of East Anglia
Norwich, England
NR4 7TJ
Information Services
Tel: +44 (0)1603 593523
Fax: +44 (0)1603 591010
Dear Mr Holland,
In response to your email of 16 April 2011, please find attached the
acknowledgement of your appeal.
Feel free to contact me if you have any further questions
Yours sincerely, Dave Palmer
____________________________
David Palmer
Information Policy & Compliance Manager
University of East Anglia
Norwich, England
NR4 7TJ
Information Services
Tel: +44 (0)1603 593523
Fax: +44 (0)1603 591010
Dear Mr. Holland,
Please find attached a response from Professor Tom Ward,
Pro-Vice-Chancellor - Academic, to your request of 16 April 2011 seeking
an internal review of your request under the Freedom of Information Act
2000.
Yours sincerely, Dave Palmer
____________________________
David Palmer
Information Policy & Compliance Manager
University of East Anglia
Norwich, England
NR4 7TJ
Information Services
Tel: +44 (0)1603 593523
Fax: +44 (0)1603 591010
Mr. Holland,
Further to my correspondence of yesterday on this matter, I forward a
revised response to your request of 16 April 2011 seeking an internal
review of your request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. The
letter sent yesterday contained, in error, the word `draft' in the subject
line, and I would ask that you consider the attached letter to be our
response on the matter. For your information, both letters are identical
and the error was simply the failure to remove the word `draft' from the
subject line. Apologies for any confusion caused.
Yours sincerely, Dave Palmer
____________________________
David Palmer
Information Policy & Compliance Manager
University of East Anglia
Norwich, England
NR4 7TJ
Information Services
Tel: +44 (0)1603 593523
Fax: +44 (0)1603 591010
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