'Open & honest' public services?

Dear Mr Gerrish

Thank you for your email.

I acknowledge your request for information under the Freedom of
Information Act 2000. Assuming we hold this information, I will endeavour
to supply the data to you as soon as possible but no later than 13th July
2009 (20 working days from date of receipt).

I will advise you as soon as possible if we do not hold this information
or if there are exemptions to be considered and/or any costs for providing
the information. Please quote our reference - FOI/09/665 - in any
communication regarding this particular request.

Best regards

Corporate Access to Information Team, Chief Executive's Department
Kent County Council, Legal & Democratic Services, Room 1.94, Sessions
House, County Hall, Maidstone. ME14 1XQ.
Tel: 01622 696265 or 01622 694261 - Fax: 01622 694383
[1]http://www.kent.gov.uk/council-and-democ...

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Dear Mr Gerrish

Thank you for your email which in the interests of accountability we have
dealt with in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act, although
strictly speaking, a request for an opinion would fall outside the scope
of the Act unless of course that opinion was on record.

As you are no doubt aware, the Freedom of Information Act 2000 provides
people with a right of access to recorded information held by public
authorities like KCC. In return, public authorities must confirm whether
they hold the information requested or not and if they do, provide it to
the applicant subject to any fees or exemptions that may be applicable.
The Act places no obligation on public authorities to create information
to satisfy requests.

Up until the date of your request, Kent County Council had received 3427
requests for information falling under the scope of the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 and had provided the information in full to 65% of
the ones completed. Of the 35% that didn't receive the information they
had asked for, the reason for nearly half of these (45%) was because KCC
didn't actually hold the information that had been requested.

It is true that recently, KCC has refused to deal with requests from some
users of the whatdotheyknow website and two entities have recently been
classed as vexatious under section 14 of the Freedom of Information Act (a
decision sanctioned by both the Director of Law & Governance & the Chief
Executive) due to volume and content of their requests. These two
individuals alone have submitted 71 requests in a three-month period and
have sought an internal review of most of the responses they have been
provided with, even when they have been given the information that they
asked for and appear to be using FOIA as an alternative route to complain
about KCC's adoption policies and processes. The Council believes that it
has complied with FOIA when making this decision but ultimately, if any
applicants disagree they can pursue the matter with the Information
Commissioner. The Council will review these applicants' statuses in a few
months time.

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
[1]http://www.kent.gov.uk/council-and-democ...
on our website. Please quote reference FOI/09/665.

If you still remain dissatisfied following an internal review, 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
[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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