Dear Sir or Madam,

Policy documents - Common Purpose

Please supply

1. copies of your organisation's policy documents relating to the
selection of personnel for Common Purpose training.

2. copies of ALL correspondence (email, letters, memos etc)
relating to the selection of personnel for Common Purpose training.

By "Common Purpose", I mean the training organisation of that name:
http://www.commonpurpose.org/home.aspx

Yours faithfully,

John Walker

Dear Mr Walker

Thank you for your email below requesting information under the Freedom oF Information Act 2000. As you may be aware, we have 20 working days to deal with FOI requests and so I will contact you again by 29 August, or earlier if possible.

Pleas quote FOI 08-105 in any further correspondence concerning this request.

Kind regards.

Joanna Kitchener
Scrutiny and Information Rights Officer
South Norfolk Council
Long Stratton, Norwich
NR15 2XE
01508 533602
www.south-norfolk.gov.uk

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Dear Mr Walker

Thank you for your email below.

In response to your enquiries, I should advise you that:

1. We do not have a policy document relating to the selection of personnel for Common training purposes and thus as we do not hold such a policy document, we are unable to disclose it.

2. When a member of staff is considered for selection for the Common Purpose training, all the information we hold under this description, relates to the suitability of the candidates for such training. However after carefully considering the Information Commissioner's guidance, in my opinion these are confidential references and thus exempt under Section 40(3)(a)(i) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 in that disclosure of confidential references would contravene the first data protection principle of the Data Protection Act 1998.

This exemption is not an absolute exemption and there is a requirement under Section 1 of the FOI Act to for me to apply the "public interest test", as to whether the balance of public interest favours disclosure. However after carefully considering the public interest, I do not believe that the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in withholding it.

The reasons for this are that the disclosure would, in my opinion not be fair processing under the Data Protection Act, as the data subject would have a reasonable expectation of such references remaining confidential and that such disclosure would have a detrimental effect on the data subject and I can see no corresponding public advantage to outweigh this. However, if you feel I have overlooked any specific public advantage, please let me know.

In accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000 this email acts as a Public Interest Refusal Notice. In terms of the exemption, you have a right of appeal against our decision. In the first instance this appeal must be internal and we enclose a copy of our complaints procedure. We hope that you will not feel it necessary to invoke an appeal, but if you do we will take every care to re-assess your request and let you have our findings.

<<Complaints Leaflet.doc>>
I should be grateful if you could quote FOI 08-105 in any future correspondence concerning this request.

Kind regards.

Joanna Kitchener
Scrutiny and Information Rights Officer
South Norfolk Council
Long Stratton, Norwich
NR15 2XE
01508 533602
www.south-norfolk.gov.uk

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Dear Right2Know,

Thank you for your reply, which is totally unsatisfactory.

Before I go to the Information Commissioner, I'll give you a chance
to do an internal review.

Yours sincerely,

John Walker

Dear Mr Walker

As explained in our Complaint Leaflet, we will now convene an internal review panel and this has been set up for Monday 8 September. The decision of that review panel will then be communicated to you as soon as possible after that panel meeting.

May I please request just a little more detail. In our leaflet, it asks you to contact me with your complaint:

"giving details of how you think we have mishandled your original request"

In order for the review panel to have as much information as possible, could you please let me know any reasons as to why you feel your request has been handled unsatisfactorily. Please note you do not have to give any more information, however it may assist the panel if they have your reasons for calling the review panel.

Kind regards.

Joanna Kitchener
Scrutiny and Information Rights Officer
South Norfolk Council
Long Stratton, Norwich
NR15 2XE
01508 533602
www.south-norfolk.gov.uk

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Dear Right2Know,

You say "May I please request just a little more detail. In our
leaflet, it asks you to contact me with your complaint:

"giving details of how you think we have mishandled your original
request""

In light of your response

"1. We do not have a policy document relating to the selection of
personnel for Common training purposes and thus as we do not hold
such a policy document, we are unable to disclose it.

2. When a member of staff is considered for selection for the
Common Purpose training, all the information we hold under this
description, relates to the suitability of the candidates for such
training. However after carefully considering the Information
Commissioner's guidance, in my opinion these are confidential
references and thus exempt under Section 40(3)(a)(i) of the Freedom
of Information Act 2000 in that disclosure of confidential
references would contravene the first data protection principle of
the Data Protection Act 1998.

This exemption is not an absolute exemption and there is a
requirement under Section 1 of the FOI Act to for me to apply the
"public interest test", as to whether the balance of public
interest favours disclosure. However after carefully considering
the public interest, I do not believe that the public interest in
disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in
withholding it."

My causes for complaint are:

1. I find it staggering that you do not have policy documents. But
then it is only public money you are spending isn't it?

2. This is a matter of great public interest. We are talking about
how thousands of pounds of public money is spent.

Common Purpose is a strange and sinister organisation which even
sends instructions to its "graduates" on how to avoid answering FOI
questions.

You can find an example of how Common Purpose has influenced the
Chief Constable of Fife here: http://www.stopcp.com/cppolice.php

I suspect that some or all Common Purpose "graduates" in your
organisation have received similar letters.

I contend that the Section 40(3)(a)(i) of the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 is not applicable here because public interest
in how public funds are spent over-rides Common Purpose and council
secrecy.

Yours sincerely,

John Walker

Dear Mr Walker

Thank you - that is very clear.

Kind regards.

Joanna Kitchener
Scrutiny and Information Rights Officer
South Norfolk Council
Long Stratton, Norwich
NR15 2XE
01508 533602
www.south-norfolk.gov.uk

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Dear Right2Know,

I am overdue a reply to this request.

Yours sincerely,

John Walker

Dear Mr Walker

I am unsure why you feel you are overdue a response to your request. As you know, we responded to your original request well within the timescales proscribed by the FOI Act. As we withheld some of the information under one of the exemptions laid out in the Act, you then requested on 20 August that we convene an internal review panel to consider my decision not to release information.

I then confirmed to you that that review panel will be taking place on Monday 8 September and that the decision of that review panel would be communicated to you as soon as possible.

As the review panel has not yet met, I should be grateful if you could let me know how you feel our response is overdue.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Joanna Kitchener
Scrutiny and Information Rights Manager
South Norfolk Council
Long Stratton, Norwich
NR15 2XE
01508 533602
www.south-norfolk.gov.uk

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Dear Right2Know,

Oops, my mistake. Apologies.

Yours sincerely,

John Walker

Dear Mr Walker

As you know, we had convened an internal review panel to examine my decision not to release certain information to you relating to your request received on 2 August. The panel met on 8 September and I am now in a position to let you know their decision. I attach a copy, but essentially the panel upheld my decision.

I also need to let you know that the legal advice given to the panel was that this particular exemption is in fact an absolute exemption, rather than a qualified exemption and thus the public interest test does not apply in this case. I apologise for the incorrect information given to you originally, however I should clarify this does not affect the decision in any way.

If you are still dissatified, you have the right of appeal to the Information Commissioner and I attach the contact details below for your information:

Office of the Information Commissioner
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire SK9 5AF
Tel: 01625 545745
Email: [email address]
Website: http://www.ico.gov.uk/

Joanna Kitchener
Scrutiny and Information Rights Manager
South Norfolk Council
Long Stratton, Norwich
NR15 2XE
01508 533602
www.south-norfolk.gov.uk

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