Dear Sir or Madam,

1)

Please provide details of any gifts, donations or hositality made
by Scientology organisations to Council employees or
representatives or their nominated charities, over the past 5
years.

By 'Scientology organisations', I mean organisations which promote,
recruit members for, or raise money for, Church of Scientology
Religious Education College Incorporated (a foreign corporation
which has been denied charitable status in the UK).

To the best of my knowledge a list of such organisations would
include:

Jive Aces / Church of Scientology Inc / Greenfields School /
Greenfields Educational Trust / Hubbard Foundation / ABLE / Applied
Scholastics International / Narconon / Criminon / The Way to
Happiness Foundation International / Church of Scientology
Religious Education College Inc / Office of Special Affairs (OSA) /
Sea Org / Youth for Human Rights International / Citizens
Commission on Human Rights (United Kingdom) Ltd

2)

Please provide copies of internal or external communications (e.g.
letters, emails) in respect of any Mayor or former Mayor's
attendence at any event run by a Scientology organisation, over the
past 5 years.

Yours faithfully,

William Thackeray

Dear William Thackeray,

Thank you for your recent email which we are handling in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act. I acknowledge receipt and confirm that we will respond within 20 working days from the date of receipt.

In the meantime, if you have any further queries regarding our Freedom of Information procedures please contact me on 01892 554077 or via e-mail to [email address] .

Kind regards

Paul Kitson
Customer Care Manager
Tunbridge Wells Borough Council
Town Hall
Royal Tunbridge Wells
Kent TN1 1RS
T: 01892 554077
[email address]
www.tunbridgewells.gov.uk

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Dear Mr Thackeray,

I write in response to your Freedom of Information Act request, that was dated 4 March 2009. Answers to both of your questions are provided below.

1. In the last five years, two Mayors have accepted invitations to visit Saint Hill in East Grinstead, West Sussex. Both invitations were from the L. Ron Hubbard Foundation, and the Church of Scientology. No gifts were offered or accepted, and the invitations were to attend a Gala Charity Concert, where hospitality only, was accepted. The occasions were in 2004/05 and 2008/09.

2. Copies of the 2004/05 invitation and acceptance correspondence has not been retained, nor has a copy of the acceptance email following the invitation in 2008/09, but a scanned copy of the invitation is attached.

I hope this information is helpful. If you have any further queries please contact me on 01892 554077 or via e-mail to [email address]

If you are dissatisfied with the information provided or the way in which we have dealt with your request, you can make a complaint under the Council's Complaints Procedure. Please write to William Benson, Director of Change and Business Support, at the Town Hall, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN1 1RS or via e-mail to [email address] requesting a review of the decision. You can find details of our Complaints Procedure on our website at www.tunbridgewells.gov.uk .

We will aim to deal with any complaint within 20 working days. If you remain dissatisfied following our review, you can then appeal to the Information Commissioner:
Information Commissioner's Office

Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Tel: 01625 545745
www.ico.gov.uk

Kind regards

Paul Kitson
Customer Care Manager
Tunbridge Wells Borough Council
Town Hall
Royal Tunbridge Wells
Kent TN1 1RS
T: 01892 554077
[email address]
www.tunbridgewells.gov.uk

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Thank you Paul, that's very helpful.

What was the estimated value of the hospitality received in (1) ?

Thanks again for your help with this matter.

Yours sincerely,

William Thackeray

Mr Thackeray,

The hospitality received was the champagne reception and canapés mentioned in the invitation.

I hope that helps.

Paul Kitson
Customer Care Manager
Tunbridge Wells Borough Council
Town Hall
Royal Tunbridge Wells
Kent TN1 1RS
T: 01892 554077
[email address]
www.tunbridgewells.gov.uk

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Thank you for your help, Paul.

To clarify my query:

I understand that the hospitality was comprised of tickets to two
Gala Charity Concerts.
What was the value per-ticket?
How many tickets were provided to each Gala Charity Concert?

Thanks again for your help.

Mr Thackeray,

I have contacted our Member Services Manager again, who has confirmed that on each occasion (2004/05 and 2008/09), there were two tickets obtained - for the Mayor and the Mayoress on each occasion.

Unfortunately it is not possible to place any value on these tickets, as we have no information against which to benchmark it.

Kind regards

Paul Kitson
Customer Care Manager
Tunbridge Wells Borough Council
Town Hall
Royal Tunbridge Wells
Kent TN1 1RS
T: 01892 554077
[email address]
www.tunbridgewells.gov.uk

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Thank you for your help, Paul.