SNDC and racism

Dear Sir or Madam,

The SNDC wrote to me on 24 May 2009 identifying that the Council's
monitoring officer was investigating if the Council's staff had
committed acts of what appear to be racism on their own behalf
and/or at the request of elrcted representatives, and would be
reporting back.

The SNDC has been provided with documented proof that staff of the
SNDC changed official documents on what appear to be racial
grounds, and that the previous Chief Executive identified would not
be changed. The Council has also been provided with documented
evidence of staff acting ultra vires and identifying that they were
acting at the request of senior politicians of the SNDC.

Please identify how long it takes the Council's Monitoring Officer
to investigate what appears to be well documented acts of racism,
copies of all correspondence between the Monitoring Officer and the
Council's current Chief Executive, and also identification when the
Monitoring officer will actually acknowledge the complaint.

Yours faithfully,

C. P. ELLIOTT

Dear Sir or Madam,

The date of the SNDC letter was 10 March not May 2009 apologies.

From: [email address]>
> Subject: RE: Complaint about continuing state of disarray at
South Norfolk Council
> To: XX
> Cc: [email address]>, [email address]>
> Received: Tuesday, March 10, 2009, 1:56 PM

C. P. ELLIOTT

Dear Right2Know,

There has been a formal complaint with the Council since January
2009. In February 2009 points of clarification were provided.

The Monitoring Officer has failed to provide any acknowledgement
since February 2009 or provide any indication of their progress.
The issues are well documented. There must be considerable
documentation between the Head of Paid Service, s151 Officer and
Monitoring Officer as the issues appear to be very clear cut.

The Head of Paid Service has identified in March 2009 that the
Monitoring Officer is investigating. You will be aware that the
complaints are against senior politicians and senior members of the
council staff. The senior members of the Council staff have
identified that they were instructed to act as they did by the
senior politicians.

Hopefully, this provides all the clarification needed and the
Monitoring Officer shall provide the required acknowledgements, and
also formally identify that either senior staff engage in acts of
racism (through abuse of their position) or that they are forced to
do so by senior politicians.

Yours sincerely,

C. P. ELLIOTT

Dear Right2Know,

The email was received and replied to by the Head of paid Service.
The Head of Paid service copied the email to the Council's
Monitoring Officer and the Council's Principal Solicitor.

It is noted that the Monitoring Officer having tinkered with the
SNDC Constitution in September 2008 is seeking to do so again in
may 2009 - and is seeking to change some of the Council's
enactments without making anyone aware of the Council's very well
documented failure to follow its constitution.

Hopefully that provides all the clarification needed. Please could
I also have page 2 of your internal review that you have just made
available.

Yours sincerely,

C. P. ELLIOTT

Dear Right2Know,

As identified. The Head of paid Service has replied.. on about 10
March 2009, surely the Council knows what it is doing.

Internal Review requested if you wish to continue with this
nonsense.

Yours sincerely,

C. P. ELLIOTT

Dear Right2Know,

On Tue, 3/10/09, the Head of Paid Service wrote:

> From: xxxx
> Subject: RE: Complaint about continuing state of disarray at
South Norfolk Council
> To: xxx
> Cc: "xxxx
> Received: Tuesday, March 10, 2009, 1:56 PM

The fact that the Monitoring officer was identified as
investigating was identified in the email from the Head of Paid
Service.

The monitoring officer has failed ti acknowledge the clarification
they requested.. it took a telephone call to the Head of paid
service to even get them to acknowledge the complaint.

It is understood that both the Monitoring Officer and their deputy
are responsible for your Department.. you are required to complain
to s151 officer if you have bullying or whistle blowing concerns..
according to the SNDC Constitution.

This information has already been provided to you. Please simply
provide the information requested.

Internal review is requested if the SNDC continues with its
obfuscation.

Yours sincerely,

C. P. ELLIOTT

FOI - 09-117 made in April 09 following complaint made to the
Council in January 09

Dear Right2Know,

This is not good enough.

I have identified to you the date and time of the email from the
Council's head of paid service. This is your own information.. The
relevant part of the text states..

> ..the Monitoring Officer is already dealing with
> the complaint
> made against two Councillors arising from these matters and
> I understand
> he has written concerning the matter. Please co-operate
> with him in the
> supply of any further particulars which he may request from
> time to
> time.
>
The Monitoring Officer has not investigated or provided any
feedback since February 2009 (four months). He has been provided
with detailed information supplied by the Council identifying that
members of staff and Cllrs have acted ultra-vires (in breach of the
Council's constitution) as well as failing to meet its duties under
equalities legislation.

The issues are very serious.. and the Council's disregard of its
own documented acts is very concerning. Complaint has already made
against the Council's Monitoring Officer, Head of Paid Service etc.
The Council has failed to acknowledge the complaints and put in
process its complaints procedure.

This is an abuse of process by the SNDC. An allegation of racism
against two senior Cllrs has been made. It remains unclear if the
Cllrs were aware or if members of staff of the Council sought to
identify wrongly that the Councillors had instructed them that they
could act in the way that they did. These issues should have been
rapidly dealt with.. and not be made subject to a failure in the
Council's functions.

Please stop the obfuscation.. and identify when the Council is
going to put things right and demonstrate that it is capable of
actually meeting duties that it identifies in its constitution.

The monitoring officer will be aware that complaint was made prior
to the Council seeking to change its constitution at the request of
it is understood the Monitoring Officer. The Monitoring Officer
failed to make the elected representatives aware of the reasons why
the Constitution needed to be changed.. and the Scrutiny Minutes
where changes to the constitution were discussed (and the failure
of the Council to observe its own constitution) have still not been
made available. There is an outsatnding FOI on this issue.

Is it normal practice for the SNDC to ignore and introduce extreme
delay into its decision making when documented proof exists and
your own records identify that the Council has acted contrary to
its constitution and committed what appear to be acts of racism.

Yours sincerely,

C. P. ELLIOTT

Dear Right2Know,

there was and has been no identification that a standards and
ethics meeting has been convened. There was an indication that one
might be convened.

There is no knowledge amongst the complainants of what evidence the
monitoring officer might be making available - in fact the
monitoring officer has not told anyone what is happening since
February 2009.... despite as the Council is aware there having been
a lot of activity..

.. although it would appear that the SNDC constitution has since
changed.. and that the Scrutiny minutes (march 2009) have not as
yet been made available despite being requested under FOIA.. and
the Council identifying that they are subject to litigation..

It is important that those affected by the SNDC acts have sight of
any report and evidence that the Monitoring Officer might be making
available.. so that any errors can at least be drawn to the
Council's attention.

Yours sincerely,

C. P. ELLIOTT

Dear Right2Know,

yes but when will the associated documentation be made available.
The request was made in April..

there should be no need for the Council to create information.. all
I am looking for is the information.. that is in existence.

If there is no information in existence.. you have actually
answered the question...

If the information is not in existence.. and if the Council's
monitoring officer has created no documents as part of their
investigation into what appear to be acts of racism by the SNDC say
so..

and please further identify any documents that might be in
existence identifying service standards for investigation of acts
of alleged racism by the SNDC.

if you can't provide the information.. then say so.. Internal
review was requested on 20 May.. and the ICO's guidance identifies
taht it should be completed within 40 days..

Yours sincerely,

C. P. ELLIOTT

Dear Right2Know,

The Monitoring officer has had all the documents since February...
and has made absolutely no response.. I have also through FOI
requested copies of all the documents related to the Monitoring
officers investigation of the complaint. These have also not been
provided. The issues are reasonably serious and relate to breach of
the Council's constitution by elected representatives and/or
officers of the Council seeking to identify that elected
representatives have acted wrongly.

For all I know it might be custom and practice (behind the closed
doors of stalag South norfolk district council) for the monitoring
officer to dance around the freedom of information officers desk
naked drooling tea whilst destroying council documents.. or in one
of their other roles.. seeking to change the Council's constitution
to protect other staff who might (I don't know) belong to the same
club as the monitoring officer... (say the Propertea is theft SNDC
marxist club)...

I just don't know... what I do know is that the Council's
monitoring officer has not even acknowledged the complaints.. and
that the Council's Head of paid service said they were being
investigated in MARCH.. and that there appear to be no documents..

I think that an explanation is required.

Yours sincerely,

C. P. ELLIOTT

Dear Sir or Madam,

The SNDC has accepted that within 20 days of receipt of a complaint
against an elected member that: 'the initial assessment of a
complaint received by the Standards Committee which should be
carried out within 20 days of receipt of the complaint'.

There have already been complaints made against the Monitoring
Officer.. as they have failed to meet their duty despite having
substantial evidence that two senior politicians have broken the
SNDC Constitution to secure benefits for themselves based on what
appear to be acts of racism.

Please confirm that the SNDC has initiated its complaints procedure
against the Monitoring Officer and their deputy.

Yours faithfully,

C. P. ELLIOTT

Dear Sir or Madam,

Finally please identify if the subject of this request is subject
to internal review - or if the issue needs to be raised with the
ICO and the date that the internal review is to take place.

Yours faithfully,

C. P. ELLIOTT

Dear Right2Know,

The Council's Monitoring officer has advised me of absolutely
nothing. I am asking for documents - not the procrastination of the
Monitoring officer. The issues are very clear. The Monitoring
officer already has copies of the documents identifying that the
Council staff have identified that two elected representatives have
broken the SNDC Constitution (twice).

Please identify immediately if internal review has commenced or if
you are refusing to provide internal review to allow access to the
documents requested.

I do not require the Monitoring Officer to create documents. What I
require are the documents that the Monitoring Officer has.. and
associated documents related to the breach of the SNDC
constitution.

If I don't receive the information I'm taking it to the Information
Commissioner. The Council is already aware that complaint has been
made against the Monitoring Officer.. as the issues are very clear
cut.

Yours sincerely,

C. P. ELLIOTT