Enquiries to:
Information Team
Our Ref:
FOI4560354
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx
Dear Mr Hanlon
Freedom of Information Request 4560354 – Internal Review & Response Thank you for your recent request. Your request was actioned under the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 in which you requested the following information –
1. In the reports attached to the Cabinet meeting of 11th December 2015 it states the
King Construction approach the Council about receiving help to build a training
academy.
A) Which person from King Construction approached the Council?
B) Which Officer(s) or Elected member(s) was/were approached?
2. In FOI 3940021 the Council's response to question 8 stated that 'Mayor Anderson
does not acquire land'.
Therefore if the Mayor is not responsible for land acquisitions then why he is making
Mayoral recommendations to do so on behalf of King Construction?
3. The Cabinet in December 2015 gave specific delegated authority for Officers to
acquire land for up to £3.5 million. Explain why they spent over £4.2 million when they
didn't have the authority to do so?
4. Can the Mayor explain why he did not question where the 'Tarmacademy' was after
he personally opened the CEMEX / 'Tarmacadeny' site with Steven Gerrard on the
11th January 2018?
5. On the 1st February 2018 the then Deputy Mayor of Liverpool Ann O'Byrne
addressed the Regeneration, Housing & Sustainability Select Committee. With the
following comment;
'…work was ongoing with King Construction to support the establishment of training
facility in North Liverpool to train up new crews to undertake resurfacing work to a high
quality and building the skills base to, in turn, secure business from a wider geographic
area. '
Can Councillor Ann O'Byrne explain why after spending over £4.2million in 2016 on
sites for the 'Tarmacademy' would the Council still looking for adequate sites some 2
years later?
6. Why is the tenancy agreement with King Construction for the Derby Road Site not
dated?
7. What was the point of purchasing the Margarine Works for £1million as an 'Invest to
Earn' when it has sat unoccupied for 4 years?
8. Why were the sites at Derby Road and Forth Street given to King rent free and who
authorised this?
Liverpool City Council Information Team
Cunard Building, Water Street, Liverpool, L3 1DS
E:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
9. Why are King not paying business rates on 10-12 Forth Street when it previously
generated in excess of £50,000 per year?
10. How many Officers or Elected members have family who worked for Mark Doyle
the then owner of King during the period 2015 ' 2019?
Response:
As you may appreciate, Liverpool City Council in common with all other public authorities in
the UK, Europe and worldwide have, since March, been dealing with and responding to the
Coronavirus pandemic. The introduction of substantial Government restrictions well before
the submission of your request have had wide reaching and ongoing impacts being felt
across society. These impacts specifically affected all Service Areas of the City Council as
Officer resources and personnel are diverted to supporting the most vulnerable residents of
this city.
Specifically, from early March, direct impacts were being seen for the City Council in terms
of staff absence due to symptoms of or self-isolation due to Coronavirus as well as
significant and substantial increases in demand for those Services which specifically
support children, the elderly and the most vulnerable residents across Liverpool.
In light of the above factors, Officers from early March were gradually and in increasing
numbers assigned to different Service Areas to ensure continuity of service, provision and
support for children, the elderly and the most vulnerable residents across Liverpool as
indicated above.
This impacted considerably on the ability of colleagues within all departments of the City
Council to identify, retrieve and collate information, as well as the absence of relevant
Officers whose knowledge informs the preparation and content of responses whilst
resources are focussed on the ongoing pandemic, as you may well have noticed.
With the above factors in mind, we greatly appreciate your patience and understanding in
light of the unprecedented global pandemic, on the basis that the City Council and its
Officers continue to focus on delivering essential services and support for vulnerable
residents and communities as well as seeking to administer support for businesses within
the city in the context of the above exceptional circumstances.
Notwithstanding the above, our responses are as follows –
1. a) This data is no longer retained as it is not required for operational or legislative
purposes.
b) This data is no longer retained as it is not required for operational or legislative
purposes.
2. Liverpool City Council operates a Mayor and Cabinet model of governance.
Recommendations are therefore referenced as “Mayoral Recommendations”.
3. Freedom of Information legislation extends to the provision of information held and does
not require the City Council or any public authority to provide explanations in the
manner described.
4. Freedom of Information legislation extends to the provision of information held and does
not require the City Council or any public authority to provide explanations in the
Liverpool City Council Information Team
Cunard Building, Water Street, Liverpool, L3 1DS
E:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
manner described.
5. Freedom of Information legislation extends to the provision of information held and does
not require the City Council or any public authority to provide explanations in the
manner described.
6. It is standard custom and practice for Solicitors acting for respective parties to sign and
date their respective copies and retain directly.
7. Freedom of Information legislation extends to the provision of information held and does
not require the City Council or any public authority to provide explanations in the
manner described.
8. Following an extensive review of records held by the City Council, at this point we would
advise that this information has not yet been traced on our records. Based on a review
of records, a draft Lease was prepared which extended to a potential £100K per annum
with an initial twelve-month rent-free period, with potential break clauses should any
lease exceed five years. We are unable to identify records of any subsequent
discussions which may or may not have taken place and which resulted in the
subsequent grant of a Tenancy at Will. Notwithstanding that this represents the extent of
information identified as a result of extensive searches, we will endeavour to undertake
further searches of records and in the event that additional information of relevance is
identified then this will be provided.
9. The property at this address is now recorded by the Valuations Office as having Nil
Rateable Value (NRV). In relation to its status as NRV, the Valuations Office records for
the address show that for the period 01/04/2010 to 31/03/2017 the property was
assessed as having a Nil Rateable Value (NRV). Whilst there was an alteration dated
24/06/2014 which assessed the RV as £54,500, based on records on the Valuations
Office website this was appealed due to the property being in a state of disrepair. The
property at this address remains classified by the Valuation office as having NRV and as
such no Business Rates are payable.
10. Liverpool City Council would advise that we hold information relevant to the terms of
your request – clearly in terms of recording the interests of Officers. With regard to this
element of your request, the City Council has approximately 4,700 employees. With
records across a 5-year period (2015-2019) requiring to be examined, this would result
in a total of up to 23,500 Register Entries for individual Officers having to be examined.
In assessing the time taken to respond to your request, we have examined a
representative sample of 75 files have been reviewed. This has shown that the
minimum time taken to identify and retrieve the information you have asked for from
each record would be 1 minutes.
In light of the above, we have then calculated how long it would take to examine all
relevant records. Based on the total number of case files for the specified period
(23,500) and allowing 1 minutes per record to identify the specific information required,
we estimate the time taken to comply with this request as follows –
23,500 @ 1 mins per record = 391.6hrs for the period requested.
Under the provisions of Section 12 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, a public
Authority such as Liverpool City Council may decline to provide information in such
circumstances where to locate and retrieve the requested information would require in
Liverpool City Council Information Team
Cunard Building, Water Street, Liverpool, L3 1DS
E:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
excess of 18 hours of Officer time (excluding redaction and printing costs).
In this instance as it is estimated that in excess of 391 hours would be required to
comply with the terms of your request, the City Council considers the application of a
Section 12 Exemption to be appropriate and therefore declines to provide the requested
information.
This concludes our response. As we have not provided you with the requested information,
we are required to issue a Section 17 Notice for which this letter serves.
If you remain dissatisfied, you may also apply to the Information Commissioner for a
decision about whether the request for information has been dealt with in accordance with
the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
The Information Commissioner’s website is
www.ico.gov.uk and the postal address and
telephone numbers are:- Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane,
Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF. Telephone 0303 123 1113. Email –
xxxx@xxx.xxx.xxx.xx
(they advise that their email is not secure)
I trust this information satisfies your enquiry.
Yours sincerely
A Lewis
Information Team
Liverpool City Council Information Team
Cunard Building, Water Street, Liverpool, L3 1DS
E:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx