Actual figures required to justify claims made on posters about fining dog owners

The request was partially successful.

Dear Boston Borough Council,

This is a request for information under the Freedom of Information Act.

The Council is circulating posters advising dog owners that they must produce pooh bags on request or face a fine. This is in breach of Article 8 of the Human Rights Act, so is illegal anyway, but I am writing to ask for the evidence for the claims you have made on your posters, please.

1) You claim to have undertaken a Public Consultation on this subject. When was the public consultation, please, and where was it advertised?
2) How many people responded?
3) How many of those were dog owners?
4) You are claiming that 90% of respondents "were in favour of it being an offence for dog owners not to carry a bag or the means at all times to clean up after their dog." What is the actual number of people who said this, please?
5) You are claiming that "74 per cent agreed the fine should be £100". Again, exactly how many people is this, please?
6) Please send through a copy of the consultation document.
7) Please send through a copy of the analysis of results and conclusions reached, following the consultation. If necessary, this should include Minutes of meetings where decisions on the findings were reached.

Yours faithfully,

Penny Bunn

FOI, Boston Borough Council

Thank you for your email.  If you are applying for information under The
Freedom of Information Act 2000 or the Environmental Information
Regulations 2004, your request is being processed and a response will be
sent to you within 20 working days from receipt of your request.  However,
if we require further clarification regarding your request we will contact
you as soon as possible. 

 

In the meantime, please accept this as an acknowledgement of your email.

 

Kind regards,

Boston Borough Council

 

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FOI, Boston Borough Council

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Good morning

 

Thank you for your information access request received on the 5^th
February 2017 where you asked:

 

1)  You claim to have undertaken a Public Consultation on this subject. 
When was the public consultation, please, and where was it advertised?

2)  How many people responded?

3) How many of those were dog owners?

4)  You are claiming that 90% of respondents "were in favour of it being
an offence for dog owners not to carry a bag or the means at all times to
clean up after their dog."  What is the actual number of people who said
this, please?

5) You are claiming that "74 per cent agreed the fine should be £100". 
Again, exactly how many people is this, please?

6)  Please send through a copy of the consultation document.

7)  Please send through a copy of the analysis of results and conclusions
reached, following the consultation.  If necessary, this should include
Minutes of meetings where decisions on the findings were reached.

 

Under Section 1(1)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 we can
confirm that Boston Borough Council does hold the information specified in
your request. The information you have requested is detailed below.

 

Please find attached the response to the FOI received on the 07 February
2017 at 12:33.

Cabinet minutes detailing the approval by Cabinet (item 30).

I have also attached other documents that have been asked for as part of
FOI request.

 

 

We trust that the information above completes your request in full,
however if we  can be of any further assistance, please contact us.  If
you are unhappy with the service you have received in relation to your
request and wish to make a complaint or request a review of the Council’s
decision, you should contact Michelle Sacks, Monitoring Officer and
Solicitor to the Council on 01205 314292 or by email at
[1][email address]

 

If you remain dissatisfied with the handling of your request or complaint,
you have a right to appeal to the Information Commissioner at:

 

The Information Commissioner's Office,

Wycliffe House,

Water Lane,

Wilmslow,

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

  

Kind regards

 

Freedom of Information

Boston Borough Council

 

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inaction in reliance of it is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful.

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Dear Sir/Madam,

Thank you for sending through the information I requested under the FOIA.

I make the following comments:

1) The Council's 'stop and search' policy against dog owners will be open to legal challenge, not just on the basis of the breach of the Human Rights Act but also on the basis that you are completely turning UK law on its head. In this country, ALL suspected 'criminals' enjoy the inalienable right to be treated as 'innocent until PROVEN guilty'. By demanding that dog owners produce pooh bags, you are assuming they are guilty until they prove themselves innocent. Under no circumstances is this legal.
2) I am disturbed to note, from the Minutes you sent through, that the Council has taken it upon itself to extend its PSPO to include agricultural land:

a) You cannot do this without proper consultation.
b) You cannot do this without the permission of the landowners and you'd need to provide proof, please, that you have this, before implementing any such 'law'. PSPOs apply ONLY to public land and agricultural land is private. Therefore, you have NO jurisdiction whatsoever over any of it.
c) It is unenforceable, since your officers cannot possibly patrol every inch of agricultural land in Boston.
d) Unless you can provide PROOF that the excrement of regularly wormed and vaccinated dogs is more dangerous than that of foxes, badgers, rabbits, rats, voles, mice, squirrels, and the entire gamut of wildlife living in and around the area, then you cannot make any case for persecuting dog owners right across the countryside.

3) Since you have brought up the matter of the risks to public health, please provide your EVIDENCE for making such an assertion.

Yours sincerely,

Penny Bunn

FOI, Boston Borough Council

Thank you for your email.  If you are applying for information under The
Freedom of Information Act 2000 or the Environmental Information
Regulations 2004, your request is being processed and a response will be
sent to you within 20 working days from receipt of your request.  However,
if we require further clarification regarding your request we will contact
you as soon as possible. 

 

In the meantime, please accept this as an acknowledgement of your email.

 

Kind regards,

Boston Borough Council

 

[1]Logo

This email may contain sensitive or personal data, please think before
including in any forwarded correspondence.
The information within this email is confidential. It is intended solely
for the addressee and access to this email by anyone else is unauthorised.
Such unauthorised use, disclosure, copying, distribution, any action or
inaction in reliance of it is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful.

If you have received this email in error:

 1. Notify the sender immediately
 2. Do not use or disclose the information in any way
 3. Delete the email from your system

References

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