CiF Grant Funding at Stoke Lodge Playing Fields (CRM 012700178)

The request was partially successful.

Dear Education and Skills Funding Agency,

Please provide:
Copies of any emails or letters or meeting notes since July 4th 2019 to date between ESFA and Cotham Academy Trust/ Cotham School (including any representatives acting for the school such as Governors in relation to:
• The Pavilion Building at Stoke Lodge Playing Fields, Stoke Bishop
• The CIF Grant Funding application for Stoke Lodge Playing Fields.
My query relates specifically to any correspondence or communications with regard to the
• Rejection of the appeal with the Planning Inspectorate
• Any communications regarding works proposed, planned or queried with or without planning permission
Any meeting notes or records of converstaions held within your systems regarding telephone calls on these matters
• Any communications regarding the schools planned use of the funds, refunds or any other matter relating to this grant fund.

Kind regards
Emma Burgess

Yours faithfully,

Emma Burgess

MINISTERS, Education and Skills Funding Agency

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Thank you for contacting the Department for Education, you will usually
receive a reply within 15 working days.

You can find out how the department processes your personal information by
reading our [1]Privacy Notice.

 

 

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Dear Education and Skills Funding Agency,

Please could you respond to this request which is overdue.

Yours faithfully,

Emma Burgess

MINISTERS, Education and Skills Funding Agency

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Thank you for contacting the Department for Education, you will usually
receive a reply within 15 working days.

You can find out how the department processes your personal information by
reading our [1]Privacy Notice.

 

 

References

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ACCOUNT, Unmonitored, Education and Skills Funding Agency

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Dear Ms Burgess

 

Thank you for your request for information, which was received on 5
September 2019. You requested:

 

Please provide:

Copies of any emails or letters or meeting notes since July 4th, 2019
between ESFA and Cotham Academy Trust/ Cotham School (including any
representatives acting for the school such as Governors in relation to:

 

• The Pavilion Building at Stoke Lodge Playing Fields, Stoke Bishop

• The CIF Grant Funding application for Stoke Lodge Playing Fields.

 

My query relates specifically to any correspondence or communications with
regard to the

 

•Rejection of the appeal with the Planning Inspectorate

•Any communications regarding works proposed, planned or queried with or
without planning permission

•Any communications regarding the schools planned use of the funds,
refunds or any other matter relating to this grant fund.

 

 

 

I have dealt with your request under the Environmental Information
Regulation (EIR).

 

The Department holds information in scope of your request. A copy of which
is enclosed.

 

Some information has been redacted under regulation 12(3) of the EIRs.
When information is the 3rd party personal data, regulation 12(3) requires
us not to disclose that personal data, except in accordance with
regulation 13. Regulation 13 prohibits us from disclosing third party
personal data if this would contravene the GDPR or the DPA 2018.

 

 

The information supplied to you continues to be protected by copyright.
You are free to use it for your own purposes, including for private study
and non-commercial research, and for any other purpose authorised by an
exception in current copyright law. Documents (except photographs) can be
also used in the UK without requiring permission for the purposes of news
reporting. Any other re-use, for example commercial publication, would
require the permission of the copyright holder.

 

If you have any queries about this letter, please contact me. Please
remember to quote the reference number above in any future communications.

 

If you are unhappy with the way your request has been handled, you should
make a complaint to the Department by writing to me within two calendar
months of the date of this letter.  Your complaint will be considered by
an independent review panel, who were not involved in the original
consideration of your request. 

 

If you are not content with the outcome of your complaint to the
Department, you may then contact the Information Commissioner’s Office. 

 

 

Yours sincerely

 

Lateef Agboola

Business Support and Improvement Team | Capital Directorate | Operations
Group | 5th Floor | Sanctuary Building | Great Smith Street | London |
SW1P 3BT

 

Web: [1]https://www.education.gov.uk
Twitter: [2]https://www.twitter.com/educationgovuk
Facebook: [3]https://www.facebook.com/educationgovuk

 

References

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Good Afternoon Lateef

Thank you very much indeed for a copy of the emails from 4th July – I note that the last email is dated the 24th July and therefore please could you clarify that since this date there have been no further emails, meeting notes, notes or communications regarding the matters outlined?

I had understood that Cotham School were submitting a Change Request Form together with a document outlining the change request details and risk profile. You have previously sent through the system communications and the scope of my request asked for any communications which would include the system-based ones such as the change request and any supporting documents.

Many thanks in advance

Emma

ACCOUNT, Unmonitored, Education and Skills Funding Agency

Thank you for contacting the Department for Education. We can confirm that
we have received the Freedom of Information request you submitted.

We will respond to you within 20 working days.

 

Dear Education and Skills Funding Agency,

Please could you respond and provide the information as detailed within the scope of this request and the chaser as it is now overdue.

Yours faithfully,

Emma Burgess

MINISTERS, Education and Skills Funding Agency

1 Attachment

Thank you for contacting the Department for Education, you will usually
receive a reply within 15 working days.

You can find out how the department processes your personal information by
reading our [1]Privacy Notice.

 

 

References

Visible links
1. https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati...

ACCOUNT, Unmonitored, Education and Skills Funding Agency

1 Attachment

Dear Ms Burgess

 

Thank you for your request for information, which was received on 2
October 2019 further to your previous correspondences about Cotham School.

 

You have now requested:

 

 1. I note that the last email is dated the 24th July and therefore please
could you clarify that since this date there have been no further
emails, meeting notes, notes or communications regarding the matters
outlined?

 

 2. I had understood that Cotham School were submitting a Change Request
Form together with a document outlining the change request details and
risk profile. You have previously sent through the system
communications and the scope of my request asked for any
communications which would include the system-based ones such as the
change request and any supporting documents

 

I have dealt with your request under the Environmental Information
Regulations 2004 (EIR) because the information you have requested
concerns environmental data.  The EIR give people an equivalent right of
access to the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to information about the
activities of public authorities that specifically relate to or affect the
environment.

The Department holds information in scope of your request.  Copies of
information which can be disclosed are enclosed, with some redactions
under the following regulations.

Some information has been redacted under regulation 12(3) of the EIRs,
which prohibits us from disclosing the personal data of someone other than
the applicant, and regulation 13, which prohibits us from disclosing third
party personal data if this would contravene the GDPR or the DPA 2018.

You will note that one piece of correspondence refers to you by name; this
has been left unredacted and made available to you only as it is your own
personal data.  I would like to make it clear that, had any other person
made the same request, your personal data would not be released to them
and would be redacted as third-party personal data under the above
regulations.

Some information has been withheld on the basis of confidentiality of
commercial information and some for adverse third-party impact. Regulation
12(5)(e) allows exemption where disclosure of information would adversely
affect the confidentiality of commercial or industrial information where
such confidentiality is provided by law to protect a legitimate economic
interest.  Regulation 12(5)(f) allows exemption where disclosure would
adversely affect the interests of the person providing the information
where they were under no legal obligation to supply the information, they
did so where the public authority was not entitled to disclose it apart
from under the EIR and they have not consented to disclosure of the
information.

Two supporting documents have been withheld in their entirety, one under
regulation 12(5)(e) and the other under regulation 12(5)(f).

Regulation 12(5)(e) requires a public interest test to be carried out to
determine whether the public interest in withholding the information
outweighs the public interest in its release. There is a strong public
interest in ensuring transparency and in there being accountability for
publicly spent money within the Department. This is to ensure that public
money is being used effectively and that the Department is getting value
for money.  It is also important to ensure that procurement processes are
conducted in an open and honest way.  There is also public interest in
knowing that the EIRs ensure wider access to government information

However, the general public interest in releasing the information
requested must be balanced against the public interest of protecting
commercially-sensitive information The publication of sensitive financial
information on planned and partial project costs would be likely to
prejudice the school’s commercial interests, as it could impact on its
ability to get good value in tendering for the works. Disclosure of this
information would also prejudice the Department’s commercial interests as
adversely affecting the bargaining position of recipients of capital
grants could result in the less effective use of public money. We believe
that protecting commercially confidential information, and in ensuring
that external commercial interests are not damaged or undermined by the
disclosure of information which is not common knowledge, and which would
have an adverse impact on future business, outweighs the interest in
disclosure in this case. The information has the quality of confidence, as
planned or partial costings not finalised or in the public domain, and
disclosure would adversely affect the school and department’s legitimate
economic interests. It is also in the public interest that trust between
government and business be maintained. Disclosing this
commercially-sensitive information may break this trust, making it more
difficult for government, stakeholders and business to share information
confidentially and work together, which runs counter to the public
interest.

Regulation 12(5)(f) also requires that a public interest test be carried. 
Under this regulation, there is equally a public interest in transparency
and accountability of public authorities, as well as an interest in
promoting public participation in areas where consultation is expected
such as planning matters.  However, the general public interest in release
must be balanced against the harm of disclosure where release of
third-party information, and the adverse effects to the interests of the
third party, would threaten the voluntary flow of information from third
parties to public authorities.  In the case of regulation 12(5)(f), a
public authority has a duty of confidence to the supplier of information
where it was supplied voluntarily, not under statutory requirement, and
where harm to the supplier’s interests would arise as a result.  In this
instance, information shared with the department was provided to the
school under legal professional privilege and public disclosure would harm
their interests.  We believe that the damage to trust, confidence and the
ability of the department and stakeholders to work together effectively if
stakeholders became reluctant to engage with us fully and openly as a
result of disclosure outweighs the interest in disclosure in this
instance.

The information supplied to you continues to be protected by copyright.
You are free to use it for your own purposes, including for private study
and non-commercial research, and for any other purpose authorised by an
exception in current copyright law. Documents (except photographs) can be
also used in the UK without requiring permission for the purposes of news
reporting. Any other re-use, for example commercial publication, would
require the permission of the copyright holder.

Most documents produced by a government department or agency will be
protected by Crown Copyright. Most Crown copyright information can be
re-used under the Open Government Licence
([1]http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/o...). For
information about the OGL and about re-using Crown Copyright information
please see The National Archives website
-[2]http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/infor...
.

 

Copyright in other documents may rest with a third party. For information
about obtaining permission from a third party see the Intellectual
Property Office’s website at [3]www.ipo.gov.uk.

If you have any queries about this letter, please contact me. Please
remember to quote the reference number above in any future communications.

If you are unhappy with the way your request has been handled, you should
make a complaint to the Department by writing to me within 2 calendar
months of the date of this letter.  Your complaint will be considered by
an independent review panel, who were not involved in the original
consideration of your request.

If you are not content with the outcome of your complaint to the
department, you may then contact the Information Commissioner’s Office.

 

Yours sincerely

 

Lateef Agboola

Business Support and Improvement Team | Capital Directorate | Operations
Group | 5th Floor | Sanctuary Building | Great Smith Street | London |
SW1P 3BT 

Web: [4]https://www.education.gov.uk
Twitter: [5]https://www.twitter.com/educationgovuk
Facebook: [6]https://www.facebook.com/educationgovuk

 

References

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