Cllr Richard Cooper communications between Cabinet colleagues
Dear Harrogate Borough Council,
In a letter Cllr Richard Cooper wrote to Harrogate Advertiser editor Jean MacQuarrie disclosed by a FOI acquired by Peter Lilley, contained the following statement of action
“I have contacted Cabinet colleagues over the weekend and I have to inform you that none of us will respond to requests from Mr Lilley, in his role as your Local Democracy Reporter, for information or comment.”
Please provide the following:
1. A copy of the initial outreach communication by Cllr Richard Cooper to Cabinet colleagues and any other other parties response with regard to responding ‘to requests from Mr Lilley”.
2. Please provide a copy of any records between Cllr Richard Cooper, his Cabinet colleagues and or any other relevant party and that have fed information back to Cllr Richard Cooper in relation to responding ‘to requests from Mr Lilley”.
For purposes of this request, the term “record” and "records" shall mean:
(1) any written,
printed, or typed material of any kind, including without limitation all correspondence, memoranda, notes, messages, letters, cards, facsimiles, papers, forms, messages, diaries, schedules, calendars, chronological data, ledgers, printed matter, statements or agreements
(2) any electronically, magnetically, or mechanically stored material of any kind, including without limitation all electronic mail or e-mail;
(3) any graphic materials and data compilations from which information can be obtained; and
(4) any materials using other means of preserving thought or expression.
In anticipation of Harrogate Borough Council citing exemptions including but not limited to section 36(2)(b) (inhibition to provision of advice and exchange of views), 36(2)(c) (prejudice to effective conduct of public affairs), 41(1) (information provided in confidence) then a public interest test must be carried out.
Section 36(2)(b) of the FOIA says that information is exempt information if, in the reasonable opinion of a qualified person, disclosure would, or would be likely to inhibit (i) the free and frank provision of advice or (ii) the free and frank exchange of views for the purposes of
deliberation. If there was any inhibition this chilling effect is highly likely to be very limited and without any significant consequence on candid exchanges with respect to policy deliberations.
Put simply, disclosure is highly unlikely to affect the meticulousness with which officials conduct policy deliberations and provide advice.
The request is around decisions to complain about a journalist and their interaction with the council not policy decisions.
Section 36(2)(c) says that information is exempt information if, in the reasonable opinion of a qualified person, disclosure would otherwise prejudice, or would be likely otherwise to prejudice, the effective conduct of public affairs
The the public interest is clear in knowing what role the council, it's officers and elected members went to make the council un responsive to an journalists' questions.
Section 36 differs from all other prejudice exemptions in that the judgement about prejudice must be made by the legally authorised, qualified person for that public authority.
I do not accept that a reasonable opinion would find the release of this information would prejudice public affairs.
Section 41 disclosure would not constitute a breach of confidence actionable in a court of law.
In regards to any public interests test. This issue has also been covered in the press. As such to highlight the public interest this FOI is as a result of said press reports.
In relation to disclosing information about Peter Lilley, he has publicized this issue and his involvement in the issue.
https://twitter.com/HarrogateScribe/stat...
For any personal identifiable information for individuals who do not hold public officer or are not part of the Chief Executive please redact accordingly.
Yours faithfully,
Marcus Combie
Dear Mr Combie
Thank you for your email which we received on 19/07/2018. We are treating
this as a request for information under the Freedom of Information Act
2000. This means that —
o if we need more information about what you want, we will contact you
again as soon as we can; the twenty working days in which to give you
the information will start once we know exactly what you want
o if we do not hold the information, we will, if we can, transfer your
request to an authority who does hold it, and tell you what we have
done (please contact us immediately if you do not want us to do this);
otherwise, we will let you know that we do not hold the information
o if we hold the information and there is no reason to withhold it, we
will send it to you as soon as we can. If there is likely to be a
delay for any reason, we will let you know
o if we believe that there is a good reason why the information should
not be disclosed, we will let you know as much as we can about how we
reached our decision
We will respond to your request promptly, and in any event, within the 20
working day limit as set out in s10 of the Act.
Regards
Rich Kemp
(Debt & Information Law)
Legal & Governance
Harrogate Borough Council
PO Box 787
Harrogate
HG1 9RW
tel: 01423 500600 (ext - 58602)
email: [1][email address]
[2]www.harrogate.gov.uk
Dear Mr Combie
Thank you for your email requesting information under the Freedom of
Information Act 2000. In response I can inform you that there is no
recorded/documented communications relative to your request. The Council
Leader has confirmed that he contacted Cabinet colleagues by telephone.
If you are not satisfied with the way your request has been handled,
please contact -
Freedom of Information Officer, PO Box 787, Harrogate, HG1 9RW
or email [1][Harrogate Borough Council request email]
The Council has an internal appeal system. If your complaint is about the
decision which has been made you will usually be entitled to have your
case reviewed by an officer from a department which has not been involved
in the decision previously.
If, after their decision, you are still not happy, you may appeal to -
The Information Commissioner, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow,
Cheshire SK9 5AF
Tel: 0303 123 1113
website: [2]https://ico.org.uk/
Regards
Rich Kemp
(Debt & Information Law)
Legal & Governance
Harrogate Borough Council
PO Box 787
Harrogate
HG1 9RW
tel: 01423 500600 (ext - 58602)
email: [3][email address]
[4]www.harrogate.gov.uk
Dear Foi,
Thanks for your response.
Please conduct an internal review. Calls made by telephone would include chronological data, such as date of call, and time of call and identification that such messaging took place This information can be accessed by either call records on the phone, or via the billing provider.
As such there is recorded information of these interactions that would fall under the scope of this request.
Obviously I am not after the numbers that were dialed these can be omitted from your response, or substituted with the name of the official.
Yors sincerely,
Marcus Combie
Dear Mr Combie
I write to confirm that your request for an internal review was received
on 10/08/2018. The Council will endeavour to complete the review within 20
working days. The review will be carried out by a senior Council Officer
who has not been involved with your original request. You will be informed
of the decision of the review as soon as possible once the review has been
completed. If you remain unsatisfied after the findings of the review you
then have the right to complain to the Information Commissioners Office,
details will be provided in the review response.
Regards
Rich Kemp
(Debt & Information Law)
Legal & Governance
Harrogate Borough Council
PO Box 787
Harrogate
HG1 9RW
tel: 01423 500600 (ext - 58602)
email: [1][email address]
[2]www.harrogate.gov.uk
Sent on behalf of the Chief Solicitor
Dear Mr Combie,
I refer to your request dated 10 August 2018 for an internal review of the
way in which the Council has responded to your request for information
under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
I am a senior officer of the Council and confirm that I have not been
involved in the matter which is the subject of your request for
information.
I have carried out a review and my response is as follows:-_
1) I confirm that there is no written correspondence between
Councillor Cooper and his fellow councillors and therefore no information
that is held by the Council which can be disclosed.
2) You request copies of Councillor Cooper’s telephone bills and logs
for the relevant period , with numbers redacted. Again this is information
which is not held by the Council. I am told that Councillor Cooper made
the calls to which he refers in his letter to the Editor of the Harrogate
Advertiser using his private landline and/or his private mobile phone. He
is not supplied with any kind of phone or landline at the Council’s
expense nor are any of his bills paid by the Council. The information you
seek is his own personal data which is not held by the Council.
I hope you are satisfied with this response. If you are not and if you
wish to take the matter further you may appeal to the Information
Commissioner using the following contact details :-
The Information Commissioner
Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF
[1]Telephone: 0303 123 1113
Website: ico.org.uk
Yours sincerely,
Bernice Elgot
Chief Solicitor
[2][email address]
01423 500600 extension 58248
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Dear Bernice Elgot,
Harrogate Borough Council have failed to issue a valid refusal notice.
Harrogate Borough Council and Councillor Cooper readily admit Councilor Cooper used a private phone to conduct Council Business, as such these records are public records.
If it is determined, as it has been stated Harrogate Borough Council does not hold these records then Section 3(2)(b) of the FOIA provides that in circumstances where information is held by person on behalf of the public authority, the information is considered to be held by the authority for the purposes of FOIA.
I see no consideration of Section 3(2) in your internal review, or any other applicable sections from the FOIA.
Please conduct a valid and full internal review with specific consideration of records held by a person on behalf of the public authority.
Yours sincerely,
Marcus Combie
Dear Mr Combie ,
Thank you for your email dated 23 August 2018.
I am satisfied that the information which consists of the log and
accounts ( without specific phone numbers) of Councillor Cooper’s private
phone calls from his private mobile and land lines over one weekend does
not constitute information which he holds on behalf of Harrogate Borough
Council as a public authority.
I confirm that I have considered the provisions of section 3(2)(b) FOIA.
You may appeal to the Information Commissioner using the contact details
which I previously sent you.
Yours sincerely
Bernice Elgot
Chief Solicitor
Legal and Governance
Harrogate Borough Council
PO Box 787
Harrogate
HG1 9RW
Telephone 01423 500600 extension 58248
[1][email address]
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