Commercial Sensitivity Exchanges

Response to this request is long overdue. By law, under all circumstances, Birmingham City Council should have responded by now (details). You can complain by requesting an internal review.

Dear Ms Bent,

Your references:

• 18993085 https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/k...
• 21277088 https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/t...
• 21724385 https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/c...

With regard to the above, please provide:

1. your council’s exchanges with Kier Highways and their legal representatives on the subject of ‘commercial interest' or 'commercial sensitivity’ and
2. all and any information sought & supplied regarding the above FoIA requests

I note, about 21724385, 19/04/2021 you engaged with your service provider (Kier) i.e., it appears the contractor held information on your behalf.

Yours faithfully,

Mr P Swift

Birmingham City Council

 
 
 
 
Information request
Our reference: 38527242
Your reference: [FOI #848018 email]

show quoted sections

Birmingham City Council

1 Attachment

 
 
 
 
Information request
Our reference: 38527242
Your reference: [FOI #848018 email]

══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

Dear Mr Swift
 
Thank you for your request for information received on 28 March 2022.
 
Please find attached our response to your request.
 
Yours sincerely
 
 
Jenny Bent
Business Support Coordinator
Inclusive Growth
[email address]
 
 
 
Re Use of Public Sector Information
Where Birmingham City Council is the copyright holder of any information
that may be released, re-use for personal, educational or non-commercial
purposes is permitted without further reference to the City Council. Where
the re-use is for other purposes, such as commercial re-use, the applicant
should notify the City Council in writing to seek approval or agree terms
for re-use
 
NOTE: Please do not edit the subject line when replying to this email.
 
 
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Dear Birmingham City Council,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Birmingham City Council's handling of my FOI request 'Commercial Sensitivity Exchanges'.

I asked:

1. your council’s exchanges with Kier Highways and their legal representatives on the subject of ‘commercial interest' or 'commercial sensitivity’ and
2. all and any information sought & supplied regarding the above FoIA requests

A. Please provide all records of such exchanges, all notes, emails or recorded conversations (for example) or:
B. confirm the exchange occurred but there are no records (an explanation would be appreciated) or
C. confirm there were no exchanges

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/c...

Yours faithfully,

Mr P Swift

Dear Birmingham City Council,

please advise by when I can expect the IR to be completed

Yours sincerely,

Mr P Swift

https://www.englandhighways.co.uk/birmin...

‘The Commissioner would like to place on record that during his investigation, the Council repeatedly failed to engage properly with the questions put to it and the actions it was asked to take.
He also notes with concern that the Council failed to comply with the information notice (which is published on his website) within the specified timescale’.

Mr P Swift left an annotation ()

https://www.englandhighways.co.uk/birmin...

‘The Commissioner would like to place on record that during his investigation, the Council repeatedly failed to engage properly with the questions put to it and the actions it was asked to take.
He also notes with concern that the Council failed to comply with the information notice (which is published on his website) within the specified timescale’.

Mr P Swift left an annotation ()

to ICO 09:33 30/07/2022
https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/foi-...

Thank you
Share(Opens Share panel)
Thank you, we have received your complaint.

Need to send documents to us?
If you have other relevant documents for us, you can post them to:

Customer Contact - FOI complaint documents
Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Wilmslow
SK9 5AF

Please include a covering letter with your name and email address, so that we can match your documents to your complaint.

What happens next?
We will contact you in the next few weeks to provide you with a case reference number. We'll assign your complaint to a case officer as soon as we can. If we're unable to accept your complaint, we will explain why.

Mr P Swift left an annotation ()

ICO to BCC:
Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA)
Complaint from: Philip Swift
Your reference: 38527242
Our reference: IC-183870-Z8F3
The Information Commissioner has received a complaint from the above
named individual who says that they have not received a decision
regarding the internal review they requested on 3 May 2022. We attach a
copy of the internal review request for your information.
We consider that a reasonable time for completing an internal review is 20
working days after the date of the request for review.
The maximum amount of time taken should not be more than 40 working days. This longer period may be justified if an internal review is complex, requires consultation with third parties or there is a high volume of relevant information covered by the request. There will only occasionally be legitimate reasons why an extension longer than 40 working days is needed
Internal reviews are discussed in the Section 45 Code of Practice.
Action
If it is the case that you have not issued an internal review decision to the complainant, please do so within 10 working days as the review has already been delayed.
If you have already responded to the complainant and believe that your review should have been received, we recommend you contact them to confirm receipt, if you have not already done so.

Dear Birmingham City Council,

I refer you to the ICO's direction, now annotated to this request.

When responding, please explain the delay; why it is over 40 working days.

Yours sincerely,

Mr P Swift

Note:
The 28/07/2022, ICO’s Decision Notice (DN) relating to BCC’s FoIA breach can be read in full here.
https://www.englandhighways.co.uk/birmin...
‘The Commissioner would like to place on record that during his investigation, the Council repeatedly failed to engage properly with the questions put to it and the actions it was asked to take.
He also notes with concern that the Council failed to comply with the information notice (which is published on his website) within the specified timescale’.

Birmingham City Council

 
 
 
 
Information request
Our reference: 38527242
Your reference: [FOI #848018 email]

══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

Dear Mr Swift
 
Thank you for your request for a review received on 3 May 2022. We are
sorry that you are dissatisfied with our attempts to handle your request
under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
 
We can confirm that we are considering your concerns and we will aim to
provide you with a response as soon as possible. Please accept our
apologies.
 
Yours sincerely
 
 
Corporate Information Governance Team
Digital & Customer Services
 
 
 
NOTE: Please do not edit the subject line when replying to this email.
BIRMINGHAM CITY COUNCIL DISCLAIMER This email contains proprietary
confidential information some or all of which may be legally privileged
and/or subject to the provisions of privacy legislation. It is intended
solely for the addressee. If you are not the intended recipient, an
addressing or transmission error has misdirected this e-mail; you must not
use, disclose, copy, print or disseminate the information contained within
this e-mail. Please notify the author immediately by replying to this
email. Any views expressed in this email are those of the individual
sender, except where the sender specifically states these to be the views
of Birmingham City Council. This email has been scanned for all viruses
and all reasonable precautions have been taken to ensure that no viruses
are present. Birmingham City Council cannot accept responsibility for any
loss or damage arising from the use of this email or attachments.
Birmingham City Council The information contained within this e-mail (and
any attachment) sent by Birmingham City Council is confidential and may be
legally privileged. It is intended only for the named recipient or entity
to whom it is addressed. If you are not the intended recipient please
accept our apologies and notify the sender immediately. Unauthorised
access, use, disclosure, storage or copying is not permitted and may be
unlawful. Any e-mail including its content may be monitored and used by
Birmingham City Council for reasons of security and for monitoring
internal compliance with the office policy on staff use. E-mail blocking
software may also be used. Any views or opinions presented are solely
those of the originator and do not necessarily represent those of
Birmingham City Council. We cannot guarantee that this message or any
attachment is virus free or has not been intercepted and amended.

Birmingham City Council

 
 
 
 
Information request
Our reference: 38527242
Your reference: [FOI #848018 email]

══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

Dear Mr Swift
 
Information requested by: Mr P Swift

 

I am writing further to your email dated 3^rd May 2022 seeking a review of
the response to the Freedom of Information request.

 

Your request:

 
Your references:

* 18993085 https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/k...

* 21277088
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/t...

* 21724385 https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/c...

With regard to the above, please provide:

1. your council's exchanges with Kier Highways and their legal
representatives on the subject of 'commercial interest' or 'commercial
sensitivity' and

2. all and any information sought & supplied regarding the above FoIA
requests

Decision

 

The panel met and in deliberating gave consideration to the following:

 1. The original request
 2. Response provided by the directorate
 3. Submission from the applicant

 

In response to question 1 there is nothing further to add as the
information is not held by Birmingham City Council. The panel did not find
anything further to add to question 2 response, the panel agreed that the
responses were provided in their respective requests including the
internal review responses.

 

The panel have not upheld the appeal.

If you are not content with the outcome of this Internal Review you have
the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner's Office for a
further decision. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:

 

Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

 

http://www.ico.gov.uk/complaints/freedon...

 

Helpline on 0303 123 1113

 

Yours sincerely

 

Mr Malkiat Thiarai

Head of Corporate Information Management
Digital & Customer Services

 
 
 
 
 
NOTE: Please do not edit the subject line when replying to this email.
BIRMINGHAM CITY COUNCIL DISCLAIMER This email contains proprietary
confidential information some or all of which may be legally privileged
and/or subject to the provisions of privacy legislation. It is intended
solely for the addressee. If you are not the intended recipient, an
addressing or transmission error has misdirected this e-mail; you must not
use, disclose, copy, print or disseminate the information contained within
this e-mail. Please notify the author immediately by replying to this
email. Any views expressed in this email are those of the individual
sender, except where the sender specifically states these to be the views
of Birmingham City Council. This email has been scanned for all viruses
and all reasonable precautions have been taken to ensure that no viruses
are present. Birmingham City Council cannot accept responsibility for any
loss or damage arising from the use of this email or attachments.
Birmingham City Council The information contained within this e-mail (and
any attachment) sent by Birmingham City Council is confidential and may be
legally privileged. It is intended only for the named recipient or entity
to whom it is addressed. If you are not the intended recipient please
accept our apologies and notify the sender immediately. Unauthorised
access, use, disclosure, storage or copying is not permitted and may be
unlawful. Any e-mail including its content may be monitored and used by
Birmingham City Council for reasons of security and for monitoring
internal compliance with the office policy on staff use. E-mail blocking
software may also be used. Any views or opinions presented are solely
those of the originator and do not necessarily represent those of
Birmingham City Council. We cannot guarantee that this message or any
attachment is virus free or has not been intercepted and amended.

Dear Birmingham City Council,

I remain you, I wrote:

'I refer you to the ICO's direction, now annotated to this request.
When responding, please explain the delay; why it is over 40 working days.'

Yours sincerely,

Mr P Swift

Mr P Swift left an annotation ()

to the ICO 04/10/2022

Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA)
Your complaint about: Birmingham City Council
Its reference: 38527242
Our reference: IC-195247-T2S5
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/c...
nges
Thank you for your complaint and supporting information about the above
public authority’s handling of your request for information.
Your complaint is important to us and is now eligible for investigation. We
will allocate it to a case officer as soon as we can.