Council fraud conviction cost

Mr Hussain made this Rhyddid Gwybodaeth request to Bradford City Council Automatic anti-spam measures are in place for this older request. Please let us know if a further response is expected or if you are having trouble responding.

Mae'r ymateb i'r cais hwn yn hwyr iawn. Yn ôl y gyfraith, ym mhob amgylchiad, dylai Bradford City Council fod wedi ymateb erbyn hyn. (manylion). Gallwch gwyno drwy yn gofyn am adolygiad mewnol.

Dear Bradford City Council,

On the 14th of November 2018, a user by the name of Andy Peacher made the following request via the WhatDoTheyKnow website :

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/d...

On the 27th of December 2018, you had responded to the first question as follows :

Question 1 - How many times have a resident of the la been done for fraud against them and fined or jailed 2012 to 2018. This relates to direct care payments.

Response – A resident within the local authority has been fined x1 and jailed x1.

The individual your response relates to is obviously myself. In this regard, I have the following questions

Q1. What date had the investigation commenced?

Q2. How long was this matter investigated for?

Q3. How much public fund of the ratepayer's money had been spent in investigating and securing this criminal conviction?

Q4. How much money in total had been recovered as part of this investigation and criminal conviction?

Q5. How much money had been returned to the residential victims of this crime?

Yours faithfully,

Mr Hussain

Freedom of Information, Bradford City Council

Thank you for contacting the City of Bradford Metropolitan District
Council Corporate Information Governance Team.  We confirm that we have
received your correspondence.

 

If you have submitted a Freedom of Information or Environmental
Information Regulation request – we will respond to your request in
accordance with the appropriate legislation (20 working days). 

 

If we require further information from you before we process your request,
we will contact you directly to ask for this. 

 

City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council is registered with the
Information Commissioners Office (ICO) under the provisions of the Data
Protection Act 2018.  If you would like further information please click
on the following link: [1]Privacy notice | Bradford Council

                                              

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References

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Freedom of Information, Bradford City Council

Dear Mr Hussain

 

I refer to your request dated 6 May 2023 under the Freedom of Information
(FOI) Act 2000. I can confirm that the Council holds the information
falling within the terms of your request.

 

The Act obliges us to respond to requests promptly and no later than 20
working days after receiving the request. However, when a qualified
exemption applies to the information and the Public Interest Test is
engaged, the Act allows the time for response to be longer than 20 working
days, and a full response must be provided within such time as is
reasonable in all circumstances of the case.

 

Unfortunately, in this case we have not yet reached a decision on where
the balance of the public interest lies.

 

Please accept the Council’s apologies. I hope to have the Council’s
response to you by 5 July 2023 although I will endeavour to do so before
this date.

 

The specific exemption(s), the Council is considering in relation to your
request is under Section 30 of the Freedom of Information Act. 

 

If you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact the Corporate
Information Governance Team, quoting reference number: 9676

 

City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council is registered with the
Information Commissioners Office (ICO) under the provisions of the Data
Protection Act 2018. The Council takes its responsibilities under the Act
very seriously. 

 

To find out more on how we handle your information, please click on the
following link: https://www.bradford.gov.uk/privacy-notice

 

Regards

 

Siama Kausar

Information Governance Officer

Finance, IT & Procurement Service

Telephone Number: 01274 434506

 

City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council

Department of Corporate Resources

City Hall, Centenary Square, Bradford, BD1 1HY

 

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Dear Freedom of Information,

In your recent response, you state the following :

"Unfortunately, in this case we have not yet reached a decision on where the balance of the public interest lies."

Under these circumstances, I believe given the fact that the investigation, prosecution and conviction has been finalised over 5 years ago and equally taking into consideration your following obligation under S43 of the Local Government Transparency Code 2014, requiring local authorities to publish information about their counter fraud work, I believe a strong argument can be made in favour of full disclosure as being in the Public interest, considering this case was heavily publicised in the mainstream newspapers at the time and continues to be made available to the Public. Please look to Google the search term "Bradford Council Fruad case Shazad Hussain" to see all the available results.

Yours sincerely,

Mr Hussain

Freedom of Information, Bradford City Council

Thank you for contacting the City of Bradford Metropolitan District
Council Corporate Information Governance Team.  We confirm that we have
received your correspondence.

 

If you have submitted a Freedom of Information or Environmental
Information Regulation request – we will respond to your request in
accordance with the appropriate legislation (20 working days). 

 

If we require further information from you before we process your request,
we will contact you directly to ask for this. 

 

City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council is registered with the
Information Commissioners Office (ICO) under the provisions of the Data
Protection Act 2018.  If you would like further information please click
on the following link: [1]Privacy notice | Bradford Council

                                              

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References

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1. https://www.bradford.gov.uk/privacy-noti...

Gadawodd Mr Hussain anodiad ()

Although a better and more appropriate Google search term would be "Bradford Council Educate Yourself Shazad Hussain"_

Dear Bradford City Council,

Further to my last correspondence, I would like to present further grounds to persuade your decision that the balance of public interest lies towards full disclosure.

On the 22nd of April 2022, a newspaper article published by the local Telegraph and Argus Newspaper ran the article titled: "Figures reveal the shocking scale of fraud detected by Bradford Council"

https://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/n...

Taking this information in the context that on the 14th of May 2014, I had made my first ever FOI request to you via the WhatDoTheyKnow website titled: Fraud Department Summery Report:

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/f...

Where a comprehensive enquiry was made at the time and responded to by a one H. Singh on the 14 July 2014, whom I assume to be the same Harry Singh who has recently responded to my latest FOI titled: "Direct Care Payments Fraud and Convictions - An Update", one the 16th of June 2023

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/d...

Where it had clearly been established in my initial enquires that :

" Question 1. When was the Council’s Corporate Fraud Unit first established?

Answer: The Corporate Fraud Unit was formed in June 2012 however the statistical information held on the fraud system is only available from 01/04/13."

I believe given the fact that the Corporate Fraud Unit at Bradford Council had been operational for well over a decade, since the daming scale of the fraud was highlighted by the 2022 newspaper article; then my ongoing enquiries regarding the feasibility and efficacy of this unit being bought into question, in regards to the cost of this one particular investigation and by securing this criminal conviction against myself remain in the public interest, for your full cooperation in favour of transparency of disclosure, to this latest FOI regarding public costs expended in investigation and recovery and its subsequent consequences to the victims and their family.

Given the seriousness of this endemic problem as identified and accepted by the council themselves and the fact that the sums of money involved are so substantial then the council should be persuaded that the balance of public interest leans towards full disclosure, which should now take place on this latest FOI request.
 
Otherwise, it is down to the Council to objectively establish and present their argument and grounds to persuade and impartial arbitrator as to why the decision not to make disclosure would be favoured as being in the public interest, given all the facts now presented to the Coucil

Yours faithfully,

Mr Hussain

Freedom of Information, Bradford City Council

Thank you for contacting the City of Bradford Metropolitan District
Council Corporate Information Governance Team.  We confirm that we have
received your correspondence.

 

If you have submitted a Freedom of Information or Environmental
Information Regulation request – we will respond to your request in
accordance with the appropriate legislation (20 working days). 

 

If we require further information from you before we process your request,
we will contact you directly to ask for this. 

 

City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council is registered with the
Information Commissioners Office (ICO) under the provisions of the Data
Protection Act 2018.  If you would like further information please click
on the following link: [1]Privacy notice | Bradford Council

                                              

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References

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1. https://www.bradford.gov.uk/privacy-noti...

Alex Hoyle, Bradford City Council

2 Atodiad

Dear Mr Hussain

 

I refer to your request for information under the Freedom of Information
Act dated 6 May 2023 asking to supply the following information:

 

On the 14th of November 2018, a user by the name of Andy Peacher made the
following request via the WhatDoTheyKnow website :

[1]https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/d...

On the 27th of December 2018, you had responded to the first question as
follows :

Question 1 - How many times have a resident of the la been done for fraud
against them and fined or jailed 2012 to 2018. This relates to direct care
payments.

Response – A resident within the local authority has been fined x1 and
jailed x1.

The individual your response relates to is obviously myself. In this
regard, I have the following questions

Q1. What date had the investigation commenced?

Q2. How long was this matter investigated for?

Q3. How much public fund of the ratepayer's money had been spent in
investigating and securing this criminal conviction?

Q4. How much money in total had been recovered as part of this
investigation and criminal conviction?

Q5. How much money had been returned to the residential victims of this
crime?

 

The Council’s response is set out below:

 

Q1. What date had the investigation commenced?

 

A1. 2^nd October 2010

 

Q2. How long was the matter investigated for?

 

A2. The criminal case was closed on 15 June 2016

 

Q3. How much public fund of the ratepayer's money had been spent in
investigating and securing this criminal conviction?

 

A3. I can confirm that the information requested is not held by Bradford
Council and therefore, this response acts as a refusal notice under
section 17(1) of the Freedom of Information Act in accordance with section
1(1)(a) of the Act.

 

Q4. How much money in total had been recovered as part of this
investigation and criminal conviction?

 

A4. I can confirm that the information requested is not held by Bradford
Council and therefore, this response acts as a refusal notice under
section 17(1) of the Freedom of Information Act in accordance with section
1(1)(a) of the Act.

 

Q5. How much money had been returned to the residential victims of this
crime?

 

A5. We are not obliged, under section 40(2) of the FOI Act, to provide any
information which is the personal information of another person, and whose
release would contravene the provisions in the Data Protection Act 1998
(DPA).

 

In accordance with the Freedom of Information Act, if you are not
satisfied with the reply to your request, you can ask for an internal
review.

 

A request for an internal review must be submitted within 40 working days
in writing to the Corporate Information Governance Team, City of Bradford
Metropolitan District Council, City Hall, Centenary Square, Bradford, BD1
1HY or by emailing [2][Bradford City Council request email].

 

If you are still not satisfied with the outcome of the internal review,
you have the right of appeal to the Information Commissioner who can be
contacted at:

 

Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow,
Cheshire, SK9 5AF. Tel: 0303 123 1113 URL: [3]www.ico.org.uk.

 

Kind regards

 

 

Alex Hoyle

Senior Corporate Investigator

Corporate Investigations

Finance, IT & Procurement Service

 

Room 420, City Hall, Bradford, BD1 1HY

 

City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council

Department of Corporate Resources

 

[4]BD25_Logo_signature                        

Bradford District is the UK City of Culture 2025

#CityOfCulture2025 | #Bradford2025 | [5]bradford2025.co.uk

 

 

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References

Visible links
1. https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/d...
2. mailto:[Bradford City Council request email]
3. http://www.ico.org.uk/
5. https://bradford2025.co.uk/

Dear Bradford City Council,

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

I am writing to request an internal review of Bradford City Council's handling of my FOI request 'Council fraud conviction cost'.

This was a criminal investigation and prosecution undertaken by you the body corporate, and as you state it commenced on the 2nd of October 2010 and the criminal case was finalised on the 15 June 2016. These two dates seem very unfamiliar and highly unlikely to me, as the subject of this criminal investigation and subsequent conviction by you the local authority.

Please can you reconfirm if these dates are correct?

You further go on to state that you do not hold financial information regarding the cost of the investigation or the amounts recovered; which seems very unlikely as this matter was everything to do with public money, so this information would most likely be held by you.

Please can you look to reevaluate your position?

Furthermore, you go on to rely on section 40, as personal information yet this case involved myself and my family and I am asking for the amount of money recovered for the purported victims. This amount of money does not come under the scope of the Data Protection Act as it can not be used to identify a living person. Please look to equally reevaluate your response to this question.

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 Hussain

Freedom of Information, Bradford City Council

Thank you for contacting the City of Bradford Metropolitan District
Council Corporate Information Governance Team.  We confirm that we have
received your correspondence.

 

If you have submitted a Freedom of Information or Environmental
Information Regulation request – we will respond to your request in
accordance with the appropriate legislation (20 working days). 

 

If we require further information from you before we process your request,
we will contact you directly to ask for this. 

 

City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council is registered with the
Information Commissioners Office (ICO) under the provisions of the Data
Protection Act 2018.  If you would like further information please click
on the following link: [1]Privacy notice | Bradford Council

                                              

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viruses which our anti-virus software has failed to identify. You should
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documents. Bradford Council will not accept any liability for damage
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supplied with this email. Emails may be subject to recording and / or
monitoring in accordance with relevant legislation.

 

 

References

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Freedom of Information, Bradford City Council

Dear Mr Hussain

 

Thank you for your request dated 25 July 2023 requesting an internal
review to the Councils response to your information request under the
Freedom of Information Act 2000.

 

Please note that it may take up to 20 working days allowed for disclosure
under a review to enable the Council to provide a response.

 

We aim to respond by 22 August 2023.

 

If you have any queries regarding your review request, please do not
hesitate to contact  the Corporate Information Governance Team at
[Bradford City Council request email] quoting reference no: 000009676.

 

City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council is registered with the
Information Commissioners Office (ICO) under the provisions of the Data
Protection Act 2018. The Council takes its responsibilities under the Act
very seriously. 

 

To find out more on how we handle your information, please click on the
following link: https://www.bradford.gov.uk/privacy-notice

 

Regards

 

Siama Kausar

Information Governance Officer

Finance, IT & Procurement Service

Telephone Number: 01274 434506

 

City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council

Department of Corporate Resources

City Hall, Centenary Square, Bradford, BD1 1HY

 

This email, and any attachments, may contain Protected or Restricted
information and is intended solely for the individual to whom it is
addressed. It may contain sensitive or protectively marked material and
should be handled accordingly. If this email has been misdirected, please
notify the author immediately. If you are not the intended recipient you
must not disclose, distribute, copy, print or rely on any of the
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immediately. Whilst we take reasonable steps to try to identify any
software viruses, any attachments to this email may nevertheless contain
viruses which our anti-virus software has failed to identify. You should
therefore carry out your own anti-virus checks before opening any
documents. Bradford Council will not accept any liability for damage
caused by computer viruses emanating from any attachment or other document
supplied with this email. Emails may be subject to recording and/or
monitoring in accordance with relevant legislation.

 

Harry Singh, Bradford City Council

2 Atodiad

Dear Mr Hussain,

 

Thank you for your email dated 25 July 2023 in relation to case reference
9676, requesting an internal review of the decision made under the Freedom
of Information (FOI) Act 2000.

 

“I am writing to request an internal review of Bradford City Council's
handling of my FOI request 'Council fraud conviction cost'.  This was a
criminal investigation and prosecution undertaken by you the body
corporate, and as you state it commenced on the 2nd of October 2010 and
the criminal case was finalised on the 15 June 2016. These two dates seem
very unfamiliar and highly unlikely to me, as the subject of this criminal
investigation and subsequent conviction by you the local authority. Please
can you reconfirm if these dates are correct?

You further go on to state that you do not hold financial information
regarding the cost of the investigation or the amounts recovered; which
seems very unlikely as this matter was everything to do with public money,
so this information would most likely be held by you.  Please can you look
to revaluate your position?

Furthermore, you go on to rely on section 40, as personal information yet
this case involved myself and my family and I am asking for the amount of
money recovered for the purported victims.  This amount of money does not
come under the scope of the Data Protection Act as it cannot be used to
identify a living person.   Please look to equally revaluate your response
to this question”.

 

The Council’s response is as follows:

 

I have considered the case presented to me and having reviewed the
information provided in response to your Freedom of Information request
and I can confirm the following:

 

• In relation to your question regarding the dates being correct, I can
confirm that the investigation commenced on 2nd of October 2010 and
the criminal case was finalised on the 15 June 2016. Further
proceedings in relation to Proceeds of Crime were commenced following
conviction and remain ongoing.

 

• I agree with the original decision that the following information
requested; “How much public fund of the ratepayer's money had been
spent in investigating and securing this criminal conviction?” is not
held by the Council and therefore, I consider that the Council’s
original response applying Section 1(1)(a) of the FOI Act was
correct. 

 

• I agree with the original decision that the following information
requested; “How much money in total had been recovered as part of this
investigation and criminal conviction?” is not held by the Council and
therefore, I consider that the Council’s original response applying
Section 1(1)(a) of the FOI Act was correct.  However, under the
Councils duty to advice & assist under Section 16 of the FOI Act, I
believe this specific information may be obtainable from North East
Regional Confiscation Unit, PO Box 155, Leeds LS27 7ZR. 

 

• I agree with the original decision to withhold the following
information requested; “How much money had been returned to the
residential victims of this crime?” and therefore, I consider that the
Councils original response applying Section 40(2) of the FOI Act to be
correct.

 

If you are not satisfied with the outcome of this internal review you have
the right of appeal to the Information Commissioner who can be contacted
at: Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane,
Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF. Tel: 0303 123 1113. URL: [1]www.ico.org.uk. 

 

 

Harry Singh

Corporate Resources – Finance, IT & Procurement Service

City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council

Corporate Resources

 

     

 

Bradford District is the UK City of Culture 2025

#CityOfCulture2025 | #Bradford2025 | [2]bradford2025.co.uk

 

 

This email, and any attachments, may contain Protected or Restricted
information and is intended solely for the individual to whom it is
addressed. It may contain sensitive or protectively marked material and
should be handled accordingly. If this email has been misdirected, please
notify the author immediately. If you are not the intended recipient you
must not disclose, distribute, copy, print or rely on any of the
information contained in it or attached, and all copies must be deleted
immediately. Whilst we take reasonable steps to try to identify any
software viruses, any attachments to this email may nevertheless contain
viruses which our anti-virus software has failed to identify. You should
therefore carry out your own anti-virus checks before opening any
documents. Bradford Council will not accept any liability for damage
caused by computer viruses emanating from any attachment or other document
supplied with this email. Emails may be subject to recording and / or
monitoring in accordance with relevant legislation.

 

 

 

References

Visible links
1. http://www.ico.org.uk/
2. https://bradford2025.co.uk/

Dear Harry Singh,

In your latest response of even date, you reconfirm that the criminal investigation against myself commenced in October 2010, yet in a previous FOI response of 14 July 2014, you had stated the following :

 1. Q. When was the Council’s Corporate Fraud Unit first established?

The Corporate Fraud Unit was formed in June 2012 however the statistical information held on the fraud system is only available from 01/04/13.

Fraud Department Summery Report
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/f...

Question: Please can you help me understand how your criminal investigation against myself of October 2010, predates the establishment of Council’s Corporate Fraud Unit of June 2012, by nearly two years?

Yours sincerely,

Mr Hussain

Harry Singh, Bradford City Council

Dear Mr Hussain,

Thank you for your email query following my earlier response to your request for FOI review.

I can confirm, as previously stated, that the Councils Corporate Fraud Unit was formed in June 2012. Prior to this the Counter Fraud and Interventions Team (CFIT) was in place (as stated in Q2 of the response detailed in your link)

2. Q. What was in its place prior to its establishment?
A. Counter Fraud and Interventions Team (CFIT) for Benefits related allegations of fraud & the Investigation Team within Internal Audit for any other allegations of fraud

Therefore, in direct response to your most recent query below, "Please can you help me understand how your criminal investigation against myself of October 2010, predates the establishment of Council’s Corporate Fraud Unit of June 2012, by nearly two years?", I can confirm that the investigation in question commenced in October 2010 by CFIT and continued following the merger of the teams and the investigation was completed by the Corporate Fraud Unit.

Regards

Harry Singh
Corporate Resources – Finance, IT & Procurement Service
City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council
Corporate Resources



Bradford District is the UK City of Culture 2025
#CityOfCulture2025 | #Bradford2025 | bradford2025.co.uk

This email, and any attachments, may contain Protected or Restricted information and is intended solely for the individual to whom it is addressed. It may contain sensitive or protectively marked material and should be handled accordingly. If this email has been misdirected, please notify the author immediately. If you are not the intended recipient you must not disclose, distribute, copy, print or rely on any of the information contained in it or attached, and all copies must be deleted immediately. Whilst we take reasonable steps to try to identify any software viruses, any attachments to this email may nevertheless contain viruses which our anti-virus software has failed to identify. You should therefore carry out your own anti-virus checks before opening any documents. Bradford Council will not accept any liability for damage caused by computer viruses emanating from any attachment or other document supplied with this email. Emails may be subject to recording and / or monitoring in accordance with relevant legislation.

dangos adrannau a ddyfynnir

Dear Harry Singh,

Thank you for your attempt at clarification. However, what you state simply makes no sense. I would be grateful if you could help clarify what exactly had initiated the criminal investigation, given I have never been under any legal obligation or contract with you the Coucil.

I first became aware of your clandestine criminal investigation on the 17th of December 2013, following my arrest from my home. Prior to July 2012, the Council had no contact with me or the family and we had effectively been lost and forgotten since June 2009. Therefore, your criminal investigation commencement date of 2nd of October 2010, seems at odds. Between the significant dates of June 2009 and July 2012, we the family had been forgotten by the Council and had no contact. Contact had only resumed in July 2012, when intial enquires to audit Direct Payments were being sort, hence my presumption this would have been the instigation of your criminal investigation, due to none compliance to your audit requests.

Please can you help me understand if on the 2nd of October 2010, your criminal investigation had been instigated on allegations of DWP Benefit, Council Direct Payments or Council Tax fraud and what legal powers had the council utilised to undertake a "criminal" investigation, which the layman's understanding is the sole preserve of the Police, given the fact that the Counter Fraud and Interventions Team (CFIT) at the time dealt with Benefits related allegations of fraud & Internal Audit for any other allegations of fraud?

As a member of the Public, since I had no formal contractual legal relationship with you the Council, how can you the body Corporate instigate, investigate, prosecute, convict and be the sole financial beneficiary of this criminal conviction against a rate paying member of the Public you serve?

Yours sincerely,

Mr Hussain

Harry Singh, Bradford City Council

Dear Mr Hussain,

As mentioned in my communication earlier today, if you disagree with the review response you have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner who can be contacted at:

Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF. Tel: 0303 123 1113. URL: www.ico.org.uk.

Regards

Harry Singh
Corporate Resources – Finance, IT & Procurement Service
City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council


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Dear Harry Singh,

I am simply seeking clarity of understanding on the contradictory and misleading information now being provided. If you are unable or unwilling to provide further clarity then I shall look to escalate this matter to the ICO, as per your direction.

Yours sincerely,

Mr Hussain

Gadawodd Mr Hussain anodiad ()

Dear ICO - Paula Flanagan,

I write to lodge a new complaint to yourself as the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) regarding the City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council's (CBMDC) handling of my FOI request via the WhatDoTheyKnow website. See the following :

Council fraud conviction cost
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/c...

This is a case regarding myself and my family and which I am intimately familiar with. The information now being provided under the FOI legislation by the LA is simply false, inaccurate and misleading. Their use of FOI exemption is also not correct. I therefore would like the ICO to fully investigate this FOI refusal.

Regards Mr S.Hussain

Gadawodd John Moat (Ataliwyd y cyfrif) anodiad ()

This request exemplifies everything that is wrong with FOI legislation. The public authority has gone above and beyond in explaining why it cannot provide the requested information and yet the requestor, who most likely doesn’t work, pay taxes or contribute in any positive way to society, can waste thousands of pounds of taxpayers money by abusing the entire FOI process with no financial cost to them. And of course WDTK does absolutely nothing about it.

Harry Singh, Bradford City Council

Dear Mr Hussain,

Further to your latest communication on this FOI review request, your query prompted me to re-visit and review the responses provided.

Please find details below of the Councils response:

• In relation to your question regarding the dates being correct, I can confirm that the investigation commencement date of 2nd of October 2010 was infact incorrect as I have now discovered that during a swap in systems where records were kept, an Officer has manually transposed the incorrect date by typing 2nd October 2010 on the opening note. It is evident now that as the notes move on this date of 2nd October was entered in error and should have read 2nd October 2012. The Council apologies for this error and for any inconvenience caused to you.
I can confirm the criminal investigation closure date of 15 June 2016 is correct.

• I agree with the original decision that the following information requested; “How much public fund of the ratepayer's money had been spent in investigating and securing this criminal conviction?” is not held by the Council and therefore, I consider that the Council’s original response applying Section 1(1)(a) of the FOI Act was correct.


• I agree with the original decision that the following information requested; “How much money in total had been recovered as part of this investigation and criminal conviction?” is not held by the Council and therefore, I consider that the Council’s original response applying Section 1(1)(a) of the FOI Act was correct. However, under the Councils duty to advice & assist under Section 16 of the FOI Act, I believe this specific information may be obtainable from North East Regional Confiscation Unit, PO Box 155, Leeds LS27 7ZR.


• I agree with the original decision to withhold the following information requested; “How much money had been returned to the residential victims of this crime?” and therefore, I consider that the Councils original response applying Section 40(2) of the FOI Act to be correct.

Once again, I would like to apologise for the incorrect information, namely the investigation commencement date, previously provided and thank you for providing information to enable us to identify the mistake.

If you are not satisfied with the outcome of this internal review you have the right of appeal to the Information Commissioner who can be contacted at: Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF. Tel: 0303 123 1113. URL: [1]www.ico.org.uk.

Regards

Harry Singh
Corporate Resources – Finance, IT & Procurement Service
City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council
Corporate Resources


Bradford District is the UK City of Culture 2025
#CityOfCulture2025 | #Bradford2025 | bradford2025.co.uk

This email, and any attachments, may contain Protected or Restricted information and is intended solely for the individual to whom it is addressed. It may contain sensitive or protectively marked material and should be handled accordingly. If this email has been misdirected, please notify the author immediately. If you are not the intended recipient you must not disclose, distribute, copy, print or rely on any of the information contained in it or attached, and all copies must be deleted immediately. Whilst we take reasonable steps to try to identify any software viruses, any attachments to this email may nevertheless contain viruses which our anti-virus software has failed to identify. You should therefore carry out your own anti-virus checks before opening any documents. Bradford Council will not accept any liability for damage caused by computer viruses emanating from any attachment or other document supplied with this email. Emails may be subject to recording and / or monitoring in accordance with relevant legislation.

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