Thank you for taking the time to email Torfaen County Borough Council.

Please be aware that your enquiry is being addressed and a reply will be
sent within 10 working days.

Did you know that you can report issues and request information via our
website at [1]www.torfaen.gov.uk or make reports and requests by
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By registering your email address, you will be able to track progress of
your enquiry from start to finish.

The Mobile App is available on Apple, Android and Windows devices and can
be found by typing Torfaen into the search function in the relevant App
Store.

'

dangos adrannau a ddyfynnir

YMWADIAD: Mae'r wybodaeth sy'n gynwysedig yn yr e-bost yma a) yn eiddo i
Gyngor Bwrdeistref Sirol Torfaen; a b) yn gyfrinachol. Fe'i bwriedir ar
gyfer y derbynnydd yn unig. Os nad chi yw’r sawl y cyfeiriwyd hi ato, ni
ddylech ddadlennu, copïo na dosbarthu'r wybodaeth neu ei defnyddio i
weithredu. Os derbyniwch yr e-bost yma fel camgymeriad, gadewch i ni wybod
ar unwaith drwy ffonio ++44 (0) 1495 766366, a danfonwch yr e-bost yn ol
gydag unrhyw atodiadau. RHYBUDD: Gwnewch yn siwr bod gennych ddiogelwch
feirws digonol cyn agor neu ddatgysylltu unrhyw ddogfen sydd yn atodiad
i'r e-bost hwn. Mae’r Cyngor yn croesawu gohebiaeth yn Gymraeg a Saesneg.
Cewch ateb Cymraeg i bob gohebiaeth yn Gymraeg ac ni fydd yn arwain i
unrhyw oedi. Mae data personol sy'n cael ei brosesu gan y cyngor yn cael
ei wneud yn unol â'r gofynion sydd arnom ni o dan y Rheoliad Diogelu Data
Cyffredinol (RhDDC) (UE) 2016/679. Am fwy o wybodaeth ar sut yr ydym yn
gwneud hyn gwelwch ein Hysbysiad Preifatrwydd

References

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Thank you for your recent email. Please be aware that your email has
been passed to our Freedom Of Information team.

Should you need to pursue this email in future, please direct your
emails to [Torfaen County Borough Council request email]

Your contact with Customer Services will now be marked as closed.

Kind Regards

Due to the new General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR), we have
made some changes to our privacy policy. You can view the details
here:  [6]Torfaen Council Privacy Notice

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Dear Adam Peacher

Thank you for your email dated 22^nd October 2018 requesting information
under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.  I have logged your email and
will deal with your request in order that we can respond to you within the
statutory deadline of 20 working days.

I will contact you further as soon as the relevant information is
available.

This correspondence is available in large print, Braille or Welsh. Please
contact us for further details or if we can help in any way.

Yours sincerely

Lisa Coles

Senior Business Support Officer (Complaints/FOI) / Uwch Swyddog Cymorth
Busnes (Cwynion/Rhyddid Gwybodaeth)

Chief Executive’s Service / Gwasanaeth Y Prif Weithredwr

Torfaen County Borough Council / Cyngor Bwrdeistref Sirol Torfaen

Phone/Ffôn: 01495 761615/ Fax/Ffacs: 01495 766331

Email/E-Bost: [3][email address]

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on Facebook

From: [email address] [mailto:[email address]]
Sent: 22 October 2018 12:28
To: FOI <[Torfaen County Borough Council request email]>
Subject: Torfaen County Borough Council - A new Customer Contact service
request has been submitted - 2805010

Stay informed about Torfaen news by signing up for our e-bulletins.

[10]S[11]ign up here

[12]Image [13]Image
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[14]Image removed by sender. [15]Image removed by sender. [16]Portal | [17]News | [18]About Us [19]Image removed by sender.
Hello FOI team,

This email has been sent to you from Torfaen County Borough Council by one of your customers. They have reported the incident and captured
all the details in an aid to help you resolve the issue quickly:

SERVICE REQUEST #      2805010

CATEGORY    Customer Contact

Contact Details

Name
Mobile Phone 1234567890
Home Phone -
Email Address [email address]

Information

Type of contact
Email
Title of email
Freedom of Information request - Do you allow the public to record their calls with you ?
Customer email
Dear Torfaen Council, 1) Are Service Users clients customers the general public allowed to audio-visually record meeting and calls with
your staff? If so, do they require permission or are they permitted to do so covertly? For eg with staff social workers police etc. 2) Do
you have any guidance or policy for the public or service users to record calls when they speak to your staff 3) What is your
organisations protocol understanding on using the Dransfield vexastious ruling and how many times has it been used have any one said the
ruling or your reply was not fair how many people got a appeal overturned in their favour when dransfield was used incorrectly. . 4) Do
you Inform Users they can record. If the answer is no what is the reason for this please if so do send me a copy. 5) Are service users
made aware of their right to record the encounter, if they choose to do so? Is this reflected in you policy document on the matter? 6)
Does your organisation have an “Unacceptable Behaviour” policy? If so, please can you provide me with a copy? Regarding court staff the
public or the court itself. 7) If such a policy contains points of objectionable behaviour such as telephones calls being recorded by the
caller due to them being not necessary or unwanted or needed, and furthermore the staff members may feel threatened or apprehensive, are
you aware that denying users the right to record calls goes against the current UK laws. 8) Are your policies and procedures compliant
  with the public right to audio-visually record encounters with your staff, without their consent? If not, will you provide appropriate
training for your staff so they are fully informed of the Public right to record? If so what law guides you a link or copy please. 9) What
is our organisations current charging policy for Freedom of Information requests (FOI) or Subject Access Requests (SAR)? If charges are
applied are concessions available for those on low income or students? 10) What is your organisations complaints policy? Please can you
forward me a copy? Does your complaints procedure permit service users evidence such as covert call recordings to form part of the
investigation?
http://www.freedomtalkradio.co.uk/uk-sur...
Yours faithfully, Andrew Peacher
What action has been taken?
Referred to another department
Which department has the email been referred to?
Freedom Of Information ([Torfaen County Borough Council request email])
Date email was received
20-10-2018
Customer Name
Adam Peacher
Customer Email Address
[FOI #527650 email]

Thanks for contacting Torfaen Council. An officer from Call Torfaen will now manage your request.  We will only contact you if we need any
further information, but you can follow progress of your request in the app’s My Reports section or [20]your customer portal.

Best wishes

Call Torfaen

Torfaen County Borough Council

Due to the new General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR), we have made some changes to our privacy policy. You can view the details
here:  [21]Torfaen Council Privacy Notice

'

dangos adrannau a ddyfynnir

YMWADIAD: Mae'r wybodaeth sy'n gynwysedig yn yr e-bost yma a) yn eiddo i
Gyngor Bwrdeistref Sirol Torfaen; a b) yn gyfrinachol. Fe'i bwriedir ar
gyfer y derbynnydd yn unig. Os nad chi yw’r sawl y cyfeiriwyd hi ato, ni
ddylech ddadlennu, copïo na dosbarthu'r wybodaeth neu ei defnyddio i
weithredu. Os derbyniwch yr e-bost yma fel camgymeriad, gadewch i ni wybod
ar unwaith drwy ffonio ++44 (0) 1495 766366, a danfonwch yr e-bost yn ol
gydag unrhyw atodiadau. RHYBUDD: Gwnewch yn siwr bod gennych ddiogelwch
feirws digonol cyn agor neu ddatgysylltu unrhyw ddogfen sydd yn atodiad
i'r e-bost hwn. Mae’r Cyngor yn croesawu gohebiaeth yn Gymraeg a Saesneg.
Cewch ateb Cymraeg i bob gohebiaeth yn Gymraeg ac ni fydd yn arwain i
unrhyw oedi. Mae data personol sy'n cael ei brosesu gan y cyngor yn cael
ei wneud yn unol â'r gofynion sydd arnom ni o dan y Rheoliad Diogelu Data
Cyffredinol (RhDDC) (UE) 2016/679. Am fwy o wybodaeth ar sut yr ydym yn
gwneud hyn gwelwch ein Hysbysiad Preifatrwydd

'**********************************************************************
DISCLAIMER: The information contained in this e-mail is a) the property of
Torfaen County Borough Council; and b) confidential. It is intended only
for the addressee. If you are not the addressee you must not disclose,
copy or distribute this or take any action in reliance upon it. If you
receive this e-mail in error, please notify us immediately by telephone on
++44 (0) 1495 766366, and re-direct the e-mail and any attachments to us.
WARNING: Please ensure that you have adequate virus protection in place
before you open or detach any documents attached to this e-mail. The
Council welcomes correspondence in Welsh and English. Correspondence
received in Welsh will be answered in Welsh and will not lead to any
delay. Personal data processed by the council is done so in accordance
with our requirements under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
(EU) 2016/679. For more information on how we do this please see our
Privacy Notice
**********************************************************************
YMWADIAD: Mae'r wybodaeth sy'n gynwysedig yn yr e-bost yma a) yn eiddo i
Gyngor Bwrdeistref Sirol Torfaen; a b) yn gyfrinachol. Fe'i bwriedir ar
gyfer y derbynnydd yn unig. Os nad chi yw’r sawl y cyfeiriwyd hi ato, ni
ddylech ddadlennu, copïo na dosbarthu'r wybodaeth neu ei defnyddio i
weithredu. Os derbyniwch yr e-bost yma fel camgymeriad, gadewch i ni wybod
ar unwaith drwy ffonio ++44 (0) 1495 766366, a danfonwch yr e-bost yn ol
gydag unrhyw atodiadau. RHYBUDD: Gwnewch yn siwr bod gennych ddiogelwch
feirws digonol cyn agor neu ddatgysylltu unrhyw ddogfen sydd yn atodiad
i'r e-bost hwn. Mae’r Cyngor yn croesawu gohebiaeth yn Gymraeg a Saesneg.
Cewch ateb Cymraeg i bob gohebiaeth yn Gymraeg ac ni fydd yn arwain i
unrhyw oedi. Mae data personol sy'n cael ei brosesu gan y cyngor yn cael
ei wneud yn unol â'r gofynion sydd arnom ni o dan y Rheoliad Diogelu Data
Cyffredinol (RhDDC) (UE) 2016/679. Am fwy o wybodaeth ar sut yr ydym yn
gwneud hyn gwelwch ein Hysbysiad Preifatrwydd

References

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5. http://www.torfaen.gov.uk/
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7. Follow Torfaen Council on Twitter
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18. http://www.torfaen.gov.uk/
20. http://www.torfaen.mycouncilservices.com/
21. https://www.torfaen.gov.uk/en/AboutTheCo...

Dear Mr Peacher

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST

Thank you for your email dated 22/10/2018 requesting information under the
Freedom of Information Act 2000. I am now in a position to respond to your
questions as follows:

1) Are Service Users clients customers the general public allowed to
audio-visually record meeting and calls with your staff? If so, do they
require permission or are they permitted to do so covertly? For eg with
staff social workers police etc.

The only information held by the Council in relation to the above question
has already been provided in the response to the Council reference 18/853
see explanation below.

2) Do you have any guidance or policy for the public or service users to
record calls when they speak to your staff

As per question 1

3) What is your organisations protocol understanding on using the
Dransfield vexastious ruling and how many times has it been used have any
one said the ruling or your reply was not fair how many people got a
appeal overturned in their favour when dransfield was used incorrectly.

The council does not hold any information in relation to this request.

4) Do you Inform Users they can record. If the answer is no what is the
reason for this please if so do send me a copy.

As per question 1

5) Are service users made aware of their right to record the encounter, if
they choose to do so? Is this reflected in you policy document on the
matter?

The Council does not hold any information in relation to this question.

6) Does your organisation have an “Unacceptable Behaviour” policy? If so,
please can you provide me with a copy? Regarding court staff the public or
the court itself.

As per question 1

7) If such a policy contains points of objectionable behaviour such as
telephones calls being recorded by the caller due to them being not
necessary or unwanted or needed, and furthermore the staff members may
feel threatened or apprehensive, are you aware that denying users the
right to record calls goes against the current UK laws.

As per question 1

8) Are your policies and procedures compliant with the public right to
audio-visually record encounters with your staff, without their consent?
If not, will you provide appropriate training for your staff so they are
fully informed of the Public right to record? If so what law guides you a
link or copy please.

The council does not hold any information in relation to this request.

9) What is our organisations current charging policy for Freedom of
Information requests (FOI) or Subject Access Requests (SAR)? If charges
are applied are concessions available for those on low income or students?

As per question 1

10) What is your organisations complaints policy? Please can you forward
me a copy? Does your complaints procedure permit service users evidence
such as covert call recordings to form part of the investigation?

In response to questions 1,2,4,6,7,9,10

Under Section 14(2) of the Act, a public authority does not have to comply
with a request which is identical, or substantially similar to a previous
request submitted by the same individual, unless a reasonable period has
elapsed between those requests. There is no public interest test. Whilst
the previous request was not submitted in your name, a search of the
website has shown that you are connected with the organisation who
submitted the previous request.

· A public authority may only apply Section 14(2) where it has either;

• previously provided the same requester with the information in
response to an earlier FOIA request; or
• previously confirmed the information is not held in response to an
earlier FOIA request from the same requester. If neither of these
conditions applies then the public authority must deal with the
request in the normal manner.

· A request will be identical if both its scope and its wording precisely
matches that of a previous request.

· It will be substantially similar if;

(a) The wording is different but the scope of the request is the same; or

(b) The scope does not differ significantly from that of the previous
request.

· The reasonable interval is largely dependent upon the likelihood of any
of the information caught within the scope of the request differing or
having changed from that previously provided.

· If the information is unlikely to be different then the authority will
need to consider the amount of time between requests and decide whether
this is enough to make it reasonable to provide the same information
again.

· The Public Authority must issue a refusal notice unless it has already
served the requester with a notice under Section 14(2) in response to a
previous request for the same information, and it would be unreasonable to
issue another one.

In view of the information above the Council is refusing to answer
questions 1,2,4,6,7,9,10 under Section 14(2) of the Freedom of Information
Act.

Information supplied in response to any Freedom of Information Act request
may be subject to copyright. A single copy of information supplied under
the Freedom of Information Act may only be used for personal,
non-commercial research or study, unless stated otherwise. It must not be
passed to others, copied or re-published in whole or in part without
permission from the copyright holder. Any copyright statement that forms
part of or in any way refers to the information provided must not be
altered or removed.

If you have any queries about this letter or are unhappy about the service
you have received in relation to your request and wish to make a complaint
or request a review, please do not hesitate to contact me in writing.

If you are not content with the outcome of your complaint, you may apply
directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision. Generally, the
Information Commissioner’s Office (Wales) cannot make a decision unless
you have exhausted the complaints procedure provided by this Council. The
Information Commissioner can be contacted at: The Information
Commissioner’s Office (Wales), 2^nd Floor, Churchill House, Churchill Way,
Cardiff, CF10 2HH. Telephone 016 2554 5297 or Fax 029 2067 8399 or e-mail
[1][email address].

Yours sincerely

Caron Davies

Complaints/FOI Manager / Rheolwr Cwynion/Rhyddid Gwybodaeth

Chief Executive’s Service / Gwasanaeth Y Prif Weithredwr

Torfaen County Borough Council / Cyngor Bwrdeistref Sirol Torfaen

Tel / Ffôn 01495 742164

Fax / Ffacs 01495 766331

Email / Ebost  [2][email address]

[3]Description: Description: cid:image001.gif@01CB4DE0.4A1FEB50[4] Follow
us on Twitter / [5]Find us on Facebook / [6]www.torfaen.gov.uk

This email is available in large print or Braille upon request

'

dangos adrannau a ddyfynnir

YMWADIAD: Mae'r wybodaeth sy'n gynwysedig yn yr e-bost yma a) yn eiddo i
Gyngor Bwrdeistref Sirol Torfaen; a b) yn gyfrinachol. Fe'i bwriedir ar
gyfer y derbynnydd yn unig. Os nad chi yw’r sawl y cyfeiriwyd hi ato, ni
ddylech ddadlennu, copïo na dosbarthu'r wybodaeth neu ei defnyddio i
weithredu. Os derbyniwch yr e-bost yma fel camgymeriad, gadewch i ni wybod
ar unwaith drwy ffonio ++44 (0) 1495 766366, a danfonwch yr e-bost yn ol
gydag unrhyw atodiadau. RHYBUDD: Gwnewch yn siwr bod gennych ddiogelwch
feirws digonol cyn agor neu ddatgysylltu unrhyw ddogfen sydd yn atodiad
i'r e-bost hwn. Mae’r Cyngor yn croesawu gohebiaeth yn Gymraeg a Saesneg.
Cewch ateb Cymraeg i bob gohebiaeth yn Gymraeg ac ni fydd yn arwain i
unrhyw oedi. Mae data personol sy'n cael ei brosesu gan y cyngor yn cael
ei wneud yn unol â'r gofynion sydd arnom ni o dan y Rheoliad Diogelu Data
Cyffredinol (RhDDC) (UE) 2016/679. Am fwy o wybodaeth ar sut yr ydym yn
gwneud hyn gwelwch ein Hysbysiad Preifatrwydd

References

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3. http://www.twitter.com/torfaencouncil/
4. Follow Torfaen Council on Twitter
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