Emails between council and Friends of Castle Park
Joe Banks made this Rhyddid Gwybodaeth request to Bristol City Council This request has been closed to new correspondence. Contact us if you think it should be reopened.
Dear Bristol City Council,
Please send me the following under the Freedom of Information Act rules:
All emails between Marvin Rees, any member of staff in the Mayor's Office, any member of the council’s Senior Management team, any planning officer, or councillor and any representative of the Friends of Castle Park or Friends of Castle Park Facebook group.
Yours faithfully,
Joe Banks
Dear Joe Banks
Freedom of Information Act 2000
Thank you for your request for information that was received on 23
February 2022.
We are dealing with your request and we aim to send a response within 20
working days from the date we received your request.
For further information regarding FOI requests, please visit
[1]https://ico.org.uk/your-data-matters/off...
If you have any further queries about your request please contact
[2][email address].
Yours sincerely
Customer Relations Team
NOTE: Please do not edit the subject line when replying to this email.
Bristol City Council
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 Bristol City Council.
This email has been scanned for all viruses and all reasonable precautions
have been taken to ensure that no viruses are present. Bristol City
Council cannot accept responsibility for any loss or damage arising from
the use of this email or attachments.
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Dear Joe Banks
Thank you for your request for information received on 23 February 2022.
Please find attached our response to your request.
Yours faithfully
Bristol City Council
NOTE: Please do not edit the subject line when replying to this email.
Bristol City Council
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 Bristol City Council.
This email has been scanned for all viruses and all reasonable precautions
have been taken to ensure that no viruses are present. Bristol City
Council cannot accept responsibility for any loss or damage arising from
the use of this email or attachments.
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Dear Bristol City Council,
Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.
I am writing to request an internal review of Bristol City Council's handling of my FOI request 'Emails between council and Friends of Castle Park'.
My request has been refused on the grounds that I have made it under a false name. This is completely untrue and I’m willing to prove my identity in any way the council requires. I would also like to know on what basis this erroneous belief has been arrived at.
A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/e...
Yours faithfully,
Joe Banks
Dear Mr Banks,
As stated in our previous correspondence, we will happily accept ID to
verify your identity and will continue to process your request. In the
event that S8(1) has been applied erroneously, I sincerely apologise for
any inconvenience caused.
The timing and subject matter of your request coincides with a refusal
issued by the council for a separate vexatious request, and a number of
circumstances around that particular case had lead the council to believe
that your request was made to circumvent that refusal.
As you have lodged two separate requests within two days, it is worth
noting that staff time spent responding to requests made within 60 days of
one another will be aggregated.
Kind regards,
Bristol City Council
Bristol City Council
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 Bristol City Council.
This email has been scanned for all viruses and all reasonable precautions
have been taken to ensure that no viruses are present. Bristol City
Council cannot accept responsibility for any loss or damage arising from
the use of this email or attachments.
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Dear Bristol City Council,
Thank you for your reply. Please let me know how I should provide my proof of ID to you. Is there an email address I can send an attachment to?
My two FOI requests to you - the only FOI requests I have ever made in my life, incidentally - require very basic email searches and will not, I believe, bring up a large quantity of material. As you've said, there is a maximum of 18 hours work allowed within each 60 day period. The idea that these two requests would exceed that does not seem plausible to me.
I note that you haven't provided any evidential basis for your accusation towards me of lying but accept your apology and look forward now to resolving this matter swiftly.
Yours sincerely,
Joe Banks
Dear Mr Banks,
You are welcome to provide any identification via response to this email.
Alternatively, you are welcome to submit it to [1][email address] using
the case reference found in the subject of this email.
I apologise once again if you have felt as though our original
correspondence accused you of lying, this was certainly not the intention,
we are simply trying to ensure that we are able to accurately track
requests coming into the council to ensure that resources are allocated
appropriately. I noted that these were your first requests with the
council, however your first request was lodged on the same day a separate
similar request was refused as vexatious, and as we had no previous record
of your name on our FOI system, suspicion arose that your requests had
been made by the same individual to bypass our response to their request,
as they have been suspected of using pseudonyms in the past.
I hope this clarifies the logic behind our position, and I would like to
assure you once again that we by no means consider you to be lying, this
situation has arisen simply due to a case of mistaken identity. You may
also receive our original correspondence again in relation to your other
request (24375437), however please disregard this, as any ID provided in
response to this email will also be sufficient for your other request.
Kind regards,
Bristol City Council
Bristol City Council
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 Bristol City Council.
This email has been scanned for all viruses and all reasonable precautions
have been taken to ensure that no viruses are present. Bristol City
Council cannot accept responsibility for any loss or damage arising from
the use of this email or attachments.
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Council services: http://www.bristol.gov.uk/service
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Dear Bristol City Council,
Thank you for your reply. I'm grateful for receiving a bit more information about why I was accused of providing a pseudonym. But if you have doubts about whether someone is using their real name or not, why not ask for proof of ID before accusing them of lying? Surely that would be an improvement on the system.
Please find a copy of my driving license through this Google Drive link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iUbD0d9...
Yours sincerely,
Joe Banks
Dear Mr Banks,
Thank you for providing us with valid ID, it is greatly appreciated, and I
would like to again apologise for this being necessary and for any
inconvenience caused to yourself.
It is very unusual for the council to have to rely on S8(1) and request ID
as Freedom of Information requests are usually applicant blind, however in
instances such as these we are able to take the wider context of a
situation, as well as previous requests of an individual into account
where we have reason to believe we have been provided with a false name.
The vast majority of requests lodged to the council have a valid purpose
and are made in the public interest, however unfortunately there are
instances in which the system is abused.
I have informed the service area that valid ID has been provided, and that
this request has not been made with vexatious intentions. It appears as
though a vexatious response template was erroneously sent to you on your
additional request, so please disregard this.
In regards to the original correspondence you were provided with, I
appreciate that the possibility of providing ID should have been made
clearer, and will ensure that this is amended.
I hope this clarifies the situation, but please feel free to get in touch
if you wish to discuss any of this further.
Kind regards,
Bristol City Council
Bristol City Council
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 Bristol City Council.
This email has been scanned for all viruses and all reasonable precautions
have been taken to ensure that no viruses are present. Bristol City
Council cannot accept responsibility for any loss or damage arising from
the use of this email or attachments.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Council services: http://www.bristol.gov.uk/service
Latest council news: http://www.bristol.gov.uk/ournews
Consultations: http://www.bristol.gov.uk/consult
Privacy Notice: https://www.bristol.gov.uk/about-our-web...
Dear Bristol City Council,
Thank you for your swift response and I appreciate the apology and the recognition that there might be a better way to deal with this issue in the future. I look forward to receiving the information I have requested.
Yours sincerely,
Joe Banks
Dear Bristol City Council,
It’s been 20 working days since you acknowledged my Freedom of Information request. This is the length of time within which I should receive the information I’ve requested as stipulated in Section 10 of the Freedom of Information Act. Please can you tell me why I haven’t received it yet.
Yours sincerely,
Joe Banks
Dear Joe Banks
Freedom of Information Act 2000
Thank you for your request for information that was received on 25 March
2022.
We are dealing with your request and we aim to send a response within 20
working days from the date we received your request.
For further information regarding FOI requests, please visit
[1]https://ico.org.uk/your-data-matters/off...
If you have any further queries about your request please contact
[2][email address].
Yours sincerely
Customer Relations Team
NOTE: Please do not edit the subject line when replying to this email.
Bristol City Council
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 Bristol City Council.
This email has been scanned for all viruses and all reasonable precautions
have been taken to ensure that no viruses are present. Bristol City
Council cannot accept responsibility for any loss or damage arising from
the use of this email or attachments.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Council services: http://www.bristol.gov.uk/service
Latest council news: http://www.bristol.gov.uk/ournews
Consultations: http://www.bristol.gov.uk/consult
Privacy Notice: https://www.bristol.gov.uk/about-our-web...
References
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2. mailto:[email address]
Dear Joe Banks
Freedom of Information Act 2000
In order to look into this request, we need you to provide clarification.
As currently written, your request is incredibly broad. It would therefore
very likely exceed the limit set out in the Freedom of Information and
Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulation 2004 SI 2004 No
3244.
Please clarify specifically what correspondence you are asking for to
narrow the scope of your request, focusing on the information that is most
important to you.
Please note that our clock is stopped on replying to your request until we
receive further clarification, and we cannot guarantee that any relevant
exemptions under Freedom of Information Act (2000) will not apply to a
revised request.
Please contact me if you have any queries or concerns.
Yours faithfully
Bristol City Council
NOTE: Please do not edit the subject line when replying to this email.
Bristol City Council
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 Bristol City Council.
This email has been scanned for all viruses and all reasonable precautions
have been taken to ensure that no viruses are present. Bristol City
Council cannot accept responsibility for any loss or damage arising from
the use of this email or attachments.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Council services: http://www.bristol.gov.uk/service
Latest council news: http://www.bristol.gov.uk/ournews
Consultations: http://www.bristol.gov.uk/consult
Privacy Notice: https://www.bristol.gov.uk/about-our-web...
Dear Bristol City Council,
My aim here is very clear. I would like to see any emails sent internally within the council or between the council and external parties, within the last four years, that make reference to the community group ‘Friends of Castle Park’. I do not believe that your estimate that there are over 8000 such emails - taking a council employee four weeks of nonstop labour to process - is anywhere near the truth. And just as I should not have to provide ID for a FOI request, neither should I have to provide you with the reason for my request. The information I seek lies in the contents of these communications that refer to ‘Friends of Castle Park’. That is sufficient. But at every stage of this it appears that you have attempted to frustrate my legally mandated right to the information you hold.
I’m willing to narrow the scope of mailboxes and time span if that will get this over the line. So my request is:
All emails to or from the Mayor’s Office, the Senior Management team and all Planning Officers, between January 1st 2020 and the current time, that make reference to the community group ‘Friends of Castle Park’.
Yours faithfully,
Joe Banks
Dear Bristol City Council,
Please can you update me on the current status of my request.
Yours sincerely,
Joe Banks
Dear Bristol City Council,
Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.
I am writing to request an internal review of Bristol City Council's handling of my FOI request 'Emails between council and Friends of Castle Park'.
I have clarified and reduced the scope of the original request as you asked me to (despite being deeply sceptical about the calculations you’ve offered concerning the length of time it would take to carry the original request out). However, you appear to have stopped communicating with me entirely.
A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/e...
Yours faithfully,
Joe Banks
Dear Joe Banks,
Thank you for your e-mail of 12 April.
We are endeavouring to respond to your request and are currently working
to finalise the collated information, aiming to respond by tomorrow's
deadline (26 April).
Yours faithfully,
Bristol City Council
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
Dear Bristol City Council,
Please can you update me on the current status of my request.
Yours sincerely,
Joe Banks
Dear Bristol City Council,
Thank you, I look forward to receiving it.
Yours sincerely,
Joe Banks
Dear Bristol City Council,
Your previous message sent on Monday 25 April stated that you were endeavouring to respond to my request by the deadline of Tuesday 26 April. It is now Friday 29 April and I have heard nothing from you. Can you tell me, once more, what’s going on?
Yours sincerely,
Joe Banks
Dear Joe Banks
Thank you for your request for a review received on the 22nd April 2022. I
am sorry that you are unhappy with our response under the Freedom of
Information Act 2000.
I can confirm that we are considering your concerns and we will aim to
provide you with a response by 20th of May 2022.
Yours faithfully
Data Protection Officer
NOTE: Please do not edit the subject line when replying to this email.
Bristol City Council
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 Bristol City Council.
This email has been scanned for all viruses and all reasonable precautions
have been taken to ensure that no viruses are present. Bristol City
Council cannot accept responsibility for any loss or damage arising from
the use of this email or attachments.
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
Council services: http://www.bristol.gov.uk/service
Latest council news: http://www.bristol.gov.uk/ournews
Consultations: http://www.bristol.gov.uk/consult
Privacy Notice: https://www.bristol.gov.uk/about-our-web...
Dear Bristol City Council,
Last week you told me that you were collating the information I’d requested and it was almost ready to send. My internal review request preceded that communication from you and was given, as I stated, because I wasn’t getting any response from you. If you have the information I’ve requested, please just send it to me, cancel the internal review, and let’s not use up any more of the council’s time unnecessarily.
Yours sincerely,
Joe Banks
Reply to
[Bristol City Council request email]
Our ref 25335353
Joe Banks Date 6 May 2022
???
Dear Joe Banks
Freedom of Information Act 2000
I am pleased to provide some of the information you have requested, as
attached.
Some information is redacted/exempt from disclosure under Section 40(2) of
the Freedom of Information Act (FoIA). The information is personal data as
defined by the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA). As it is information about
someone else I'm unable to give this to you; release of this information
would constitute a breach of Principle 1 of the DPA. Principle 1 states
that personal data shall be processed (used) fairly and lawfully and, in
particular, shall not be used unless at least one of the conditions in
Schedule 2 of the DPA is met; in this case none of those conditions have
been met. This response therefore acts as a refusal notice under section
17 of the FoIA.
Please quote the reference number 25335353 in any future communications.
If you are dissatisfied with the handling of your request, you have the
right to ask for an internal review. Internal review requests should be
submitted within two months of the date of receipt of the response to your
original letter and should be sent to [email address].
If you are still dissatisfied with the Council's response after the
internal review you have a right of appeal to the Information Commissioner
at:
The Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire SK9 5AF.
Telephone: 0303 123 1113
Website: www.ico.gov.uk
I will now close your request as of this date.
Yours faithfully
Best wishes,
Bristol City Council
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
Dear Bristol City Council,
My aim here is very clear. I would like to see any emails sent internally
within the council or between the council and external parties, within the
last four years, that make reference to the community group 'Friends of
Castle Park'. I do not believe that your estimate that there are over 8000
such emails - taking a council employee four weeks of nonstop labour to
process - is anywhere near the truth. And just as I should not have to
provide ID for a FOI request, neither should I have to provide you with
the reason for my request. The information I seek lies in the contents of
these communications that refer to 'Friends of Castle Park'. That is
sufficient. But at every stage of this it appears that you have attempted
to frustrate my legally mandated right to the information you hold.
I'm willing to narrow the scope of mailboxes and time span if that will
get this over the line. So my request is:
All emails to or from the Mayor's Office, the Senior Management team and
all Planning Officers, between January 1st 2020 and the current time, that
make reference to the community group 'Friends of Castle Park'.
Yours faithfully,
Joe Banks
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