Failure to provide Gas Safety Certificates for temporary accommodation.
Dear Dumfries and Galloway Council,
In a response to a previous request you stated that Gas Safety Certificates for temporary accommodation are held by Dumfries and Galloway Council and are not issued to the tenant.
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/s...
Can you explain why this is at odds with the council's document, "Standards of Temporary Accommodation January 2018" where it states that "Physical Standards...We will comply with the relevant housing quality standards including health and safety, hygiene, fire legislation and regulations"? The legislation surrounding gas safety certificates requires that they are provided to tenants at the outset of the tenancy. Failure to comply with this is a criminal offence. Who is responsible for the decision not to issue these certificates to tenants and when was this made? What written material exists relating to this? Please forward copies of the relevant documents.
When someone advised a senior employee in the Homeless Service that they hadn't had a Gas Safety Certificate, the response was that a Gas Safety Certificate had been given to them. The response to the FOI request demonstrates that the council employee was lying. What instructions are issued to council employees when a Gas Safety Certificate is sought by a tenant? Are they told to lie and say they have been given one?
Since the Health and Safety Executive are the body who has jurisdiction for failure to issue Gas Safety Certificates, has the council had any contact with this body to seek an exemption from giving certificates required by law?
Has the Health and Safety Executive been made aware of the fact the council is breaking the law in relation to this?
You state that temporary accommodation is considered to be short term but it is a fact that some people are living in it for up to 12 months, so what is the statutory authority for failing to supply gas safety certificates to tenants?
Yours faithfully,
Richard Page
Dear Dumfries and Galloway Council,
This request was made on 14 March 2019 and the lawful time limit of 20 days you have to provide this information has expired. Please remedy this situation without further delay. I would remind you that compliance with The Freedom of Information Act is mandatory, not discretionary. Please ensure that you have provided the information within 10 working days.
Yours faithfully,
Richard Page
Dear Dumfries and Galloway Council,
Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.
I am writing to request an internal review of Dumfries and Galloway Council's handling of my FOI request 'Failure to provide Gas Safety Certificates for temporary accommodation.'.
This request is now overdue and I am making a formal request for an Internal Review.
A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/f...
Yours faithfully,
Richard Page
Dear Dumfries and Galloway Council,
I made a lawful FOI request to you on 14 March 2019. Then there were numerous reminders, the last of which was a request for Internal Review. This was made on 9 May 2019. Since then, there has been total silence from you which appears to be the norm when you are asked for information you would prefer to keep secret.
In this case you are engaging in criminal offences when you decline to provide Gas Safety certificates to tenants in temporary accommodation. Engaging in unlawful conduct appears to be something you repeat time after time as you fail to comply with the FOI Act as well. It is just an indication of the attitude that prevails in Dumfries and Galloway Council. It is criminal and corrupt.
Time to make a complaint to the ICO as well as the Health and Safety Executive.
Yours faithfully,
Richard Page
Gadawodd Richard Page anodiad ()
I think we can take it that Dumfries and Galloway Council are going to fail to comply with the FOI Act in relation to this request (along with several more requests). This is another example of their Misconduct in Public Office which is a criminal offence. Then failing to provide a Gas Safety Certificate is also a criminal offence. It has been established without doubt that Dumfries and Galloway Council fail to provide Gas Safety Certificates for temporary accommodation it rents to people. It is questionable whether these checks are undertaken for these properties. This would constitute another criminal offence. Then criminal is an appropriate word to describe this council.
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Gadawodd Richard Page anodiad ()
Given the council's proclivity to obstruct FOI requests further action has been taken as the time lmit for this request has expired.