Local government ombudsman

The request was successful.

Dear Sir or Madam,

I would like to know,

a) how many findings of maladministration the local government ombudsman has made against your council over the last 10 years.

b) how many findings of maladministration your council, either in full or in part, has refused to accept.

c) how many findings of maladministration your council has accepted but refused to comply, either in full or in part, with the local government ombudsman's recommended remedy.

Yours faithfully,

A Johnson (Mrs)

Neil Masson,

Dear Mrs Johnson

Thank you for your request. Please note that this request did not
reach me but I have now been alerted to this website. I will be the
officer handling your request and may be contacted by telephone on
01665 511215 should you have any questions or concerns about your
request.

A final decision on your request would normally be sent to you
within 4 weeks. A week is defined in the Act to mean 5 consecutive
weekdays, excluding Saturdays and public holidays (Sundays are also
excluded, as they are not weekdays).

There are some limited situations under the FOI Act which could
mean that the period for a final decision may be longer than the
normal four weeks. If this occurs in the case of your request, I
will promptly advise you by E-mail.

Should our final decision not reach you on time, please feel free
to call me to discuss any problems that may have arisen. If you
have not heard from us once the allotted time has expired, you are
automatically entitled to make a complaint to the Council. This
will be dealt with under the Council's Official Complaints
Procedure. The complaint will be dealt with by a more senior member
of staff of the Council.

In the event that you need to make such a complaint, you can do so
by writing to the Chief Executive, Alnwick District Council,
Allerburn House, Alnwick, Northumberland, NE66 1YY or alternatively
by sending an e-mail to [email address]. You should state
that you are complaining because an initial decision was not sent
to you within the time permitted.

Yours sincerely

Neil J Masson Assistant Solicitor

Dear Sir or Madam,

Under the Freedom of Information Act you should have replied to my Freedom of Information request by now. You are breaking the law.

Yours sincerely,

A Johnson

Sent request to Alnwick District Council again, using a new contact address.

Masson, Neil,

Dear Mrs Johnson

Thank you for your request dated 17th October 2008. I will be the
officer handling your request and may be contacted by telephone on 01665
511215 should you have any questions or concerns about your request.

A final decision on your request would normally be sent to you within 4
weeks. A week is defined in the Act to mean 5 consecutive weekdays,
excluding Saturdays and public holidays (Sundays are also excluded, as
they are not weekdays). This means that you can expect a decision letter
to issue from this Department/Body not later than 14th November 2008.

There are some limited situations under the FOI Act which could mean
that the period for a final decision may be longer than the normal four
weeks. If this occurs in the case of your request, I will promptly
advise you by E-mail.

Should our final decision not reach you on time, please feel free to
call me to discuss any problems that may have arisen. If you have not
heard from us once the allotted time has expired, you are automatically
entitled to make a complaint to the Council. This will be dealt with
under the Council's Official Complaints Procedure. The complaint will be
dealt with by a more senior member of staff of the Council.

In the event that you need to make such a complaint, you can do so by
writing to the Chief Executive, Alnwick District Council, Allerburn
House, Alnwick, Northumberland, NE66 1YY or alternatively by sending an
e-mail to [email address]. You should state that you are
complaining because an initial decision was not sent to you within the
time permitted.

Yours sincerely

Neil J Masson
Assistant Solicitor

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Stuart Hardwicke CARRUTHERS left an annotation ()

Hi Anne

Are you going to seek internal review ?

Dear Sir or Madam,

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

I am writing to request an internal review of Alnwick District Council's handling of my FOI request 'Local government ombudsman'.

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

Yours sincerely,

A Johnson

Masson, Neil,

Dear Mrs Johnson,

Further to your freedom of information request the Council does not hold
all of the information that you are seeking. However, we have spoken to
the Local Government Ombudsman who suggests that they will be able to
assist you with your request. The information is reasonably accessible
to you by accessing the Local Government Ombudsman website at this
address www.lgo.org.uk

The Local Government Ombudsman has advised that it will be able to
assist you for the previous years not covered by the website. The
contact details are,

Hilary Pook,
Communications and Records Manager,
Commission for Local Administration,
10th Floor,
Millbank Tower,
Millbank.
London.
SW1P 4QP

By email: [email address]

If you are dissatisfied with this decision you may request the
Information Commissioner to investigate.

The contact details are:
Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Telephone: 01625 545 700
www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk
<http://www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk/>

Yours sincerely

Neil Masson
Assistant Solicitor

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Dear Masson, Neil,

Then please supply the information you do hold. I will be submitting an additional FOI request for a copy of the memorandum of understanding in which the LGO has agreed to act as your record keeper and absolve you of any responsibility.

Yours sincerely,

A Johnson

Masson, Neil,

Dear Mrs Johnson

I write further to your freedom of information request. The Council's
records go back only as far as the year April 2003 - April 2004. In that
year there were two findings of maladministration made against the
Council. Since then there have been none. For records prior to these
years the LGO's office have stated they may be able to assist if you
contact them directly.

With regards to parts B and C of your request, Alnwick district Council
has never refused to accept an LGO finding and has never refused to comply
with an LGO finding.

Regards

Neil Masson
Assistant Solicitor
Alnwick District Council
Tel: 01665 511215
[email address]