Meridian Water Press Releases

The request was refused by Enfield Council.

Dear Enfield Council,

I would be grateful if you would provide the following:

1. Unedited copies of all press releases issued by the council to the media and journalists about the Meridian Water regeneration since January 1st 2019

2. Unedited copies of all press releases issued on the council's behalf (e.g. by external consultants, pr companies etc.) to the media and journalists about the Meridian Water regeneration since January 1st 2019

Yours faithfully,

Peter Tomlin

complaintsandinformation, Enfield Council

1 Attachment

Classification: OFFICIAL

Dear Mr Tomlin

 

Thank you for making a request for information to the London Borough of
Enfield.

                                

We are aiming to respond to your request within 20 working days and will
let you know if we hold the information you requested and whether or not
we can release it under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

 

We are now making an initial assessment of your request and we will
contact you if any clarification is needed.

 

If you have any queries regarding your request, please contact us at
[1][Enfield Council request email] quoting your reference CRM FOI
8584

 

PLEASE NOTE: As most staff are working from home, please email all
correspondence to us at [2][Enfield Council request email], rather
than posting  it, as there is likely to be delay in responding to
correspondence arriving by post

 

Kind regards

 

Theresa Willard

Complaints and Information Coordinator

Complaints and Information Team

Chief Executive Department

Enfield Council

Silver Street

Enfield

EN1 3XY

 

Email: [3][email address]

 

‘Enfield Council is committed to serving the whole borough fairly,
delivering excellent services and building strong communities.’

 

[4]Signature

 

 

 

show quoted sections

Andrew Golder, Enfield Council

Classification: OFFICIAL

Dear Mr Tomlin

 

Thank you for your email dated 9 October where you requested information
about Meridian Water Press Releases

 

I can confirm that the Council holds this information. The information is
exempt under Section 21 of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), because
the information is accessible to you, as it is already in the public
domain.

 

All Enfield Council press releases relating to Meridian Water and issued
by the Council or communications agencies working on its behalf are hosted
on the Meridian Water website www.meridianwater.org.uk and the news
section of the Enfield Council website www.new.enfield.gov.uk.

 

Additionally, Enfield Council does not hold details of the press releases
relating to Meridian Water which are issued by third parties.

 

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 addressed to:

 

Complaints and Access to Information Team

Email – [Enfield Council request email]

 

Please remember to quote the reference number above in any future
communications.

 

If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have
the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a
decision. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: Information
Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9
5AF

 

Kind Regards

 

Andrew Golder

Press and New  Media Manager

Enfield Council

[mobile number removed]

020 8132 1108

[email address]

 

Classification: OFFICIAL

[1]Campaign

[2]Follow us on Facebook [3]Twitter [4]www.enfield.gov.uk

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Dear Andrew Golder,

There are several reports that have appeared in the Enfield Independent regarding Meridian Water that have clearly been briefed by the council but are not on the meridian water website (.co.uk) or council website. Please provide these press releases / briefings.

Furthermore, neither of the links you have supplied work.

I look forward to receiving the information from you.

Yours sincerely,

Peter Tomlin

Andrew Golder, Enfield Council

Classification: OFFICIAL
Dear Mr Tomlin,

Local newspapers use a variety of mechanisms to find stories, this can
include council press releases, but journalists also often write articles
based on council meetings or their reports.

Consequently there are a number of ways stories may appear in the local
newspaper, regrettably not all of them are placed by Enfield Council.

I can say with absolute certainly that the Council has not provided
briefings to the local paper to proactively place Meridian Water stories
that have not appeared on our website but we do provide information to
journalists in response to specific questions that have been asked.

With regards the broken weblink, please try [1]www.enfield.gov.uk and
click on the news section.

If you would like to request further information, please articulate
precisely what information you request and we will endeavour to answer it
as an FOI request.

Thanks

Andrew Golder
Press and New Media Manager
Enfield Council
020 8132 1108
[2][email address]

show quoted sections

Dear Andrew Golder,

Thank you for your message.

Here are two examples
https://www.enfieldindependent.co.uk/new...

https://www.enfieldindependent.co.uk/new...

Yours sincerely,

Peter Tomlin

Dear Andrew Golder,

Thank you for providing the corrected links and for your explanation about the mechanics and processes of local journalism.

In response to your request for clarification. Please explain precisely how the journalist got the information from the council for the articles in the two links that I have already provided to you.

In particular, for each article please set out the following:

What information the council provided to the journalist i.e. the exact wording and content (whether it was provided by press release, briefing, statement, meeting, chat, in response to a request or question, or whatever other description you may wish to use for the information provided to the journalist/newspaper).

How this information was passed to the journalist. (via email? verbally? face to face? some other way?)

The dates the information was passed to the journalist.

The name of the person who provided the information passed to the journalist.

The name of the person who authorised the information passed to the journalist.

An explanation as to why the council passed the information to the journalist.

Whether the information was provided in response to a specific question/request from the journalist (if so when was this question asked and by whom), or whether the council provided this information proactively (e.g. in response to previous articles).

Hopefully this now provides you with the clarification and precision that you need.

Yours sincerely,

Peter Tomlin

Dear Andrew Golder,

The response to my request is now very long overdue. By law, under all circumstances, the authority should have responded by now.

Please provide a response to avoid this matter escalating.

Yours sincerely,

Peter Tomlin

Andrew Golder, Enfield Council

Thank you for your email.

 

I am out of the office and do not have access to email.

 

If you wish to report an issue to the council, please ring the call centre
on 020 8379 1000 or try online at [1]www.enfield.gov.uk.

 

If you have a press enquiry please contact Press and New Media Officer,
Andrea De Lucy: (t) 020 8132 0065  (e) [email address]

 

For marketing queries, please contact the Marketing Manager, Shima Tailor:
(t) 020 8379 5028 (e) [email address]

 

If you wish to discuss a general communications issue, please contact the
Head of Communications, David Greely. (t) 020 8379 5122 (e)
[email address]

[2]Campaign

[3]Follow us on Facebook [4]Twitter [5]www.enfield.gov.uk

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Dear Enfield Council / Andrew Golder,

The response to my request is now very long overdue. By law, under all circumstances, the authority should have responded by now.

Please provide a response to avoid this matter escalating.

Yours sincerely,

Peter Tomlin

Dear Enfield Council,

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

I am writing to request an internal review of Enfield Council's handling of my FOI request 'Meridian Water Press Releases'.

I have been asked several times to clarify my request and have done so swiftly, however I have still not received the information requested. It appears that the council is trying to avoid providing the information I have clearly and repeatedly requested even though it is required to provide it by law.

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

Yours faithfully,

Peter Tomlin

complaintsandinformation, Enfield Council

2 Attachments

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    FOI 8584 on Meridian Water Press Releases SEC OFFICIAL.html

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Classification: OFFICIAL

Dear Mr Tomlin

 

Thank you for your email below. I have attached for your attention the
email response that was sent to you the 2 November 2020, I am sorry that
you did not receive it

 

PLEASE NOTE: As most staff are working from home, please email all
correspondence to us at [1][Enfield Council request email], rather
than posting  it, as there is likely to be delay in responding to
correspondence arriving by post

 

Kind regards

 

Theresa Willard

Complaints and Information Coordinator

Complaints and Information Team

Chief Executive Department

Enfield Council

Silver Street

Enfield

EN1 3XY

 

Email: [2][email address]

 

‘Enfield Council is committed to serving the whole borough fairly,
delivering excellent services and building strong communities.’

 

[3]Signature

 

 

 

show quoted sections

Dear complaints and information,

I have already received that response from 2nd November - please refer to the full correspondence with Andrew Golder that is available online. I look forward to receiving a prompt and full response

Yours sincerely,

Peter Tomlin

complaintsandinformation, Enfield Council

Dear Mr Tomlin

 

Thank you for your email, as below.

 

I note your original request, dated 9^th October 2020, was to be provided
with the following information:

 

1. Unedited copies of all press releases issued by the council to the
media and journalists about the Meridian Water regeneration since January
1st 2019

 

2. Unedited copies of all press releases issued on the council's behalf
(e.g. by external consultants, pr companies etc.) to the media and
journalists about the Meridian Water regeneration since January 1st 2019

 

This was processed by our team under reference CRM FOI 8584 and was
answered by the Council on 2^nd November 2020. Further clarification and
the corrected links were provided in a subsequent response sent to you
that same day.

 

However you replied with the following on 7^th November 2020.

Dear Andrew Golder,

Thank you for providing the corrected links and for your explanation about
the mechanics and processes of local journalism.

In response to your request for clarification. Please explain precisely
how the journalist got the information from the council for the articles
in the two links that I have already provided to you.

In particular, for each article please set out the following:

What information the council provided to the journalist i.e. the exact
wording and content (whether it was provided by press release, briefing,
statement, meeting, chat, in response to a request or question, or
whatever other description you may wish to use for the information
provided to the journalist/newspaper).

How this information was passed to the journalist. (via email? verbally?
face to face? some other way?)

The dates the information was passed to the journalist.

The name of the person who provided the information passed to the
journalist.

The name of the person who authorised the information passed to the
journalist.

An explanation as to why the council passed the information to the
journalist.

Whether the information was provided in response to a specific
question/request from the journalist (if so when was this question asked
and by whom), or whether the council provided this information proactively
(e.g. in response to previous articles).

Hopefully this now provides you with the clarification and precision that
you need.

The scope of the internal review process is limited to the handling and
substance of the original response provided. Your email of 7^th November
2020 is asking different questions to what was asked in your original
request of 9^th October 2020 and therefore would be treated as a new
request for information under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA),
rather than an internal review . Therefore, please let us know if you
would like us progress this for you as a new request.

Alternatively, if you are dissatisfied with the answers provided to your
original request of 9^th October 2020, please let us know if you would
like to proceed with an internal review for this.

Kind Regards

Nancy Wilson

Corporate Complaints and Information Officer

Chief Executive Department

Enfield Council

Silver Street

Enfield

EN1 3XY

 Email: [1][email address]

Website: [2]www.enfield.gov.uk

 

Protect the Environment – Think Before You Print.

 

"Enfield Council is committed to serving the whole borough, fairly,
delivering excellent services and building strong communities."

 

show quoted sections

Dear complaints and information,

I note your response and it appears I have no option but to raise this as a new request - which I now formally request.

I also wish to raise a formal complaint about Andrew Golder in regard to the way he dealt with the original request and how he has strung this out and avoided providing the information he knows I want and that he promised to provide. You are reminded of your lawful duties in regard to FOI requests.

Yours sincerely,

Peter Tomlin

complaintsandinformation, Enfield Council

Dear Mr Tomlin

 

Thank you for your email below. I can confirm that the points in your
email of 7^th November 2020 have been logged as a new request under
reference CRM FOI 9069.  We will let you know if we hold the information
you requested and if we can release it under the Freedom of Information
Act 2000.

 

We are now making an initial assessment of your request and we will
contact you if any clarification is needed.

 

With regard to your complaint about Andrew Golder, I am dealing with that
under our internal review process as you have raised concerns about his
handling of your request and the information provided under the Freedom of
Information Act (FOIA)

 

We aim to complete both responses by 22^nd January 2021 and will let you
know if more time is needed beyond this date to consider this fully.

 

Do let me know if you have any further queries in the interim.

 

Kind Regards

 

Nancy Wilson

Corporate Complaints and Information Officer

Chief Executive Department

Enfield Council

Silver Street

Enfield

EN1 3XY

 Email: [1][email address]

Website: [2]www.enfield.gov.uk

 

 

Protect the Environment – Think Before You Print.

 

"Enfield Council is committed to serving the whole borough, fairly,
delivering excellent services and building strong communities."

 

 

show quoted sections

Andrew Golder, Enfield Council

2 Attachments

Classification: OFFICIAL

Dear Mr Tomlin,

 

Thank you for your Freedom of Information request dated 22 December 2020,
where you requested information about Meridian Water press releases issued
by Enfield Council. Please find the response to your request below.

 

Response

 

Dear Andrew Golder,

 

Thank you for providing the corrected links and for your explanation about
the mechanics and processes of local journalism.

 

In response to your request for clarification. Please explain precisely
how the journalist got the information from the council for the articles
in the two links that I have already provided to you.

 

In particular, for each article please set out the following:

 

Article One:

 

https://www.enfieldindependent.co.uk/new...

 

What information the council provided to the journalist i.e. the exact
wording and content (whether it was provided by press release, briefing,
statement, meeting, chat, in response to a request or question, or
whatever other description you may wish to use for the information
provided to the journalist/newspaper).

 

Statement provided

 

“An Enfield Council spokesperson said: “The overall Meridian Water project
will provide a minimum of 40% affordable housing and the aspiration is,
with increased levels of affordable housing grant, to achieve 50%
affordable housing.

 

“Phase One Meridian Water will be 50% affordable housing compared to 25%
achieved on this site by the previous administration. Phase One comprises
25% affordable housing rented homes to be owned by the Council and 25%
shared ownership housing.

 

“Phase Two Meridian Water planning application achieves 40% affordable
housing, including up to 33% of the units being either London Affordable
Rent or London Living Rent. Included in Phase Two is Meridian 2 which
achieves 100% affordable housing (50% of which is London Affordable Rent
levels). 

 

“At present, for homes that are under agreement with developers, 30% of
the homes available on Phases One and Phase Two are affordable housing
available at London Affordable Rent levels.”

 

How this information was passed to the journalist. (via email? verbally?
face to face? some other way?)

 

By email

 

The dates the information was passed to the journalist.

 

13 October 2020

 

The name of the person who provided the information passed to the
journalist.

 

The authority confirms that it holds this information. Such information
requested is personal information and exempt under section 40(2) of the
Freedom of Information Act 2000 as we have no legal basis for disclosure
under section 3A. Whilst we are not required to consider the public
interest in this case, we have applied the public interest test and in our
view it fails the third part -  the legitimate interest of the requester
which is based on their private concerns and we do not believe this
interest outweighs the rights and freedoms of our employees.

 

The name of the person who authorised the information passed to the
journalist.

 

The authority confirms that it holds this information. Such information
requested is personal information and exempt under section 40(2) of the
Freedom of Information Act 2000 as we have no legal basis for disclosure
under section 3A. Whilst we are not required to consider the public
interest in this case, we have applied the public interest test and in our
view it fails the third part -  the legitimate interest of the requester
which is based on their private concerns and we do not believe this
interest outweighs the rights and freedoms of our employees.

 

An explanation as to why the council passed the information to the
journalist.

 

The information was provided in direct response to a press enquiry from
the Enfield Independent.

 

Whether the information was provided in response to a specific
question/request from the journalist (if so when was this question asked
and by whom), or whether the council provided this information proactively
(e.g. in response to previous articles).

 

This information was provided in response to a question asked by  the
Enfield Independent on 8 October 2020.

 

The authority confirms that it holds the name of the person who asked the
question. Such information requested is personal information and exempt
under section 40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 as we have no
legal basis for disclosure under section 3A.

 

Whilst we are not required to consider the public interest in this case,
we have applied the public interest test and in our view it fails the
third part -  the legitimate interest of the requester which is based on
their private concerns and we do not believe this interest outweighs the
rights and freedoms of the person concerned.

 

Article 2:

 

https://www.enfieldindependent.co.uk/new...

 

What information the council provided to the journalist i.e. the exact
wording and content (whether it was provided by press release, briefing,
statement, meeting, chat, in response to a request or question, or
whatever other description you may wish to use for the information
provided to the journalist/newspaper).

 

The following information was provided by email

 

Dear xxxx,

 

Here is your response, please also see a letter from the leader of the
Council relating to this matter.

 

An Enfield Council spokesperson said: “There are a number of significant
factual inaccuracies in the Scrutiny Report.

 

“Meridian Water is a once in a generation opportunity to transform
Edmonton and provide thousands of high quality, genuinely affordable
homes, as well as good jobs. The main beneficiaries of Meridian Water will
be local people.

 

“Regrettably, as the record shows, opposition councillors have repeatedly
failed to support projects initiated by Enfield Council that would see
investment in the Edmonton area.

 

“Meridian Water will contain a wide range of different types of property,
including a significant amounts of social housing, family sized properties
and accommodation that is affordable and attractive to local people.

 

“Council reports make it explicitly clear that the priority for homes to
be sold to local residents. And the risk of overseas sales has been
dramatically reduced since the currently administration decided to move to
a master developer approach.

 

“As is the case with all scrutiny committee reports, this report will be
considered by cabinet in October. The Leader of the Council and the
Director of Meridian Water has also addressed the report in a formal
letter (see attached).”

 

Note to Editors:

 

Will Meridian Water be affordable to people in Edmonton?

London Affordable Rent levels are below the housing benefit caps for all
unit sizes therefore will be affordable to those eligible for social
housing. This means that local people will be able to afford properties on
the new development.

 

Both London Affordable Rented homes and London Living Rented homes will be
affordable for those on low incomes. There will be over 3,000 of these
homes at Meridian Water.

 

Will there be family homes?

Yes, Meridian Water will contain roughly 30% one bedroom homes leaving 70%
of the units being larger. Furthermore one bedroom homes are generally
occupied by two people. Community cohesion and addressing loneliness is a
top priority; residential blocks can achieve these aims by including
shared amenity facilities. For example, the Build to Rent and co-living
blocks delivered in the early stages of Meridian Water will all include
shared amenities.   

 

Are we marketing homes to private investors?

None of the individual market sale homes will be targeted at investors.

 

Can any more be done to stop private investors from buying up properties
on the development?

In addition there will be a limit of two purchases per person will reduce
the amount of buy to let landlords purchasing at Meridian Water not
increase it, this will increase the amount of homes available for local
owner occupier residents. This limit was introduced by the current
administration – there was no such limit previously.

 

Sales of individual properties to overseas investors is not acceptable at
Meridian Water and was one of the main reasons why the current
administration decided not to appoint a single developer for the whole of
Meridian Water. 

 

The letter that was sent as part of this response is attached to this
email.

 

How this information was passed to the journalist. (via email? Verbally?
Face to face? Some other way?)

 

By email

 

The dates the information was passed to the journalist.

 

25 September 2020

 

The name of the person who provided the information passed to the
journalist.

 

The authority confirms that it holds this information. Such information
requested is personal information and exempt under section 40(2) of the
Freedom of Information Act 2000 as we have no legal basis for disclosure
under section 3A. Whilst we are not required to consider the public
interest in this case, we have applied the public interest test and in our
view it fails the third part -  the legitimate interest of the requester
which is based on their private concerns and we do not believe this
interest outweighs the rights and freedoms of our employees.

 

The name of the person who authorised the information passed to the
journalist.

 

The authority confirms that it holds this information. Such information
requested is personal information and exempt under section 40(2) of the
Freedom of Information Act 2000 as we have no legal basis for disclosure
under section 3A. Whilst we are not required to consider the public
interest in this case, we have applied the public interest test and in our
view it fails the third part -  the legitimate interest of the requester
which is based on their private concerns and we do not believe this
interest outweighs the rights and freedoms of our employees.

 

An explanation as to why the council passed the information to the
journalist.

 

This information was provided in response to a press enquiry from the
Enfield Independent on 25 September.

 

Whether the information was provided in response to a specific
question/request from the journalist (if so when was this question asked
and by whom), or whether the council provided this information proactively
(e.g. in response to previous articles).

 

The authority confirms that it holds the information relating to the
person who made the request. Such information requested is personal
information and exempt under section 40(2) of the Freedom of Information
Act 2000 as we have no legal basis for disclosure under section 3A. Whilst
we are not required to consider the public interest in this case, we have
applied the public interest test and in our view it fails the third part
-  the legitimate interest of the requester which is based on their
private concerns and we do not believe this interest outweighs the rights
and freedoms of the person who requested the information.

 

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 addressed to:  Complaints and Access to
Information Team, Email – [Enfield Council request email]

 

Please remember to quote the reference number above in any future
communications.

 

If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have
the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a
decision. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: Information
Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9
5AF

 

Andrew Golder

Press and New  Media Manager

Enfield Council

[1][email address]

 

 

Classification: OFFICIAL

[2]Campaign

[3]Follow us on Facebook [4]Twitter [5]www.enfield.gov.uk

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Disclaimer

The information contained in this communication from the sender is
confidential. It is intended solely for use by the recipient and others
authorized to receive it. If you are not the recipient, you are hereby
notified that any disclosure, copying, distribution or taking action in
relation of the contents of this information is strictly prohibited and
may be unlawful.

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automatically archived by Mimecast Ltd, an innovator in Software as a
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your human generated data. Specializing in; Security, archiving and
compliance. To find out more [6]Click Here.

References

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1. mailto:[email address]
2. https://enfield-council.msgfocus.com/k/E...
3. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Enfield-C...
4. https://twitter.com/EnfieldCouncil
5. http://www.enfield.gov.uk/
6. http://www.mimecast.com/products/

complaintsandinformation, Enfield Council

4 Attachments

Classification: OFFICIAL

Dear Mr Tomlin

 

Freedom of Information Request reference CRM FOI 8584

 

I am writing in response to your request for a review of the Council’s
response to the above Freedom of Information request (FOIR). The scope of
the internal review is limited to the handling and the substance of the
response. The review is now complete and I can advise the following.

 

Internal Review Background

 

I have reviewed and considered the following information:

 

o Your Freedom of Information Request dated 9^th October 2020
o The response that was sent to you on 2^nd November 2020
o Your email of 2^nd November 2020
o The Council’s subsequent reply on 2^nd November 2020
o Your emails dated 3^rd and 7^th November 2020 and 8^th, 12^th and
15^th December 2020
o My email of 20^th December 2020 and your reply on 21^st December 2020
o Your email of 21st December 2020, which was treated as both a new
Freedom of Information request and request for an internal review.  

 

Initial Summary

 

I understand from your email of 21^st December 2020 that you would like to
raise a complaint about Andrew Golder, Press and New Media Manager,
regarding the way he dealt with your original request of 9^th October
2020. You state that he has avoided providing the information that you
have requested, The scope of this internal review will therefore consider
the responses provided in relation to your original request.

 

Findings

 

Your request of 9^th October 2020, asked to be provided with the following
information.

1. Unedited copies of all press releases issued by the council to the
media and journalists about the Meridian Water regeneration since January
1st 2019

2. Unedited copies of all press releases issued on the council's behalf
(e.g. by external consultants, pr companies etc.) to the media and
journalists about the Meridian Water regeneration since January 1st 2019

The Council’s response to this request exempted this information under
Section 21 of the Freedom of Information Act as the information is already
in the public domain. The response clarified that all Enfield Council
press releases relating to Meridian Water, issued by the Council or
communications agencies working on its behalf, are hosted on the Meridian
Water and Enfield Council Websites. The relevant links were provided.

 

Following this response, you commented that reports have appeared in the
Enfield Independent Newspaper regarding Meridian Water that have clearly
been briefed by the Council but are not on either webpage. You requested
to be provided with these briefings. The Council provided a follow up
response to this point on 2^nd November 2020, which clarified that the
Council has not provided briefings to this local paper to place Meridian
Water stories that have not appeared on the Council’s website. It was,
however, clarified that the Council does provide information to
journalists in response to specific questions asked. This response also
provided a further link, following your comments that the initial ones
provided were broken.

 

On 3^rd November 2020 you provided two examples of what you were referring
to and on 7^th November 2020 you asked a series of questions regarding how
journalists got the information from the Council for the articles in the
two links you provided. As my email of 20^th December 2020 clarified, the
questions asked if your correspondence of 7^th November 2020 are asking
different questions to what was asked in your original request of 9^th
October 2020. We therefore treated this as a new request for information
under reference CRM FOI 9069 and the attached response was provided to
these questions.

 

With regard to your original request and the subject of this internal
review, I find that the Council responded appropriately and that the
Section 21 exemption was correctly applied in this instance, as all press
releases that you refer to are in fact published. These are the only press
releases issued by the Council and on the Council’s behalf to the media
and journalists about the Meridian Water Regeneration. On this basis, I
therefore find that the complaint you have raised regarding Andrew Golder
avoiding disclosure of information, is unfounded.

 

Conclusion

 

My response above concludes your requested review and the Council process
in respect of your FOI request has now been completed. If you remain
dissatisfied, you have a right to appeal to the Information Commissioner’s
Office. They can be contacted at:

 

Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow,
Cheshire, SK9 5AF

 

Yours Sincerely

 

PLEASE NOTE: As most staff are working from home, please email all
correspondence to us at [1][Enfield Council request email], rather
than posting  it, as there is likely to be delay in responding to
correspondence arriving by post

 

Nancy Wilson

Corporate Complaints and Information Officer

Chief Executive Department

Enfield Council

Silver Street

Enfield

EN1 3XY

 Email: [2][email address]

Website: [3]www.enfield.gov.uk

 

Protect the Environment – Think Before You Print.

 

"Enfield Council is committed to serving the whole borough, fairly,
delivering excellent services and building strong communities."

 

 

Classification: OFFICIAL

[4]Campaign

[5]Follow us on Facebook [6]Twitter [7]www.enfield.gov.uk

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Andrew Golder, Enfield Council

Classification: OFFICIAL

Dear Mr Tomlin,

 

Thank you for your email dated 16 January where you requested information
about Meridian Water Statements and Responses

 

I can confirm that the Council holds the information requested regarding
press releases issued on Meridian Water. The information is exempt under
Section 21 of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), because the
information is accessible to you, as it is already in the public domain.

 

All Enfield Council press releases relating to Meridian Water, and issued
by the Council or communications agencies working on its behalf, are
hosted on the Meridian Water website [1]www.meridianwater.org.uk and the
news section of the Enfield Council website
[2]https://new.enfield.gov.uk/news-and-even....

 

With regard to the remainder of your application to be provided with
unedited copies of press statements and the full information the Council
has provided to journalists, we have withheld this information under
Section 12 of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Section 12 of the Act
makes provision for public authorities to refuse requests for information
where the cost of dealing with them would exceed the appropriate limit,
which for local government is set at £450. This represents the estimated
cost of one person spending 2.5 working days in determining whether the
department holds the information, locating, retrieving and extracting the
information.

 

Please note that in order to provide you with this information, three
separate Council officers would have to manually check their individual
email inboxes to locate and determine the relevant correspondence in
reference to your request. We estimate that this officer time will take in
excess of 18 hours (2.5 working days) to determine appropriate material
and locate, retrieve and extract the information you have asked for, and
we are therefore unable to fulfil this element of your request.  

 

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 addressed to:

 

Complaints and Access to Information Team

Email – [3][Enfield Council request email]

 

Please remember to quote the reference number above in any future
communications.

 

If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have
the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a
decision. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: Information
Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9
5AF

 

Kind Regards

 

Andrew Golder

Press and New  Media Manager

Enfield Council

 

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Andrew Golder, Enfield Council

1 Attachment

Classification: OFFICIAL

Dear Mr Tomlin

 

Thank you for your Freedom of Information request dated 12th February
2021, where you requested information about press responses concerning the
Meridian Water Programme.  Please find the response to your request below.

 

Response

 

I can confirm that the Council holds the information requested, however we
are withholding this information under Section 12 of the Freedom of
Information Act (FOIA). Section 12 of the Act makes provision for public
authorities to refuse requests for information where the cost of dealing
with them would exceed the appropriate limit, which for local government
is set at £450. This represents the estimated cost of one person spending
2.5 working days in determining whether the department holds the
information, locating, retrieving and extracting the information.

 

In order to provide you with the information you have requested, three
separate officers in the relevant team would have to search through their
individual inboxes to retrieve the relevant emails over a six month
period. We estimate that this officer time will take in excess of 18 hours
(2.5 working days) to determine appropriate material and locate, retrieve
and extract the information you have asked for, and we are therefore
unable to fulfil your request.

 

In order to be of assistance to you within the reasonable time limit, if
there is a particular item that you are looking for, please let us know
and we will search directly for this.

 

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 addressed to:

 

Complaints and Access to Information Team

Email – [1][Enfield Council request email]

 

Please remember to quote the reference number above in any future
communications.

 

If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have
the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a
decision. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: Information
Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9
5AF

 

Kind Regards

 

Andrew Golder

Press and New  Media Manager

Enfield Council

 

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