Mill Road COVID19 Emergency Active Travel Funding

The request was partially successful.

Dear Sir/Madan

I note that the council has received funding from Dept for Transport for Emergency Active Travel Funding as part of the COVID-19 response.

The objectives governing this grant are given in a published letter from Grant Shapps
Secretary of State for Transport dated 23 May and set out here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publicatio...

The objectives are "to encourage active travel and to enable social distancing during restart (social distancing in this context primarily refers to the need for people to stay 2 metres apart where possible when outdoors)"

This guidance states that amongst other things :
"Authorities should seek input from stakeholders during the design phase. "

"They should consult with the local chiefs of police and emergency services to ensure access is maintained where needed, for example to roads that are closed to motor traffic."

"Local businesses, including those temporarily closed, should be consulted to ensure proposals meet their needs when they re-open."

"Kerbside access should be enabled wherever possible for deliveries and servicing."

"The public sector equality duty still applies, and in making any changes to their road networks, authorities must consider the needs of disabled people and those with other protected characteristics. "

"Accessibility requirements apply to temporary measures as they do to permanent ones."

A package of measures was prepared by council officers based on the funding received. This list is available online at
https://t.co/AREuxzBLda?amp=1

This package of measures in my opinion forms a project. As such it and each measure within it is subject to consideration for the council's public duty under the Equality Act 2010. There are in my view significant impacts on groups with protected characteristics by closure of Mill Road bridge.

The decision to approve this package was made by Highways and Transport Committee on 16th June 2020.

Authority for implementing the schemes was apparently granted to officers in consultation with the chair : "Delegate to the Executive Director - Place and Economy in discussion with the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Highways and Transport Committee, the agreement of any changes to the programme." The Cambridgeshire County Council scheme of delegation for this committee does not allow for this approach as part of its powers. The stated ability is for officers in consultation with "local council" members.

Please can you provide me with :

1. A copy of your grant offer letter
2. A list of organisations or individuals or businesses consulted during the design phase for the Mill Road scheme and the dates on which they were consulted;
3. A list of organisations or individuals or businesses that responsed prior to the decision and the dates on which they did so;
4. A copy of your consideration of how the Mill Road scheme meets the needs of disabled people and those with other protected characteristics with respect to your public duty under the Equality Act 2010, in particular how the measures might disadvantage groups with protected charateristics such as the disabled, religious beliefs, elderly, pregnant/maternity and BAME.
5. A copy of the design documents for Mill Road, including if possible how the design meets the stated scheme objectives and guidance, in particular disabled access;
6. A copy of approval to officers from the appropriate councillor for implementation of the Mill Road scheme

On 4 July, the social distancing rules for COVID19 were altered from 2m to 1m.

7. Please can you state if there were any reviews of the scheme's experimental implementation on or after this date to reflect this change in guidance.

The funding letter apparently states that high-cost items will not be funded by the scheme: "We expect all these measures to be delivered quickly using temporary materials, such as barriers and planters. Elaborate, costly materials will not be funded at this stage. Anything that does not meaningfully alter the status quo on the road will not be funded."
An ANPR is a high cost item.

8. Please can you confirm the Mill Road scheme budget, the cost of the ANPR and how the ANPR was funded ?

Many thanks. I look forward to your response in due course.

Yours faithfully,

Chris Smith

FOI, Cambridgeshire County Council

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FOI, Cambridgeshire County Council

Dear Chris Smith

Re: Freedom of Information Request – Ref 1378896.

Thank you for your request. We have noted that your request relates to the following service area: Highways.

At the present time, this service is under great pressure due to the impact of coronavirus and is working hard to care for and support our communities. We have logged your request and will assess whether we are able to respond at this time or advise when it is likely that you will receive the information. We may be able to respond in part to your request and provide further information at a later date. We cannot give a timeframe for the completion of this request.

We hope that you will understand the pressure on Council resources at present but if you have any concerns then please contact us.

Please note, we have received further clarification of your request and wish to acknowledge this as requested.

Yours sincerely

Stephen Thompson
Information Management Analyst

Information Governance Team
Cambridgeshire County Council
OCT 1224, Shire Hall, Castle Hill, Cambridge CB3 0AP
T: 01223 699137

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Dear Sir/madam

By law, Cambridgeshire County Council should normally have responded promptly and by 7 August 2020. It is now the 18 August.

Your authority has not responded even in part to my request. Whilst appreciating that there may be resourcing issues, this did not stop the council from apparently acting in a discriminatory and dictatorial fashion in railroading through the closure of Mill Road, an act which is heavily impacting on ordinary people's lives and on businesses during the COVID19 crisis. As such I would suggest that your authority provide the requested information urgently so that there is greater clarity on the conduct of your authority?

As such, please can your authority either indicate when they will respond or please treat this correspondence as a complaint ? I also intend to raise this complaint with Gillian Beardsley, the chief executive.

I also request an internal review of your response or lack thereof.

Many thanks and keep well.

Yours sincerely,

Chris Smith

FOI, Cambridgeshire County Council

Dear Chris

Thank you for your email.

Please accept our apologies for the delay in responding, and for not advising you of this.

I am following up with the relevant service as to a response to your questions. Once I hear from the service I will advise as to when you can expect to receive a response.

Once a response has been issued, I will refer your request for an Internal Review to a senior analyst.

Kind regards

Clare Storey
Information Management Analyst

Information Governance Team
Tel: 01223 699137 (Team)
Box No. OCT1224, Cambridgeshire County Council, Shire Hall, Cambridge, CB3 0AP

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Dear Clare

Please can the council update me on the status of this request as it has now been another two weeks?

If the council are unable to provide a date on which a reply will be received, please can you refer the request for an Internal Review immediately.

Many thanks and keep well.

Yours sincerely,

Chris Smith

FOI, Cambridgeshire County Council

Dear Chris Smith

Thank you for your email. I am writing to confirm we have prioritised your request and aim to have a response for you by close of play tomorrow.

Please accept my sincere apologies for this delay which is not the high level of service we strive to provide. If you have any questions, or if there is anything further I can help with, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Thanks and best wishes
Josephine Bailey
Senior Information Management Analyst

Information Governance Team
Cambridgeshire County Council
Shire Hall, Cambridge, CB3 0AP
T: 01223 699137 / 01223 703831
E: [email address]

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FOI, Cambridgeshire County Council

5 Attachments

Dear Chris Smith

 

Freedom of Information Act request response – Ref 1378896

 

Cambridgeshire County Council has now considered your request under the
Freedom of Information Act.  We can confirm that we do hold the
information requested by you. Please find our response as set out below. 

please accept my sincere apologies for this overdue response.

 

Request

 

Please can you provide me with :

 

1. A copy of your grant offer letter

2. A list of organisations or individuals or businesses consulted during
the design phase for the Mill Road scheme and the dates on which they were
consulted; 3. A list of organisations or individuals or businesses that
responsed prior to the decision and the dates on which they did so; 4. A
copy of your consideration of how the Mill Road scheme meets the needs of
disabled people and those with other protected characteristics with
respect to your public duty under the Equality Act 2010, in particular how
the measures might disadvantage groups with protected charateristics such
as the disabled, religious beliefs, elderly, pregnant/maternity and BAME.

5. A copy of the design documents for Mill Road, including if possible how
the design meets the stated scheme objectives and guidance, in particular
disabled access; 6. A copy of approval to officers from the appropriate
councillor for implementation of the Mill Road scheme

 

On 4 July, the social distancing rules for COVID19 were altered from 2m to
1m.

 

7. Please can you state if there were any reviews of the scheme's
experimental implementation on or after this date to reflect this change
in guidance.

 

The funding letter apparently states that high-cost items will not be
funded by the scheme: "We expect all these measures to be delivered
quickly using temporary materials, such as barriers and planters.
Elaborate, costly materials will not be funded at this stage. Anything
that does not meaningfully alter the status quo on the road will not be
funded."

An ANPR is a high cost item.

 

8. Please can you confirm the Mill Road scheme budget, the cost of the
ANPR and how the ANPR was funded ?

 

Our response

 

1.            A copy of your grant offer letter

 

Please find a copy of the grant offer letter attached.

Please note personal information has been redacted under section 40(2) of
the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Please find the full exemption below.

 

2.            A list of organisations or individuals or businesses
consulted during the design phase for the Mill Road scheme and the dates
on which they were consulted

 

Due to nature of the Experimental Traffic Regulation Order (ETRO) itself,
there is no formal consultation before making the Order.  However, key
organisations were notified:

County & City Councillors, Cambridgeshire Police, Network Rail, Bus
companies, Traffic Commissioner’s Office, Freight Transport Association,
Road Haulage Association, Cambridgeshire Fire Service and Ambulance
Service.

More information on the ETRO, including the order, notice and Statement of
Reason can be found online, on the below link:

[1]https://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/reside...

 

3.            A list of organisations or individuals or businesses that
responded prior to the decision and the dates on which they did so

 

Cambridgeshire County Council processes personal data in compliance with
Data Protection legislation. We will use respondent’s personal data for
the purpose of analysing the results of this consultation and to contact
them in relation to the information given if required. Consultation
responses will be used solely for the purposes of analysis by the County
Council, or agents on our behalf or to contact respondents in relation to
the information given. The results of this analysis will be reported
publicly on our website, individual responses will remain confidential and
will not be made public. Once the consultation has been concluded, this
data will be confidentially destroyed. Full details about how we use this
data and the rights you have around this can be found at
[2]www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/privacy.

All representations will be considered in full following the minimum
6-month representation period.

As a result this information is exempt under section 40(2) of the Freedom
of Information Act 2000 as it constitutes personally identifiable
information. Please find the full exemption below.

 

4.            A copy of your consideration of how the Mill Road scheme
meets the needs of disabled people and those with other protected
characteristics with respect to your public duty under the Equality Act
2010, in particular how the measures might disadvantage groups with
protected characteristics such as the disabled, religious beliefs,
elderly, pregnant/maternity and BAME.

 

An initial equality impact assessment has been completed for all
proposals. Please see attached the Appendix 1 with reference to these
considerations.

In addition, as part of the design we added temporary access ramps from
the footways to carriageway level in the buildouts to try to provide means
for a disabled user to use the extra space provided.

Please note personal information has been redacted under section 40(2) of
the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Please find the full exemption below.

 

5.            A copy of the design documents for Mill Road, including if
possible how the design meets the stated scheme objectives and guidance,
in particular disabled access;

 

Please see attached the initial scheme plans Appendix 2, 3 and 4. Please
note these plans do not show the temporary access ramps installed at each
build out.

 

6.            A copy of approval to officers from the appropriate
councillor for implementation of the Mill Road scheme

 

Proposals were approved by members at the 16th June 2020 Highways &
Transport Committee, the report can be viewed below:

Highways and Transport Committee:
[3]https://cambridgeshire.cmis.uk.com/CCC_l...

 

7.            Please can you state if there were any reviews of the
scheme's experimental implementation on or after this date to reflect this
change in guidance.

 

The scheme is subject to regular review including formal review related to
the ETRO, but no changes have been made related to the change in
distancing guidance.

 

8.            Please can you confirm the Mill Road scheme budget, the cost
of the ANPR and how the ANPR was funded?

 

The decision to move forward quickly with the scheme meant that no budget
costs could be assigned to it and that it was accepted that we would have
to pay actual costs to the contractor.

Currently costs are at £48,033.28 for the design and work on the build
outs, although further modifications have been made, which will increase
this.

The camera costs for ANPR are £24,995.

 

Section 40 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 states:

 

(1)Any information to which a request for information relates is exempt
information if it constitutes personal data of which the applicant is the
data subject.

(2)Any information to which a request for information relates is also
exempt information if—

(a)it constitutes personal data which does not fall within subsection (1),
and

(b)the first, second or third condition below is satisfied.

 

First it is necessary to establish if the information withheld constitutes
personal data.

Personal data and information relating to an identifiable living
individual is defined in Part 1, Section 3 of the Data Protection Act 2018
as:

 

(2)“Personal data” means any information relating to an identified or
identifiable living individual (subject to subsection (14)(c)).

(3)“Identifiable living individual” means a living individual who can be
identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to—

(a)an identifier such as a name, an identification number, location data
or an online identifier, or

(b)one or more factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic,
mental, economic, cultural or social identity of the individual.

 

Having decided the data withheld constitutes information which could
identify an individual, we need to consider whether disclosure of this
information would contravene any of the data protection principles.

The principles relating to processing of personal data at Chapter 2, 
Article 5, 1(a) of the General Data Protection Regulations state:

“Personal data shall be: (a) processed lawfully, fairly and in a
transparent manner in relation to the data subject (‘lawfulness, fairness
and transparency’).”

The data subjects have not consented to this information being disclosed
and therefore any disclosure would not be transparent. This information is
not already in the public domain and the data subjects would have a
reasonable expectation that this information would not be disclosed to the
wider public and therefore any disclosure would not be fair. As the
processing of personal information must be lawful, fair and transparent,
this disclosure would contravene the data protection principle. This is an
absolute exemption and there is no requirement to consider the public
interest.

 

Complaints

I hope this information is helpful but if you are unhappy with the service
you have received in relation to your request and wish to make a complaint
or request a review, you should write to Information Management, at either
[Cambridgeshire County Council request email] or by post at Box No. OCT1224, Shire Hall,
Cambridge CB3 0AP within 40 days of the date of this e-mail.

 

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, or via their website: https://ico.org.uk/.

 

Generally, the ICO will not undertake a review or make a decision on a
request until the internal review process has been completed.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Josephine Bailey

Senior Information Management Analyst

 

Information Governance Team

Cambridgeshire County Council

Shire Hall, Cambridge, CB3 0AP

T: 01223 699137 / 01223 703831

E: [email address]

 

 

 

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