Redwood Bank

Response to this request is long overdue. By law, under all circumstances, Warrington Borough Council should have responded by now (details). You can complain by requesting an internal review.

Dear Warrington Borough Council,

Please provide copies of all due diligence documentation held by the Council relating to the deciison to invest in Redwood Bank. I will accept reasonable redaction of confidential data.

The primary purpose of this request is to understand the depth and level of professionalism of due diligence undertaken by the Council prior to committing £30 million of public money to what appears to be quite a speculative investment.

Yours faithfully,

Jim Sullivan

FOI, Warrington Borough Council

Thank you for contacting Warrington Borough Council.
 
Your request for information has now been forwarded to the relevant
department who will respond directly to you.
 
This is an automated email from:
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FOI ACE, Warrington Borough Council

Dear Mr Sullivan,

Freedom of Information Act Request
Thank you for your request relating to due diligence documentation for the
investment into Redwood Bank

Your request has been logged and a response will be with you within the
statutory 20 working days.

In the meantime if you require any further information, please do not
hesitate to contact ace_[Warrington Borough Council request email] quoting the above reference
number.

 

Many thanks

 

The FOI Administrator

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Dear FOI ACE,

The 20 days allowed by the FOIA expires today. I trust that I will receive a response within the deadline.

Yours sincerely,

Jim Sullivan

Dear FOI ACE,

Despite my reminder, this has now gone over the time allowed by the FOIA.

I am extremely annoyed about this, and will write separately to the Chief Executive of the Council.

Please respond without further delay.

Yours sincerely,

Jim Sullivan

FOI ACE, Warrington Borough Council

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Sullivan,

 

RE: Freedom of Information Request :FOI RASC 1871

We apologise in the delay in responding to your request and subsequent
email. Please find attached our response to your Freedom of Information
Request Ref:1871 relating to Redwood Bank. We apologise for the delay

 

 

Many thanks

 

The FOI Administrator

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Dear Warrington Borough Council,

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

I am writing to request an internal review of Warrington Borough Council's handling of my FOI request 'Redwood Bank'.

I explicitly accepted redaction of confidential information in my original request. This offer has not been considered by the Council in its response.

I also note the use of Legal Professional Privilege (LPP) exemption. This protects communications with lawyers from being disclosed without the permission of the client. The client, in this case, is Warrington Borough Council. If the Council chooses to disclose legal advice, it is free to do so. Choosing to use this exemption indicates an unwillngness to engage with a citizen who is trying to assess the professionalism of the Council's decision-making process. I would urge the Council to disclose the advice which it received from lawyers, as well as a redacted version of the business plan.

I would remind the Council that this is an investment of, I believe, £10 million, with a further £20 million to be committed in the future. These are significant sums. The 'bank' itself does not yet exist, except as a website.

A quotation from that website might help to illustrate why I believe there is a valid public interest in full disclosure :

“Headquartered within its “Heartland Region” and on the border of Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire, Redwood (www.redwoodbanking.co.uk) will offer secured SME lending products to owner occupied businesses, as well as to experienced commercial and residential property investors. It will also provide business deposit accounts. The bank will provide a highly personalised, relationship-driven service through a team of Business development managers covering its Heartland Region of Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire and beyond”. Given that the Warrington taxpayer is investing tens of millions of pounds - supposedly to benefit local SMEs - the fact that Warrington is not mentioned, except, possibly, as being within the area described as ‘beyond’ does not bode well.

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

Yours faithfully,

Jim Sullivan

FOI, Warrington Borough Council

Thank you for contacting Warrington Borough Council.
 
Your request for information has now been forwarded to the relevant
department who will respond directly to you.
 
This is an automated email from:
[Warrington Borough Council request email]
 
Please do not reply to this email.
 

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Dear FOI,

This request for internal review has now past the '20 working days' point.

As I am sure you are aware, the ICO requires that requests for internal review are handled promptly, and in any event within 20 working days.

Would you expedite your response, please?

Yours sincerely,

Jim Sullivan

FOI, Warrington Borough Council

Thank you for contacting Warrington Borough Council.
 
Your request for information has now been forwarded to the relevant
department who will respond directly to you.
 
This is an automated email from:
[Warrington Borough Council request email]
 
Please do not reply to this email.
 

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FOI, Warrington Borough Council

Good morning,

Thank you for your enquiry which has been forwarded to [email address] for a response.

Kind Regards,
Natalie
__________________________________________________________________ 

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Contact Warrington
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Post: Contact Warrington, New Town House, Buttermarket Street, WA1 2NH

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Dear FOI,

This request for internal review is significantly overdue.

I will now write to the ICO

Yours sincerely,

Jim Sullivan

FOI, Warrington Borough Council

Thank you for contacting Warrington Borough Council.
 
Your request for information has now been forwarded to the relevant
department who will respond directly to you.
 
This is an automated email from:
[Warrington Borough Council request email]
 
Please do not reply to this email.
 
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References

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