solid wall insulation re scheme number NPLE11M26

The request was successful.

Dear Sheffield City Council,

In relation to the contract between Npower Ltd & Sheffield City Council, namely the Carbon Dioxide Saving Agreement 2011-2012 Funding/Scheme number NPLE11M26 Hanover / Lansdowne.

Page 37, Section 1 of Schedule 1 of the aforementioned contract states

"The Social Housing Provider shall provide the Services described in this Schedule 1.

Section 1 Physical Measures

Insulation Measures
LOFT INSULATION - Less than 60mm to 270mm
LOFT INSULATION - From between 60mm and 160mm to 270mm
("Loft Insulation")
CAVITY WALL INSULATION ("Cavity Wall Insulation")
SOLID WALL INSULATION - INTERNAL
SOLID WALL INSULATION - EXTERNAL
("Solid Wall Insulation")
DRAUGHT PROOFING ("Draught proofing")
WINDOW GLAZING ("Window Glazing")
FLAT ROOF INSULATION ("Flat Roof Insulation")
UNDER-FLOOR INSULATION ("Under-floor Insulation")"

I would like to know the following information:-

1) Could you please indicate what type of insulation is being used on the solid wall gable ends of the flats and maisonettes on both the Lansdowne and Hanover estates that you have agreed to in the aforementioned contract.

2) Will the solid wall gable end insulation be installed/applied at the same time as the current insulation/cladding project that's taking place now, or will it be installed/applied at a later date?

3) If the gable end solid wall installation is to be done at a later date, can you advise as to what your estimated start and end dates are?

4)Given this contract and the measures you have agreed with Npower in order for them to part fund the CO2 Saving Measures on these properties what is the projected costs of the entire project and what proportion if any will be passed onto tenants and leaseholders?

5) Has Sheffield City Council obtained any of the relevant grants and funding from central and European governments for this project given it meets CESP requirements?

6) If CESP funding has been obtained what percentage of the project does this cover and has the CESP funding been calculated on a per property basis? If so what percentage and £ value of the cost of each property been paid for by the CESP funding?

7) If CESP funding has not been claimed for this project, can you explain why the organisation failed to take advantage of this free money available for this project.

8) Flat roof insulation is also mentioned as a service you have to provide under the aforementioned agreement. Can you advise as to what type of flat roof insulation is going to being used?

9) when do you plan on installing the flat roof insulation as at present the only thing on the flat roof is concrete covered with tar and textured waterproof roofing felt. This I know for certain as I watched them re roof the properties a few years ago.

Yours faithfully,

Terry True

Sheffield City Council

Dear Terry True

Thank you for your recent email enquiry to Customer Services.

Your request for information has been forwarded to the appropriate officer and you should expect to receive a reply within 20 working days.

For more information you can visit https://www.sheffield.gov.uk/foi

Please do not hesitate to contact us again if you have any further questions or queries.

Yours sincerely,

Customer Services
Sheffield City Council
Floor 2 Howden House,
1 Union Street,
Sheffield
S1 2SH
Telephone: 0114 2734567
Email: [Sheffield City Council request email]
Website: www.sheffield.gov.uk

Sign up to our free email alerts
https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/...

show quoted sections

Dear Sheffield City Council,

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

I am writing to request an internal review of Sheffield City Council's handling of my FOI request 'solid wall insulation re scheme number NPLE11M26'.

Could you please provide the information I have asked for promptly as you were meant to have provided it to me no later than January 18th 2013, its now 4days past the legal requirement.

Please provide the information requested within 7 lunar days to avoid me having to take this matter further for breeching the FOI Act

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

Yours faithfully,

Terry True

cdu, Sheffield City Council

Hello Terry

Thanks for your email. I am writing in regard to this request, and your information request titled:

Freedom of Information request - solid wall insulation re scheme number NPLE11M26

I am therefore sending this email to both your email addresses relating to these requests:

[email address]

[FOI #142508 email]

I am very sorry for the delays in responding to your requests.

Council housing in Sheffield is managed by Sheffield Homes Limited. As Sheffield Homes holds part of the information you require, we have passed details of your requests to them. Sheffield Homes has agreed to log the requests and respond within the 20 day time limit from the date they received the request from us.

Sheffield Homes will contact you to acknowledge receipt of the request. A senior manager at Sheffield Homes will liaise with the relevant staff in the council, and will provide a joint response.

Again please accept my apologies for the delays in providing an answer to your request. Until you receive responses to your requests if you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me.

Many thanks

Mike

Mike McEnery. Senior Development Officer.
Sheffield City Council Communities Portfolio. Business Strategy Service.
Floor 8 Redvers House, Union Street, Sheffield S1 2JQ.
Telephone (0114) 273 5925.

This Email, and any attachments, may contain non-public information and is intended solely for the individual(s) to whom it is addressed. It may contain sensitive or protectively marked material and should be handled accordingly. If this Email has been misdirected, please notify the author immediately. If you are not the intended recipient you must not disclose, distribute, copy, print or rely on any of the information contained in it or attached, and all copies must be deleted immediately. Whilst we take reasonable steps to try to identify any software viruses, any attachments to this Email may nevertheless contain viruses which our anti-virus software has failed to identify. You should therefore carry out your own anti-virus checks before opening any documents. Sheffield City Council will not accept any liability for damage caused by computer viruses emanating from any attachment or other document supplied with this e-mail

Dear cdu,

Thankyou mike for your interim response.

I do however find this very unprofessional. As you are aware Sheffield Homes has 1 share holder, that being Sheffield City Council (ie, Sheffield City Council OWN Sheffield Homes)

Personally I believe this to be a delaying tactic in getting the information to me within the initial time scale.

I expect to have a full & complete response to the questions in my FoI request preferably before the final day of the allotted time scale, and an explanation as to why Sheffield City Council CONTINUE to use these delaying tactics after they have already been warned about this from the Information Commissioner some months ago

Yours sincerely,

Terry True

cdu, Sheffield City Council

Hello Terry

Thanks for your email.

I am sorry for the delays in responding to your request.

At present Sheffield Homes is registered as a separate data provider with the Information Commissioner.

So wherever possible we first try to work with services within the council (eg Housing Policy Team, Housing Independence Services, Right to Buy Team) to provide a response within the organisation, and within the original timescales.

However, in just a few weeks Sheffield Homes will be reintegrated into the council, and we are working with them now to ensure they receive appropriate requests from us as soon as possible, and work with the council's procedures for responding to requests.

Sheffield Homes has agreed to accept the request from us, and liaise with council services where necessary to provide a coordinated joint response to your questions. This is a genuine attempt to better answer your FoI request and not a delaying tactic.

I'm sorry to feel it's unprofessional - hopefully the response will provide the full and complete response you are seeking.

Many thanks

Mike McEnery. Senior Development Officer.
Sheffield City Council Communities Portfolio. Business Strategy Service.
Floor 8 Redvers House, Union Street, Sheffield S1 2JQ.
Telephone (0114) 273 5925.

show quoted sections

Terry True left an annotation ()

for some reason SCC / SH didn't want this response to be done on here and they sent me the reply direct to my email. However, I feel you all need to know what they said so below is their response.

Dear Terry True,

Freedom of Information: solid wall insulation re scheme number
FOI0092 (Terry True) Received: 22.1.13 Please accept my apologies
in the delays you have experienced. We have since reviewed how we
communicate with Sheffield City Council with regards to requests
that may require a joint response, or where requests are received
by the wrong organisation. We will also be working towards
improving communication links not only as part of the merge between
the two services but specifically as a result of the troubles you
have experienced.

Please find below the information relating to your recent Freedom
of Information Request, FOI0092.

1 Could you please indicate what type of insulation is being used
on the solid wall gable ends of the flats and maisonettes on both
the Lansdowne and Hanover estates that you have agreed to in the
aforementioned contract.

We installed expanded polystyrene granules to be blown into the
gable cavities at Hanover (Lansdowne was already insulated).

2 Will the solid wall gable end insulation be installed/applied at
the same time as the current insulation/cladding project that's
taking place now, or will it be installed/applied at a later date?

Any works planned for these maisonettes in terms of insulation will
be carried out as part of the L&H project.

3 If the gable end solid wall installation is to be done at a later
date, can you advise as to what your estimated start and end dates
are?

All works are to be carried out as part of the L&H project before
it completed on site in summer 2013. No further works envisaged.

4 Given this contract and the measures you have agreed with Npower
in order for them to part fund the CO2 Saving Measures on these
properties what is the projected costs of the entire project and
what proportion if any will be passed onto tenants and
leaseholders?

The total cost of this project is estimated at £14m. The total
amount recharged to leaseholders is estimated at £649,387.55.

5 Has Sheffield City Council obtained any of the relevant grants
and funding from central and European governments for this project
given it meets CESP requirements?

SCC and Sheffield Homes did make enquires around whether we could
get ERDF funding for the project but the scheme didn't meet all the
eligibility criteria and the timescales were such from the ERDF
team that it was not possible to access.

6 If CESP funding has been obtained what percentage of the project
does this cover and has the CESP funding been calculated on a per
property basis? If so what percentage and £ value of the cost of
each property been paid for by the CESP funding?

The CESP funding has been based on blocks. A total of 30 blocks are
eligible, but only 18 & the Tower Block will be complete under CESP
rules by cut off date. The expected income is estimated at £1.2m
against the estimated final outturn of £14m, approximately 8%.
However, not all blocks are eligible and not all properties are
eligible. The Council has not recharged to leaseholders the full
costs of the works to keep leaseholder bills reasonable.

7 If CESP funding has not been claimed for this project, can you
explain why the organisation failed to take advantage of this free
money available for this project. CESP funding has been applied for
and the Council/Sheffield Homes is considering any new funding
opportunities for the blocks that are presently not eligible or
where works taking place after CESP cut off date.

8 Flat roof insulation is also mentioned as a service you have to
provide under the aforementioned agreement. Can you advise as to
what type of flat roof insulation is going to being used?

Flat roofing is a measure that we can claim as part of CESP not a
service we have to provide under the agreement. The flat roof has
been replaced as part of the work on the Tower block on the Hanover
estate, for which a claim has been submitted.

Roofs have not been insulated as part of the maisonette scheme, but
insulation was incorporated to the relevant standards at the time
when the re-roofing was done. The tower block had tapered board
insulation laid to current Building Regulations standard.

9 When do you plan on installing the flat roof insulation as at
present the only thing on the flat roof is concrete covered with
tar and textured waterproof roofing felt. This I know for certain
as I watched them re roof the properties a few years ago.

There are no current plans to further insulate the roofs on the
maisonette blocks on Lansdowne & Hanover. The Hanover Tower block
has had its roof replaced as part of the Decent Homes project and
this work is complete.

Roofs have not been insulated as part of the L& H maisonette.
Tapered insulation was applied to the Lansdowne and Hanover
maisonette roofs prior to the felt covering during the 2007/2008
re-roofing programme.

If you are unhappy with the service you have received in relation
to your request and wish to request a review then please let us
know. You can do this by either writing to Customer Care and
Communications, Sheffield Homes, PO Box 483, M33 0DH or by emailing
enquiries@sheffieldhomes.org.uk

If you are not content with the outcome of this review, you may
apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision.
Generally, the Commissioner does not make a decision unless you
have exhausted the review procedure. The Information Commissioner
can be contacted at: The Information Commissioner's Office,
Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF.

Please feel free to contact me if I can be of any further
assistance.

Yours sincerely,

Alex Westran Housing Coordinator - Feedback Customer Care and
Communications Sheffield Homes 0114 293 0000

Dear Sheffield City Council,

With regards to your latest reply relating to my FoI request you
answered questions to which I require clarification. Could you
therefor respond with additional information:

1 Could you please indicate what type of insulation is being used
on the solid wall gable ends of the flats and maisonettes on both
the Lansdowne and Hanover estates that you have agreed to in the
aforementioned contract.

You replied with:-

We installed expanded polystyrene granules to be blown into the
gable cavities at Hanover (Lansdowne was already insulated).

Can you please clarify when this was done (DATE) and which flats
and/ or maisonette gable ends where done and how they were done.

Yours faithfully,

Terry True

Sheffield City Council

Dear Mr True

Thank you for your recent email enquiry to Customer Services.

Your request for information has been forwarded to the appropriate officer and you should expect to receive a reply within 20 working days.

For more information you can visit https://www.sheffield.gov.uk/foi

Please do not hesitate to contact us again if you have any further questions or queries.

Yours sincerely,

Customer Services
Sheffield City Council
Floor 2 Howden House,
1 Union Street,
Sheffield
S1 2SH
Telephone: 0114 2734567
Email: [Sheffield City Council request email]
Website: www.sheffield.gov.uk

Sign up to our free email alerts
https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/...

show quoted sections

Dear Sheffield City Council,

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

I am writing to request an internal review of Sheffield City Council's handling of my FOI request 'solid wall insulation re scheme number NPLE11M26'.

This was due a response no later than 8th March 2013, we have now surpassed that date and I am still awaiting the clarification information on this.

Could you therefore answer the clarification question as a matter of urgency to prevent me having to take this matter to the information commissioner, who I believe has already given you warnings about failing to meet your obligations under the FoI Act

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

Yours faithfully,

Terry True

Westran Alex, Sheffield City Council

 
Dear Mr True,
 
We have conducted an internal review and found that we had prepared a
response but this didn’t get through to you. Please accept my apologies
for this and the long delay you have experienced in receiving this
clarification.
 
You asked us to clarify the following:
 
1 Could you please indicate what type of insulation is being used
on the solid wall gable ends of the flats and maisonettes on both
the Lansdowne and Hanover estates that you have agreed to in the
aforementioned contract.

You replied with:-

We installed expanded polystyrene granules to be blown into the
gable cavities at Hanover (Lansdowne was already insulated).

Can you please clarify when this was done (DATE) and which flats
and/ or maisonette gable ends where done and how they were done.
 
Response

The gable cavities on Lansdowne were already insulated prior to the
cladding project therefore, I would assume that these were done as part of
the 2001/02 cavity wall insulation programme, although the exact dates are
not held on our records. Records of exactly when these were carried out
should be held by CICA as they guaranteed the work
 
As part of this project we have cavity filled all the gables walls on
Hanover using eco-bead except for E5 & E6 which are still outstanding. SIG
is the contractor carrying out the work, which started towards the end of
last year.
On E7 & E8 SIG blow Rockwool into the cavity instead of the specified
eco-bead. CDS have been given guarantees for this.
 
I hope this answers your questions.
 
Regards
 
Alex Westran
Housing Coordinator - Feedback
Howden House
 
Customer Care and Communications
Sheffield Homes
PO Box 483,
M33 0DH
T: 0114 27 35867
F: 0114 27 37736
 
[1]www.sheffieldhomes.org.uk
 
 
Our purpose is to provide excellent homes and housing services to all our
communities.
 
 
This Email, and any attachments, may contain non-public information and is
intended solely for the individual(s) to whom it is addressed. It may
contain sensitive or protectively marked material and should be handled
accordingly. If this Email has been misdirected, please notify the author
immediately. If you are not the intended recipient you must not disclose,
distribute, copy, print or rely on any of the information contained in it
or attached, and all copies must be deleted immediately. Whilst we take
reasonable steps to try to identify any software viruses, any attachments
to this Email may nevertheless contain viruses which our anti-virus
software has failed to identify. You should therefore carry out your own
anti-virus checks before opening any documents. Sheffield City Council
will not accept any liability for damage caused by computer viruses
emanating from any attachment or other document supplied with this e-mail

References

Visible links
1. http://www.sheffieldhomes.org.uk/