Reference: FOI-492119112
Date of request: 01/03/2023
Title of request: Access Spending and Staff

Dear Jamie Mann,

Thank you for submitting your FOI Request. We confirm receipt of your
request and will be in touch in due course.

If we are unable to provide you with a response within 20 working days, we
will advise you of this. Please refer to the attachment which gives a
summary of your request and explains your right to ask for a review if you
are unhappy with how the Council is dealing with your request.

Yours sincerely

Information Governance

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may be monitored for security and network management reasons. Messages
containing inappropriate content may be intercepted. Angus Council does
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Reference: FOI-492119112
Date of request: 28/02/2023
Title of request: Access Spending and Staff
Information request:

Dear Angus Council,
Please provide the following data in spreadsheet form for each financial
year from 2016/17 to 2022/23*, inclusive.  (*For 2022/23, please specify
whether any figures are projected, or likely to change before 31 March
2023).
Please break down the results for each question by year and provide any
explanatory commentary where you consider this necessary/helpful.
1) How many Full Time Equivalent (FTE) Access Officers, AND/OR officers
delivering outdoor access-related duties (other than Rangers*), regardless
of job title, your authority employed. (*There is a separate question on
Rangers, below.)
When assessing FTE, please only include time spent specifically on access
work, including delivering the authority’s statutory access duties (under
Part I of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003), or on promotion of the
Scottish Outdoor Access Code and responsible behaviour, etc.
For each individual post included in the above assessment, please specify
whether the post is purely access-related or whether it encompasses
multiple roles with access as only one element of a broader remit (e.g.
Woodland Officer, Parks Management, etc). When an officer's role is not
purely access-related, please provide an estimate of the proportion of
time each individual spends on access-related work (e.g. 25%, 50%, etc).
2) How many FTE Rangers you employed. Please give an estimate of
percentage time spent on access and visitor management per financial year
by your Ranger Service as a whole. 'Access and visitor management' work
would include, for example, maintenance, upgrading, monitoring and signage
of the paths network, as well as promoting responsible behaviour and
educating the public about access rights and responsibilities.
3) The overall annual spend on access work for each year (excluding staff
costs), giving separate figures for capital and revenue. (This should
include spend on upgrading, maintaining, monitoring and creating paths;
replacing/installing path furniture, including signage; promotion of
responsible behaviour; development and survey work outsourced to third
parties.
4) Where relevant, please provide an overall figure for the period in
question (1/4/16 - 31/3/23) for any external legal costs (e.g., from court
cases) associated with upholding access rights.
Thanks,

Dear Jamie Mann,

Request for Information
 
Thank you for your request for information dated 28 February 2023
(received by the Council that same date) which has been passed to me for
attention.
 
You have requested the following information:

1) How many Full Time Equivalent (FTE) Access Officers, AND/OR officers
delivering outdoor access-related duties (other than Rangers*), regardless
of job title, your authority employed. (*There is a separate question on
Rangers, below.)
When assessing FTE, please only include time spent specifically on access
work, including delivering the authority’s statutory access duties (under
Part I of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003), or on promotion of the
Scottish Outdoor Access Code and responsible behaviour, etc.
For each individual post included in the above assessment, please specify
whether the post is purely access-related or whether it encompasses
multiple roles with access as only one element of a broader remit (e.g.
Woodland Officer, Parks Management, etc). When an officer's role is not
purely access-related, please provide an estimate of the proportion of
time each individual spends on access-related work (e.g. 25%, 50%, etc).
 
Angus Council have four Parks Officers all F.T.E. covering the whole of
Angus. These officers will spend approximately 5% of their time dealing
with and responding to access issues.
 
2) How many FTE Rangers you employed. Please give an estimate of
percentage time spent on access and visitor management per financial year
by your Ranger Service as a whole. 'Access and visitor management' work
would include, for example, maintenance, upgrading, monitoring and signage
of the paths network, as well as promoting responsible behaviour and
educating the public about access rights and responsibilities.
Angus Council does not hold the information you have requested as Rangers
fall under Angus Alive - which is an organisation that is distinct from
Angus Council.
 
However, I can advise that Angus Alive is subject to freedom of
information in terms of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002. 
 
Unfortunately, I am unable to transfer your request to Angus Alive as this
is not permitted under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002. 
More information on Angus Alive is available at their website:
http://www.angusalive.scot/ and you may want to contact Angus Alive at the
following address: [email address]
 
3) The overall annual spend on access work for each year (excluding staff
costs), giving separate figures for capital and revenue. (This should
include spend on upgrading, maintaining, monitoring and creating paths;
replacing/installing path furniture, including signage; promotion of
responsible behaviour; development and survey work outsourced to third
parties.
This information is not held – s17 of the Act refers. 
 
4) Where relevant, please provide an overall figure for the period in
question (1/4/16 - 31/3/23) for any external legal costs (e.g., from court
cases) associated with upholding access rights.
This information is not held – s17 of the Act refers. 

In compiling responses to information requests we invariably use
information which is routinely published on the [1]Council's website
(opens in a new window) or through its [2]Publication Scheme (opens in a
new window). If you require further information please first check that
the information you want is not routinely published as any such
information is exempt from release in terms of Section 25 of the Freedom
of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 or Regulation 6(1)(b) of the
Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004.

Please note that the information contained in this reply is believed to be
accurate as at today's date (unless otherwise indicated) but no warranty
is given. Further, Angus Council does not accept liability for any loss,
injury or damage which arises from the use of the information contained in
this reply either by you or by any other party. Please refer to the
request summary document sent to you as part of your request
acknowledgement which explains your right to ask for a review if you are
unhappy with the Council's decision on this matter.

If you have any queries, please contact
[email address]

Yours sincerely

Alison Duthie

Paralegal - FOI

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION (SCOTLAND) ACT 2002

ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION (SCOTLAND) REGULATIONS 2004

INSPIRE (SCOTLAND) REGULATIONS 2009

Your Right to Request a Review by the Council

If you are dissatisfied with the way in which Angus Council has dealt with
your request for information under any of the above legislation, you have
a right to ask the council to review its actions and/or decisions
regarding your request. If you wish to do this, you should make your
request to the Service Leader - Legal, Angus Council, Angus House, Sylvie
Way, Orchardbank Business Park, Forfar DD8 1AN or email
[3][email address] within 40 working days.

Your request must:

• be in writing (or recordable format),
• give your name and address for correspondence,
• give details of the information which you originally requested from
the council, and
• give the reasons why you are dissatisfied with the way in which your
application for information has been dealt with.

Your application for review will then be considered by the council's
review panel. The review panel will write to inform you of its decision
not later than 20 working days after receipt of your request for review.
The review panel will also provide you with a statement of its reasons for
arriving at the decision it has made.

Your Right to Appeal to the Scottish Information Commissioner

If you are dissatisfied with a decision of the council's review panel (or
where the review panel has not provided you with a response), you have the
right to apply to the Scottish Information Commissioner for a decision as
to whether your request for information has been dealt with by the council
in accordance with the above statutory instruments.

Your application to the Scottish Information Commissioner must:

• be in a recordable format (letter, e-mail, audio tape etc),
• give your name and address for correspondence,
• give details of the request for information which you originally
requested from the council,
• give details of why you were dissatisfied with the council’s response
to your original request,
• give details of why you were dissatisfied with the decision of the
council's review panel.

In the case of an EIR or FOI request your application to the Scottish
Information Commissioner must be made within 6 months of receipt of the
decision of the council's review panel (or within 6 months of the date
that the review panel should have responded). No such time limit applies
under the 2009 Regulations.

Appeals to the Commissioner can be lodged online through the following
hyperlink:

[4]http://www.itspublicknowledge.info/YourR...
or by contacting:

Scottish Information Commissioner, Kinburn Castle, Doubledykes Road, St
Andrews, Fife, KY16 9BS; Telephone - 01334 464610; Fax - 01334 464611;
Email -[5][email address]

This message is strictly confidential. If you have received this in error,
please inform the sender and remove it from your system. If received in
error you may not copy, print, forward or use it or any attachment in any
way. This message is not capable of creating a legal contract or a binding
representation and does not represent the views of Angus Council. Emails
may be monitored for security and network management reasons. Messages
containing inappropriate content may be intercepted. Angus Council does
not accept any liability for any harm that may be caused to the recipient
system or data on it by this message or any attachment.

References

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1. Council's website
https://www.angus.gov.uk/
2. Publication Scheme
https://www.angus.gov.uk/council_and_dem...
3. [email address]
mailto:[email address]
4. http://www.itspublicknowledge.info/YourR...
5. [email address]
mailto:[email address]