Action taken by Eric Pickles

Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities did not have the information requested.

Dear Department for Communities and Local Government,

Some weeks ago I sent Eric Pickles a large amount of documentary evidence regarding financial irregularities, failure to comply with contamination regulations for a school to be built on a toxic waste site and failure to comply with compulsory purchase regulations as laid down by law - all by Stockport Council.

Please may I see any emails, minutes, letters, memos, handwritten notes of telephone conversations or meetings or any other written information regarding any action that has been taken by Mr Pickles or his staff regarding the information I sent him? We have been promised tough action on misuse of public funds, so I assume some action will have been taken already.

Yours faithfully,

Sheila Oliver

Dear Department for Communities and Local Government,

I should have received a reply by now. The Audit Commission has been abolished by Eric Pickles and an army of armchair auditors are supposed to take their place. I am just such an armchair auditor; I sent the details to the Secretary of State and it must have been one of the first cases brought to his attention,so I would assume he will do something in this case involving millions of pounds wastage of council taxpayers' money on something that wasn't even wanted in the first place. I must receive a sustantial answer from you or the Condem's much heralded Brave New World will be seen as meaningless rhetoric.

I look forward to a detailed response to the points I have raised.

Yours faithfully,

Sheila Oliver

Dear Department for Communities and Local Government,

I have yet to receive a response. I look forward to hearing from you. We are told we can hold public authorities to account. We can't. We are told to be armchair auditors exposing waste and incompetence or worse. This is just the sort of thing I have been trying to do for five years with Stockport Council and have been banned for most of that time under the FOI and refused even council meeting questions, despite instructions to the contrary by the Information Commission.

I look forward to hearing back from you on this issue regarding, so far, the waste of £5 million.

Yours faithfully,

Sheila Oliver

Dear Department for Communities and Local Government,

I have yet to receive a response from you.

Please see this news story:-

http://menmedia.co.uk/stockportexpress/n...

Je Re, Corporate Director responsible, Eamonn Boylan, Chief Executive and Executive Councillor Mark Weldon were still refusing to answer all questions after this story was printed, despite the Information Commission saying they should.

We will have the politically embarrassing situation of a ConDem council building a Ueberschool (possibly the only one finished in the entire country) which absolutely no parent will send their children to.

Why are you taking so long to deal with this issue?

Yours faithfully,

Sheila Oliver

Sheila Oliver (Account suspended) left an annotation ()

Is my local MP Andrew Stunell and Junior Department for Communities and Local Government Minister having a laugh here? I repeatedly
asked him to make Stockport Council reply to questions, which they
have avoided for about four years:-

http://www.libdemvoice.org/andrew-stunel...

I shall ask him again for help and post his response, or lack of
it, on this site.

Have a look at this frightening You Tube clip of the brown asbestos
"experts" languidly and unscienficially removing brown asbestos
from the school site:-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0rCPnP5H9o

CLG-FOIAdvice,

Dear Sheila Oliver

Thank you for your email of 19th October 10.

You have raised several points in this, and other emails. We aim to let you have our considered response no later than 5th November.

Kind regards

FOI Advice Team
Knowledge Management Division
Zone 2/A3, Eland House
0303 444 3973

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Dear CLG-FOIAdvice,

Much appreciated. The Council is now changing the nursery school to a nursery class. The "consultation" with parents is still ongoing and the final decision lies with the Schools Adjudicator and not them. They are refusing to reply to any questions regarding this planning application, which is completely illegal in planning terms. Planning matters have to be completely open - otherwise there is corruption.

In addition, the ConDem government has announced nursery care for 2 year olds in deprived areas. This is an extremely deprived area. How on earth will this extra nursery provision be provided when they are changing the proposed nursery school to a nursery class? I have brought all this to the attention of Andrew Stunell, Parliamentary Under Secretary at the Department of Communities and Local Government and my local MP, and he has failed to do anything at all.

There has been a massive, massive waste of public money with regards to this issue, building a school which never was big enough, no-one in their right mind will send their children to because it will eventually kill them from mesothelioma and it broke every planning law imaginable to get passed. What on earth is going on in ConDem Stockport?

The first Big Society event was held here with local people who were so furious with the politiicans that all subseqent Big Society events across the country were cancelled. We also had a riot at the town hall recently.

Just because this is a ConDem Council, things cannot be swept under the carpet.

I very much look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely,

Sheila Oliver

Dear Department for Communities and Local Government,

Mr Stunell is the minister responsible for what has been called the social and economic cleansing policy, which would mean that possibly hundreds of thousands of people will no longer be able to afford to live in certain cities and will have to move. As the Guardian says, the politicians responsible for all these ConDem policies, which will have such a detrimental effect on so many people's lives, need themselves to be above reproach.

I am very interested in your reply and await it eagerly. I don't think a whitewash would suffice in this instance.

Kind regards

Sheila

CLG-FOIAdvice,

Dear Sheila Oliver

Further to our email of 20th October I apologise that we will still not be in a position to respond to you on the 5th November. We are in the process of investigating what correspondence the Department has received from you, and what action has been taken on it.

We will respond to you as soon as possible, once we have this information.

Kind regards

FOI Advice Team
Knowledge Management Division
Zone 2/A3, Eland House
0303 444 3973

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Dear CLG-FOIAdvice,

I am happy to wait for a proper reply.

Kind regards

Sheila Oliver

Dear Department for Communities and Local Government,

I think I have given you a decent interval in which to reply. Please may I have one?

Yours faithfully,

Sheila Oliver

CLG-FOIAdvice,

Dear Sheila Oliver

Further to our emails of 20th October and 3rd November I apologise that we are still not in a position to provide you with a substantive response. We are still checking to see what correspondence the Department has received from you, and what action has been taken on it.

We will respond to you as soon as possible, once we have this information.

Kind regards

FOI Advice Team
Knowledge Management Division
Zone 2/A3, Eland House
0303 444 3973

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CLG-FOIAdvice,

1 Attachment

Dear Sheila Oliver

Please see the attached letter in response to your communications to this Department.

Kind regards

FOI Advice Team
Knowledge Management Division
Zone 2/A3, Eland House
0303 444 3973

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Dear CLG-FOIAdvice,

I accept Mr. Pickles might not have received the information. Many thanks for your kind help.

Yours sincerely,

Sheila Oliver