Are Service Users or the general public allowed to audio-visually record meeting and calls with your staff? If so, do they require permission or are they permitted to do so covertly? FOI Request.

The request was successful.

John Jones Researcher

Dear Dacorum Borough Council,

Are Service Users or the general public allowed to audio-visually record meeting and calls with your staff? If so, do they require permission or are they permitted to do so covertly?

Freedom of Information Act 2000

http://www.freedomtalkradio.co.uk/uk-sur...

1 Do you have any guidance or policy for the public or service users to record calls when they speak to your staff
What is your organisations protocol on service users recording calls when they speak to your staff? Please provide a copy of your policy, procedure and guideline notes on this issue.
or call centres Do you Inform Users they can record. If the answer is no what is the reason for this please if so do send me a copy.
Are service users made aware of their right to record the encounter, if they choose to do so? Is this reflected in you policy document on the matter?

2. Does your organisation have an “Unacceptable Behaviour” policy? If so, please can you provide me with a copy?
If such a policy contains points of objectionable behaviour such as telephones calls being recorded by the caller due to them being not necessary or unwanted or needed, and furthermore the staff members may feel threatened or apprehensive, are you aware that denying users the right to record calls goes against the current UK laws.

3. Are your policies and procedures compliant with the public right to audio-visually record encounters with your staff, without their consent? If not, will you provide appropriate training for your staff so they are fully informed of the Public right to record?

4. What is our organisations current charging policy for Freedom of Information requests (FOI) or Subject Access Requests (SAR)? If charges are applied are concessions available for those on low income or students?

5. What is your organisations complaints policy? Please can you forward me a copy. Does your complaints procedure permit service users evidence such as covert call recordings to form part of the investigation.
The Public need to record all calls too many lies now its time for honesty.

Yours faithfully,

John Jones Researcher

Freedom Of Information Mailbox, Dacorum Borough Council

Dear John,
Thank you for your request.
Please note the Ref No/Target Date above - your request has been routed to the relevant department for consideration.
'Automatically Generated e-mail.'

The information in this message should be regarded as confidential and is intended for the addressee only unless explicitly stated. If you have received this message in error it must be deleted and the sender notified. The views expressed in this message are personal and not necessarily those of Dacorum Borough Council unless explicitly stated. Please be aware that emails sent to or received from Dacorum Borough Council may be intercepted and read by the council. Interception will only occur to ensure compliance with council policies or procedures or regulatory obligations, to prevent or deter crime, or for the purposes of essential maintenance or support of the email system.

John Worts, Dacorum Borough Council

Dear Mr Jones,

YOUR REQUEST DATED 10th October 2018 FOR INFORMATION UNDER THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000. OUR REFERENCE: FOI 6410

Thank you for your above request.

In your correspondence you have requested the information set out below and in what follows I set out the Council’s response:

(1) REQUEST

1 Do you have any guidance or policy for the public or service users to record calls when they speak to your staff What is your organisations protocol on service users recording calls when they speak to your staff? Please provide a copy of your policy, procedure and guideline notes on this issue.
or call centres Do you Inform Users they can record. If the answer is no what is the reason for this please if so do send me a copy.
Are service users made aware of their right to record the encounter, if they choose to do so? Is this reflected in you policy document on the matter?

2. Does your organisation have an “Unacceptable Behaviour” policy? If so, please can you provide me with a copy?
If such a policy contains points of objectionable behaviour such as telephones calls being recorded by the caller due to them being not necessary or unwanted or needed, and furthermore the staff members may feel threatened or apprehensive, are you aware that denying users the right to record calls goes against the current UK laws.

3. Are your policies and procedures compliant with the public right to audio-visually record encounters with your staff, without their consent? If not, will you provide appropriate training for your staff so they are fully informed of the Public right to record?

4. What is our organisations current charging policy for Freedom of Information requests (FOI) or Subject Access Requests (SAR)? If charges are applied are concessions available for those on low income or students?

5. What is your organisations complaints policy? Please can you forward me a copy. Does your complaints procedure permit service users evidence such as covert call recordings to form part of the investigation.
The Public need to record all calls too many lies now its time for honesty.

(2) RESPONSE

1. We inform customers that calls to our customer service centre
will be recorded and the recordings will be kept for 6 months. We do
not have a policy or inform users that they can record calls as this
is their right, providing it is for their own use.

Further information explaining the Council’s process for responding to information requests is available on our website at http://www.dacorum.gov.uk/home/open-data...

Should you have any further queries or information needs, or if you are unhappy about the way your request has been handled, then please do not hesitate to contact me, or the Council’s Legal Governance department at: [Dacorum Borough Council request email], quoting reference FOI xxxx please.

I would confirm that, pursuant to Section 50 of the FOIA, you may apply to the Information Commissioner for a decision whether, in any specified respect, your request for information has been dealt with in accordance with the requirements of Part 1 of the FOIA. The Commissioner would of course make a decision on any application unless certain circumstances apply, one of which is that the relevant public authority’s complaints procedure has not been exhausted. I would confirm the Information Commissioner’s contact details are as follows:-

The Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
SK9 5AF

Helpline: 0303 123 1113

Website, with online form: www.ico.gov.uk and email for online complaint: [email address]

If you need further assistance, do please contact me or the information service, as indicated above.

Yours faithfully/sincerely.

----------------
John Worts,
Information Security Manager  (Legal Team), Corporate and Contracted Services.     
Dacorum Borough Council, The Forum, Marlowes, Hemel Hempstead, Herts. HP1 1DN
Ext. 2538 DDI 01442 228538

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John Worts, Dacorum Borough Council

1 Attachment

 

Dear Mr Jones,

 

YOUR REQUEST DATED 10th October 2018 FOR INFORMATION UNDER THE FREEDOM OF
INFORMATION ACT 2000. OUR REFERENCE: FOI 6410

 

Thank you for your above request.

 

In your correspondence you have requested the information set out below
and in what follows I set out the Council’s response:

 

(1)          REQUEST

 

1 Do you have any guidance or policy for the public or service users to
record calls when they speak to your staff What is your organisations
protocol on service users recording calls when they speak to your staff?
Please provide a copy of your policy, procedure and guideline notes on
this issue.

or call centres Do you Inform Users they can record. If the answer is no
what is the reason for this please if so do send me a copy.

Are service users made aware of their right to record the encounter, if
they choose to do so? Is this reflected in you policy document on the
matter?

 

2. Does your organisation have an “Unacceptable Behaviour” policy? If so,
please can you provide me with a copy?

If such a policy contains points of objectionable behaviour such as
telephones calls being recorded by the caller due to them being not
necessary or unwanted or needed, and furthermore the staff members may
feel threatened or apprehensive, are you aware that denying users the
right to record calls goes against the current UK laws.

 

3. Are your policies and procedures compliant with the public right to
audio-visually record encounters with your staff, without their consent?
If not, will you provide appropriate training for your staff so they are
fully informed of the Public right to record?

 

4. What is our organisations current charging policy for Freedom of
Information requests (FOI) or Subject Access Requests (SAR)? If charges
are applied are concessions available for those on low income or students?

 

5. What is your organisations complaints policy? Please can you forward me
a copy. Does your complaints procedure permit service users evidence such
as covert call recordings to form part of the investigation. 

The Public need to record all calls too many lies now its time for
honesty.

 

(2)         RESPONSE

 

1. We inform customers that calls to our customer service centre  will be
recorded and the recordings will be kept for 6 months, only calls to the
call centre are recorded. However a call transferred from the call centre
to a back office extension continues to be recorded. Calls direct to back
office numbers are not recorded

 

The requirement to record is based on a number of reasons including, but
not limited to;

·        training

·        evidential requirements (dispute resolution etc.)

·        continuous improvement for customers and staff.

We do  not have a policy or inform users that they can record calls as
this is their right, providing it is for their own use.

 

2.No we do not have an unacceptable behaviour policy, but can be captured
through our complaints policy - please see
[1]http://www.dacorum.gov.uk/home/do-it-onl...

 

3.Yes - All Staff are trained in the GDPR, Information Security and
Freedom of Information. These courses are mandatory , face to face and run
quarterly by the Council's Information Security Team Leader. In addition
the public have a right to request audio recordings of their calls made to
the call centre via a Data Protection Subject Access Request.

 

4.Please see attached fees policy

 

5. Please see
[2]http://www.dacorum.gov.uk/home/do-it-onl... If the
call was relevant to the complaint, then the audio evidence would have to
be considered.

 

Further information explaining the Council’s process for responding to
information requests is available on our website at
[3]http://www.dacorum.gov.uk/home/open-data...

 

Should you have any further queries or information needs, or if you are
unhappy about the way your request has been handled, then please do not
hesitate to contact me, or the Council’s Legal Governance department at:
[4][Dacorum Borough Council request email], quoting reference FOI 6410 please.

 

I would confirm that, pursuant to Section 50 of the FOIA, you may apply to
the Information Commissioner for a decision whether, in any specified
respect, your request for information has been dealt with in accordance
with the requirements of Part 1 of the FOIA. The Commissioner would of
course make a decision on any application unless certain circumstances
apply, one of which is that the relevant public authority’s complaints
procedure has not been exhausted. I would confirm the Information
Commissioner’s contact details are as follows:-

 

The Information Commissioner’s Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

SK9 5AF

 

Helpline: 0303 123 1113

 

Website, with online form: [5]www.ico.gov.uk and email for online
complaint: [6][email address]

 

If you need further assistance, do please contact me or the information
service, as indicated above.

 

 

Yours sincerely.

 

----------------

John Worts,

Information Security Manager  (Legal Team), Corporate and Contracted
Services. Dacorum Borough Council, The Forum, Marlowes, Hemel Hempstead,
Herts. HP1 1DN Ext. 2538 DDI 01442 228538

 

 

 

 

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