ATVOD not subject to FOIA
Graham Senior-Milne made this Freedom of Information request to Office of Communications
The request was refused by Office of Communications.
From: Graham Senior-Milne
Dear Office of Communications,
ATVOD has stated that it does not consider itself to be subject to the FOIA (Freedom of Information Act).
Section 3 FOIA includes 'a publicly-owned company as defined by section 6'. If ATVOD is a publicly-owned company as defined by section 6 it falls within the scope of section 3 and is therefore subject to FOIA.
Do you consider ATVOD to be a publicly-owned company as defined by section 6, bearing in mind, in this context, that the company (and therefore its directors and members) are bound by the designation (http://www.atvod.co.uk/uploads/files/des...) and that ATVOD therefore appears to fall within the scope of s.6(2)(b)(ii) in that it is a company whose members are 'persons acting on behalf of that public authority or of companies wholly owned by that public authority'; that is OFCOM.
If ATVOD is bound to act in accordance with the determination and the determination is specified by OFCOM how can ATVOD, its members and directors (I understand that all directors are members - see the articles of association), not be 'persons acting on behalf of' OFCOM?
Yours faithfully,
Graham Senior-Milne
From: Alistair Hall
Office of Communications
Dear Mr Senior-Milne
Thank you for your request for information which was received on 28 July
2014.
Where we hold the information you have requested we will endeavour to
answer your request in full and within 20 working days. If we are unable
to provide the information requested, we will explain why.
If you have any queries then please email me at
[1][Ofcom request email]. Please remember to quote the
reference number above in any future communications.
Yours sincerely
:: Alistair Hall
[2][Ofcom request email]
:: Ofcom
Riverside House
2a Southwark Bridge Road
London
SE1 9HA
020 7981 3000
[3]http://www.ofcom.org.uk
If you are unhappy with the response or level of service you have received
in relation to your request from Ofcom, you may ask for an internal
review. If you ask us for an internal review of our decision, it will
be treated as a formal complaint and will be subject to an independent
review within Ofcom. We will acknowledge the complaint and inform you of
the date by which you might expect to be told the outcome.
The following outcomes are possible:
• the original decision is upheld; or
• the original decision is reversed or modified.
Timing
If you wish to exercise your right to an internal review you should
contact us within two months of the date of this letter. There is no
statutory deadline for undertaking internal reviews and it will depend
upon the complexity of the case. However, we aim to conclude all such
reviews within 20 working days, and up to 40 working days in exception
cases. We will keep you informed of the progress of any such review. If
you wish to request an internal review, you should contact:
Graham Howell
The Secretary to the Corporation
Ofcom
Riverside House
2a Southwark Bridge Road
London SE1 9HA
If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have
the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a
decision. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:
Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
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From: Alistair Hall
Office of Communications
Dear Mr Senior-Milne
Freedom of Information: Right to know request
Thank you for your query about the responsibilities of Authority for
Television on Demand (“ATVOD”) in relation to requests under the Freedom
of Information Act 2000 (‘the Act’).
FOI designations are a matter for the Government, not Ofcom. For further
information on this matter you should contact the Information
Commissioner’s Office directly, [1]www.ico.gov.uk
I hope this information is of assistance.
If you have any queries then please contact
[2][Ofcom request email]. Please remember to quote the
reference number above in any future communications.
Yours sincerely
:: Alistair Hall
[3][Ofcom request email]
:: Ofcom
Riverside House
2a Southwark Bridge Road
London
SE1 9HA
020 7981 3000
[4]www.ofcom.org.uk
_____________________________________________
From: Alistair Hall
Sent: 28 July 2014 14:58
To: '[FOI #221927 email]'
Cc: Information Requests
Subject: Ofcom ref: 1-266157249, Freedom of Information request - ATVOD
not subject to FOIA
Dear Mr Senior-Milne
Thank you for your request for information which was received on 28 July
2014.
Where we hold the information you have requested we will endeavour to
answer your request in full and within 20 working days. If we are unable
to provide the information requested, we will explain why.
If you have any queries then please email me at
[5][Ofcom request email]. Please remember to quote the
reference number above in any future communications.
Yours sincerely
:: Alistair Hall
[6][Ofcom request email]
:: Ofcom
Riverside House
2a Southwark Bridge Road
London
SE1 9HA
020 7981 3000
[7]http://www.ofcom.org.uk
If you are unhappy with the response or level of service you have received
in relation to your request from Ofcom, you may ask for an internal
review. If you ask us for an internal review of our decision, it will
be treated as a formal complaint and will be subject to an independent
review within Ofcom. We will acknowledge the complaint and inform you of
the date by which you might expect to be told the outcome.
The following outcomes are possible:
• the original decision is upheld; or
• the original decision is reversed or modified.
Timing
If you wish to exercise your right to an internal review you should
contact us within two months of the date of this letter. There is no
statutory deadline for undertaking internal reviews and it will depend
upon the complexity of the case. However, we aim to conclude all such
reviews within 20 working days, and up to 40 working days in exception
cases. We will keep you informed of the progress of any such review. If
you wish to request an internal review, you should contact:
Graham Howell
The Secretary to the Corporation
Ofcom
Riverside House
2a Southwark Bridge Road
London SE1 9HA
If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have
the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a
decision. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:
Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
show quoted sections
From: Graham Senior-Milne
Dear Office of Communications,
Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.
I am writing to request an internal review of Office of Communications's handling of my FOI request 'ATVOD not subject to FOIA'.
OFCOM has delegated some of its regulatory functions to ATVOD. You must know whether, when you delegated regulatory functions to ATVOD, you also delegated the related regulatory responsibilities to ATVOD (including the responsibility to answer FOI requests). If you did not then you have delegated powers without delegating the related responsibilities, which effectively means that those regulatory responsibilities have fallen between two stools - they have disappeared. Is it possible for a body which has duties under FOI to effectively get rid of its legal responsibilities by delegating its powers (but not its responsibilities) to another body, so that NO-ONE is responsible for answering FOI requests? This seems to be the situation at the moment. You deny that you have any duties under FOI in relation to these regulatory functions and so does ATVOD. You must know what you did and did not delegate. You had a legal duty under FOI. Did you delegate that duty? If you didn't then you still have that duty. It is not for the Information Commissioner to answer that question.
A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/a...
Yours faithfully,
Graham Senior-Milne
From: Information Requests
Office of Communications
Dear Mr Senior-Milne
Please find attached Ofcom's response to your two recent request for Internal Review.
Kind Regards
Information Requests
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Nige Coleman left an annotation ()
Thus continues an alarming trend of incompetence and blatant lying by a public body which has powers to make regulations under law. It is time that this dysfunctional regulator was dismantled and replaced with more capable departments. Moreover there is increasing evidence of Misconduct in Public Office by some of its "officers."
On YouTube you can find Ofcom's Chief Exec glibly stating that "Ofcom is independent of parliament" - would that be the parliament that gave Ofcom life and powers in the first place? (See The Communications Act, 2003)
Link to this