Aylesbury Occupation Communications

The request was partially successful.

Peoples Information Center

Dear Southwark Borough Council,

I am writing to request a copy of all email communications between the council and i) police or ii) security (I assume this will be VPS) in relation to the squatting at the Aylesbury estate for the dates 10 - 20 February 2015.

In the event that this request would exceed the appropriate cost limit, please limit its scope to 17-18 February 2015.

Yours faithfully,

Ranjan Balakumaran
Peoples Information Center

Vanessa Bascoe, Southwark Borough Council

Southwark Council - Information request

Our reference: 826038

Peoples Information Center

Dear Vanessa Bascoe,

Please could you provide a response to our request for information received 20 August 2017, reference number 826038.

Yours sincerely,

Ranjan Balakumaran
Peoples Information Center

Peoples Information Center

Dear Southwark Borough Council,

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

I am writing to request an internal review of Southwark Borough Council's handling of my FOI request 'Aylesbury Occupation Communications'.

You have not provided any response within the statutory time limit of 20 working days. Please could you ensure that our request is dealt with as a matter of priority.

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,

Antony Steig
Peoples Information Center

Bascoe, Vanessa, Southwark Borough Council

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Balakumaran

 

Please see the attached document regarding your request for information.

 

Kind regards

 

Vanessa Bascoe

 

Vanessa Bascoe | Corporate Freedom of Information Officer

Housing & Modernisation

2nd Floor, Hub 1(B) | 160 Tooley Street | London SE1 2QH

PO Box 64529, London SE1P 5LX

Tel: 020 7525 7452

Email: [1][email address]

Web: [2]www.Southwark.Gov.Uk

 

Please consider the environment and think before you print!

 

 

The email you received and any files transmitted with it are confidential,
may be covered by legal and/or professional privilege and are intended
solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed.
If you have received this in error please notify us immediately. If you
are not the intended recipient of the email or the person responsible for
delivering it to them you may not copy it, forward it or otherwise use it
for any purpose or disclose its contents to any other person. To do so may
be unlawful. Where opinions are expressed in the email they are not
necessarily those of Southwark Council and Southwark Council is not
responsible for any changes made to the message after it has been sent.

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. http://www.southwark.gov.uk/

Peoples Information Center

Dear Southwark Borough Council,

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

I am writing to request an internal review of Southwark Borough Council's handling of my FOI request 'Aylesbury Occupation Communications'.

The request was submitted to you on 20 August 2017. You gave yourselves an extension until 20 October - that date came and went. It is now 20 November, and no decision notice has been provided. Please could you ensure that this is dealt with as a matter of priority.

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,

Peoples Information Center

Bascoe, Vanessa, Southwark Borough Council

1 Attachment

Dear Ranjan Balakumaran

 

Please see the attached document in response to your information request.

 

Kind regards

 

Vanessa Bascoe

 

Vanessa Bascoe | Corporate Freedom of Information Officer

Finance & Governance

2nd Floor, Hub 1(B) | 160 Tooley Street | London SE1 2QH

PO Box 64529, London SE1P 5LX

Tel: 020 7525 7452

Email: [1][email address]

Web: [2]www.Southwark.Gov.Uk

 

Please consider the environment and think before you print!

 

 

The email you received and any files transmitted with it are confidential,
may be covered by legal and/or professional privilege and are intended
solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed.
If you have received this in error please notify us immediately. If you
are not the intended recipient of the email or the person responsible for
delivering it to them you may not copy it, forward it or otherwise use it
for any purpose or disclose its contents to any other person. To do so may
be unlawful. Where opinions are expressed in the email they are not
necessarily those of Southwark Council and Southwark Council is not
responsible for any changes made to the message after it has been sent.

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. http://www.southwark.gov.uk/

Peoples Information Center

Dear Southwark Borough Council,

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

I am writing to request an internal review of Southwark Borough Council's handling of my FOI request 'Aylesbury Occupation Communications'. A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/a...

Your response to the request was that the information is not held as 'Aylesbury was not squatted'. This is incorrect - parts of the estate were occupied during the time period referred to in the request.

This is confirmed by media articles such as this https://www.theguardian.com/society/2015...

But also in your own responses to previous requests for the same information, such as FOI requests 507607 and 512309 in May and June 2015, where your responses stated that 'hundreds of emails' would fall within the scope of the requests.

Please could you now give serious consideration to our FOI request made in August, as a matter of priority, as the decision notice issued is not based on the correct facts.

Yours faithfully,

Ranjan Balakumaran
Peoples Information Center

Peoples Information Center

Dear Southwark Council,

Please could you provide a date of when you estimate that you will have completed the Internal Review.

Yours sincerely,

Ranjan Balakumaran
Peoples Information Center

Bascoe, Vanessa, Southwark Borough Council

Thank you for your email.

 

I am out of the office until Tuesday 12 December 2017. My emails will not
be read or forwarded in my absence. Please contact:

 

Catherine Barfield

Tel: 020 7525 0041

Email: [email address]

 

or

 

[email address]

 

Kind regards

Vanessa Bascoe

The email you received and any files transmitted with it are confidential,
may be covered by legal and/or professional privilege and are intended
solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed.
If you have received this in error please notify us immediately. If you
are not the intended recipient of the email or the person responsible for
delivering it to them you may not copy it, forward it or otherwise use it
for any purpose or disclose its contents to any other person. To do so may
be unlawful. Where opinions are expressed in the email they are not
necessarily those of Southwark Council and Southwark Council is not
responsible for any changes made to the message after it has been sent.

Barfield, Catherine, Southwark Borough Council

Dear Ranjan Balakumaran

You submitted a request for information which was responded to by Vanessa
Bascoe on the 20 November 2017.

 

The original request was as follows:

I am writing to request a copy of all email communications between the
council and i) police or ii) security (I assume this will be VPS) in
relation to the squatting at the Aylesbury estate for the dates 10 - 20
February 2015.

In the event that this request would exceed the appropriate cost limit,
please limit its scope to 17-18 February 2015.

 

Our Response:

Ms Bascoe responded that Southwark Council can confirm that the
information you have requested is not held as Aylesbury was not squatted.

 

Your review request:

Your response was ‘This is incorrect - parts of the estate were occupied
during the time period referred to in the request. This is confirmed by
media articles such as this
[1]https://www.theguardian.com/society/2015...

But also in your own responses to previous requests for the same
information, such as FOI requests 507607 and 512309 in May and June 2015,
where your responses stated that 'hundreds of emails' would fall within
the scope of the requests.

 

My Response:

I have investigated the issues raised and been in contact with the service
area, and I am not satisfied with the response provided to you. I have
therefore asked Ms Bascoe to revisit the request and provide you with an
updated response.

Please note that we can only provide the information that is held by the
council at the time of the request. This may mean, particularly in
relation to emails, that some information is no longer available. This may
be due to staff no longer working at the council or the need to free up
space on our computer systems which requires that old emails are deleted
through general housekeeping. However, I just want to reiterate that if
the information is available at the time of your request it will  be
provided.

Ms Bascoe will contact you shortly with an update on progress.

I hope this response is satisfactory however if you are not content with
the outcome of your appeal or would like to discuss the matter further
please contact me by email at [2][email address]. You
may apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision. You
should contact him within 2 months of the outcome of your internal appeal.

Further information on the Freedom of Information Act and the
Environmental Information Regulations is available through the Information
Commissioner at the: Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House,
Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF, Telephone: 01625 545 700,
Internet: [3]www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk

 

Regards

 

 

Catherine Barfield

Specialist Services Manager (Customer Resolution)

 

London Borough of Southwark

PO BOX 64529

London

SE1P 5LX 

Telephone: 0207 5250041

[4][email address]

Please note: I do not work on a Friday

 

The email you received and any files transmitted with it are confidential,
may be covered by legal and/or professional privilege and are intended
solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed.
If you have received this in error please notify us immediately. If you
are not the intended recipient of the email or the person responsible for
delivering it to them you may not copy it, forward it or otherwise use it
for any purpose or disclose its contents to any other person. To do so may
be unlawful. Where opinions are expressed in the email they are not
necessarily those of Southwark Council and Southwark Council is not
responsible for any changes made to the message after it has been sent.

References

Visible links
1. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2015...
2. mailto:[email address]
3. http://www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk/
4. mailto:[email address]

Bascoe, Vanessa, Southwark Borough Council

1 Attachment

Dear Balakumaran

 

Please see the attached document with an update on the progress of your
information request.

 

Kind regards

 

Vanessa Bascoe

 

Vanessa Bascoe | Corporate Freedom of Information Officer

Finance & Governance

2nd Floor, Hub 1(B) | 160 Tooley Street | London SE1 2QH

PO Box 64529, London SE1P 5LX

Tel: 020 7525 7452

Email: [1][email address]

Web: [2]www.Southwark.Gov.Uk

 

Please consider the environment and think before you print!

 

 

The email you received and any files transmitted with it are confidential,
may be covered by legal and/or professional privilege and are intended
solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed.
If you have received this in error please notify us immediately. If you
are not the intended recipient of the email or the person responsible for
delivering it to them you may not copy it, forward it or otherwise use it
for any purpose or disclose its contents to any other person. To do so may
be unlawful. Where opinions are expressed in the email they are not
necessarily those of Southwark Council and Southwark Council is not
responsible for any changes made to the message after it has been sent.

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. http://www.southwark.gov.uk/

Bascoe, Vanessa, Southwark Borough Council

2 Attachments

Dear Mr Balakumaran

 

Please see the attached documents in response to your information request.

 

Kind regards

 

Vanessa Bascoe

 

Vanessa Bascoe | Corporate Freedom of Information Officer

Finance & Governance

2nd Floor, Hub 1(B) | 160 Tooley Street | London SE1 2QH

PO Box 64529, London SE1P 5LX

Tel: 020 7525 7452

Email: [1][email address]

Web: [2]www.Southwark.Gov.Uk

 

Please consider the environment and think before you print!

 

 

The email you received and any files transmitted with it are confidential,
may be covered by legal and/or professional privilege and are intended
solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed.
If you have received this in error please notify us immediately. If you
are not the intended recipient of the email or the person responsible for
delivering it to them you may not copy it, forward it or otherwise use it
for any purpose or disclose its contents to any other person. To do so may
be unlawful. Where opinions are expressed in the email they are not
necessarily those of Southwark Council and Southwark Council is not
responsible for any changes made to the message after it has been sent.

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. http://www.southwark.gov.uk/

Peoples Information Center

Dear Bascoe, Vanessa,

Thank you for your response. Unfortunately, this does not constitute a valid refusal notice as it does not explain the reasons for the partial refusal to disclose information, both in regards to the allegedly deleted emails and the redacted information.

Section 17 FOIA provides that:

17 Refusal of request.

(1)A public authority which, in relation to any request for information, is to any extent relying on a claim that any provision of Part II relating to the duty to confirm or deny is relevant to the request or on a claim that information is exempt information must, within the time for complying with section 1(1), give the applicant a notice which—

(a)states that fact,

(b)specifies the exemption in question, and

(c)states (if that would not otherwise be apparent) why the exemption applies.

[...]

(7)A notice under subsection (1), (3) or (5) must—

(a)contain particulars of any procedure provided by the public authority for dealing with complaints about the handling of requests for information or state that the authority does not provide such a procedure, and

(b)contain particulars of the right conferred by section 50.

Please provide a valid refusal notice.

Yours sincerely,

Ranjan Balakumaran
Peoples Information Center

Bascoe, Vanessa, Southwark Borough Council

Dear Mr Balakumaran

We have released all the information that we currently hold in relation to your request.

If you are not content with the outcome of your appeal, you may apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision. You should contact the Information Commissioner within 2 months of the outcome of your internal appeal.

Further information on the Freedom of Information Act is available through the Information Commissioner at www.ico.org.uk

Kind regards

Vanessa Bascoe

Vanessa Bascoe | Corporate Freedom of Information Officer
Housing & Modernisation
2nd Floor, Hub 1(B) | 160 Tooley Street | London SE1 2QH
PO Box 64529, London SE1P 5LX
Tel: 020 7525 7452
Email: [email address]
Web: www.Southwark.Gov.Uk

Please consider the environment and think before you print!

show quoted sections

Peoples Information Center

Dear Bascoe, Vanessa,

Just to clarify - are you saying you will not accept any further applications for internal review in relation to this FOI request?

Yours sincerely,

Ranjan Balakumaran
Peoples Information Center