Barbara Hofschröer, aged 85, victim of "institutional abuse"

Waiting for an internal review by City of York Council of their handling of this request.

Paul Saunderson

Dear City of York Council,

Barbara Hofschröer is normally resident in York.

She is 85 years old, disabled and the victim of such horrific abuse that Lord Maginnis of Drumglass has felt compelled to raise the case in Parliament on several occasions. He has openly accused York Council of colluding with North Yorkshire Police and family members to defraud Barbara of her assets. None of the accused are denying this, which under English Common Law amounts to a tacit admission of guilt.

(Please see: http://www.epolitix.com/latestnews/artic... and: http://www.theyworkforyou.com/lords/?id=...)

Shortly after participating in TV and radio interviews in which she accused the authorities of corruption, German police raided her refuge there.

(Please see: http://grandmabarbara.wordpress.com/1-ne... and: http://grandmabarbara.wordpress.com/1-ne...)

Eyewitnesses identified Robert Hofschröer, her older son and main abuser as being present, accompanied by other people who were clearly British and suspected to be social workers, presumably from the City of York Council.

This police raid took place on 6 May 2014. On 8 May 2014, friends of Barbara Hofschröer established she was being held in a mental hospital in Germany against her will.

Her younger son Peter Hofschröer, her legal guardian, went to the hospital to rescue her, but was denied access. He saw Robert Hofschröer present in the hospital in the company of two British women, presumably social workers.

The next day, a friend of Barbara's visited her and expressed his grave concerns as to her well-being, commenting that,

“I fear for Barbara’s mental health once she’s back in UK and under the dark influence of a man who should be locked up.”

Please see: http://wp.me/P1Nj7d-3jX

Later that day, Barbara was sedated and taken to Schipol in Amsterdam, where she was flown back to the UK against her wishes and despite that fact she was not fit to travel. She has now been located in York.

Barbara's lawyers have not been able to obtain sight of any legal documentation allowing Barbara Hofschröer to be seized and abducted in this fashion. Presumably, this act was unlawful.

Robert Hofschröer is the administrator of York & District Deaf Society, which is based in York Council premises and is funded by York Council. Robert Hofschröer is known to have a close relationship with York Social Services to whom he supplies specialist support.

Can you please provide sight of the following information on this latest incident in what the press has described as the “institutional harassment” of Barbara Hofschröer and her carer:

1) The names of the social workers who accompanied Robert Hofschröer to Gütersloh in Germany to assist Robert Hofschröer to abduct his mother unlawfully.

2) Copies of the invoices for the travel expenses.

3) The file covering this incident, including all records of correspondence between the City of York Council, the German police and Robert Hofschröer, recordings of any phone conversations, all file notes, internal memoranda and any associated records and documents.

Yours faithfully,
Paul Saunderson

foi@york.gov.uk, City of York Council

Thank you for your enquiry. We will ensure it is passed to the relevant service(s) and you will receive a response within 20 working days. We will contact you if we have any queries, need clarification or to let you know if we need more time to answer your enquiry in full.

However, if you are contacting us to ask for a review of a previous FOI response from us, we will pass your request to Veritau/Information Governance who will contact you about this.

Please note this is an automatically generated receipt to let you know we have received your email.

Regards
Customer Feedback Team

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foi@york.gov.uk, City of York Council

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Saunderson,
 
Please find attached your response to this enquiry.
 
Yours sincerely,
 
Cath Murray
 
Cath Murray | Customer Complaints & Feedback Manager  
t: 01904 554145 | e: [1][email address]
 
City of York Council  | Complaints Team, Customer & Business Support
Services
West Offices | Station Rise | York YO1 6GA
[2]www.york.gov.uk | [3]facebook.com/cityofyork | [4]@CityofYork
 
 
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Paul Saunderson

Dear City of York Council,

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

I am writing to request an internal review of City of York Council's handling of my FOI request 'Barbara Hofschröer, aged 85, victim of "institutional abuse"'.

As the City of York Council has a long history of unlawfully withholding information on this case, I would ask form the obviously false claims made by Ms Murray to be examined.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/b...

Yours faithfully,
Paul Saunderson

foi@york.gov.uk, City of York Council

Thank you for your enquiry. We will ensure it is passed to the relevant service(s) and you will receive a response within 20 working days. We will contact you if we have any queries, need clarification or to let you know if we need more time to answer your enquiry in full.

However, if you are contacting us to ask for a review of a previous FOI response from us, we will pass your request to Veritau/Information Governance who will contact you about this.

Please note this is an automatically generated receipt to let you know we have received your email.

Regards
Customer Feedback Team

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information.governance@veritau.co.uk,

Dear Mr Saunderson
 
Thank you for your request for a review of the Council’s handling of your
enquiry, CCF1924.
 
We will contact you in due course.
 
Kind regards
 
Miriam Townsend
 
 
Miriam Townsend
Information Governance Officer
Veritau Ltd
Assurance Services for the Public Sector
Telephone 01609 536985
For further information about us visit our website - [1]www.veritau.co.uk
 
 
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Paul Saunderson left an annotation ()

It is interesting to note how Ms Murray, who has a long track record of participating in the abuse of Barbara Hofschröer, was able to answer this FOI request within minutes of it being posted.

That clearly indicates she did not investigate the matter nor make any serious attempt to obtain the information requested.

She merely continued York Council's policy of evading releasing information on this case of horrific abuse of a vulnerable senior citizen by York Social Services.

Paul Saunderson left an annotation ()

I have just spoken to a friend, who was once the vice-consul in the British Consulate in Düsseldorf, which is competent for Gütersloh.

He stated that social workers from the competent area of Britain - in this case York SS - would attend.

it would seem that Ms Murray has made a misleading statement here.

What does she have to hide?

The fact that York Council was party to the unlawful abduction of a vulnerable person, who is a victim of abuse by York SS?

information.governance@veritau.co.uk,

Dear Mr Saunderson
 
Thank you for your request for a review of the Council's reply to your
enquiry, CCF1924.
 
The council is not aware of any such incident of unlawful abduction, and
therefore no information is held in respect of any of your three
questions.
 
You have a right to complain to the Information Commissioner regarding my
decision. You may do this in writing, by contacting:
 
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Tel: 08456 306060 or 01625 545745
Email: [1][email address]
 
Kind regards
 
Miriam Townsend
 
 
Miriam Townsend
Information Governance Officer
Veritau Ltd
Assurance Services for the Public Sector
Telephone 01609 536985
For further information about us visit our website - [2]www.veritau.co.uk
 
 
SAVE COSTS - PLEASE DON'T PRINT UNLESS YOU HAVE TO

VERITAU EMAIL DISCLAIMER

This communication is from a Veritau group company. Veritau provides
internal audit, counter fraud and information governance services and
other related assurance services to the public sector. Any opinions or
statements expressed in this e-mail are those of the individual and not
necessarily those of Veritau, or its clients.

The information contained within, and in any attachment(s), is
confidential and legally privileged. It is for the exclusive use of the
intended recipient(s). If you are not the intended recipient(s), please
note that any form of distribution, copying or use of this communication,
or the information within, is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful.
Equally, you must not disclose all, or part, of its contents to any other
person.

If you have received this communication in error, please notify the sender
at the above address, then delete and destroy all copies of it.

Veritau's computer systems and communications may be monitored to ensure
effective operation of the system and for other lawful purposes.

Although we have endeavoured to ensure that this e-mail and any
attachments are free from any virus we would advise you to take any
necessary steps to ensure that they are actually virus free.

Veritau disclaims any liability for action taken in reliance on the
content of this communication.

Veritau Limited (6794890) and Veritau North Yorkshire Limited (7931990)
are companies registered in England and Wales. The registered office for
both companies is West Offices, Station Rise, York, YO1 6GA.

Please visit the Veritau website [3]www.veritau.co.uk for details of each
company’s ownership.

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. http://www.veritau.co.uk/
3. http://www.veritau.co.uk/

Paul Saunderson

Dear Ms Townsend,

Thank you for your reply.

Please note I made this request to the City of York Council, not a limited company by the name of Veritau, so please forward my correspondence to the City of York Council with a note asking them to kindly comply with the law and supply the information requested.

The reference the City of York Council's Legal Services Dept. has on this case is: LAD1.105.

Yours sincerely,
Paul Saunderson

information.governance@veritau.co.uk,

Dear Mr Saunderson

Thank you for your email. As we have already conducted an internal review of the handling of your request CCF1924, the Council considers that it has fulfilled its obligations in relation to your request. If you disagree with this decision, please contact the Information Commissioner's Office.

Kind regards

Miriam Townsend

Miriam Townsend
Information Governance Officer
Veritau Ltd
Assurance Services for the Public Sector
Telephone 01609 536985
For further information about us visit our website - www.veritau.co.uk

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Paul Saunderson

Dear City of York Council,

I made this FOI request to the City of York Council.

When I asked for an internal review of the decision, it was passed to a private company by the name of Veritau, without any explanation.

Please note that I require the City of York Council to undertake the internal review, not some dubious third party.

Please confirm you will be complying with the law and undertaking an internal review.

Thank you!

Yours faithfully,
Paul Saunderson

foi@york.gov.uk, City of York Council

Thank you for your enquiry. We will ensure it is passed to the relevant service(s) and you will receive a response within 20 working days. We will contact you if we have any queries, need clarification or to let you know if we need more time to answer your enquiry in full.

However, if you are contacting us to ask for a review of a previous FOI response from us, we will pass your request to Veritau/Information Governance who will contact you about this.

Please note this is an automatically generated receipt to let you know we have received your email.

Regards
Customer Feedback Team

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Paul Saunderson left an annotation ()

Note how York Council is evading dealing with this issue. For the story behind this, do see:

http://grandmabarbara.wordpress.com/

Dear City of York Council,

I have just had sight of correspondence from the office of the Minister-President of North Rhine - Westphalia, where Barbara Hofschröer was living until she was unlawfully abducted on 6 May 2014 by a criminal gang led by her son Robert Hofschröer, who is employed by York Council (see: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/y...).

This correspondence confirms that British social workers were involved in this criminal activity. As Barbara was taken to York after being unlawfully abducted, then it is clear that these social workers were from York.

This information has evidently been willfully withheld to protect these social workers from criminal prosecution.

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

I am writing to request an internal review of City of York Council's handling of my FOI request 'Barbara Hofschröer, aged 85, victim of "institutional abuse"'.

I expect this information to be released now. Please do so without further delay.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/b...

Yours faithfully,
Paul Saunderson