Botley Road - Andrew Gant discussions with stakeholders
Dear Oxfordshire County Council,
Over recent months, various freedom of information requests ( 23864 EIR and 23783 EIR and others) have attempted to get the bottom of discussions between OCC and Network Rail / its contractors about the Botley Road closure, in particular the events surrounding the further delays to the reopening of Botley Road, which Network Rail recent made public in July 2024.
However, the information revealed by these FOIs is typically modest.
Today, I asked the responsible OCC cabinet member Andrew Gant (in the OCC council meeting) which form of written communications tools he most commonly used to communicate with Network Rail and its contactors in relation to the Botley Road reopening delays. He informed me that his most commonly used written communications tools is email.
I am surprised by this answer, given the paucity of email correspondence revealed in past FOIs. I therefore seek to test Mr Gant's assertion with a new FOI.
Please specifically search for WhatsApps, texts, MS Teams - in addition to email - in all correspondence between Mr Gant and Network Rail between June 2024 and today's date - 10 September 2024, ideally until the end of today's date - but certain from the point in time this request was submitted is fine.
Correspondence between Andrew Gant and Claire Mahoney may be a particularly useful search parameter, in light of previous FOI responses.
Specifically in scope of my enquiry is any discussions between Andrew Gant and others on the subject of freedom of information requests (or equivalent), and how to best to deal with this issue, in terms of how best to communicate between OCC and NR in light of various FOI requests about the ongoing Botley Road closure.
If you are unable to supply information due to auto-message deleting functionalities (i am aware, for example, that Teams messages may automatically expire after a certain period of time) please confirm this, if you encounter this issue when searching for correspondence.
Yours faithfully,
Richard Parnham
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Dear Richard Parnham
Thank you for your request under the Environmental Information Regulations
(2004).
We are writing to acknowledge your request. Your request has been logged
under reference 24113 EIR.
We are working on your request, and we aim respond by 8 October 2024 as
required by the Legislation. However, if there are any delays that prevent
us from doing so, we will contact you again to let you know when you can
expect to receive your response.
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any further enquiries
about your request, quoting your reference number above.
Kind Regards
Lucy
Senior Freedom of Information Officer
Voice of the Customer Team
Customers and Organisational Development
Oxfordshire County Council
Email: [1][email address]
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
From: Richard Parnham <[FOI #1173119 email]>
Sent: 10 September 2024 11:16
To: FOI Team <[Oxfordshire County Council request email]>
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Botley Road - Andrew Gant
discussions with stakeholders
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Dear Oxfordshire County Council,
Over recent months, various freedom of information requests ( 23864 EIR
and 23873 EIR and others) have attempted to get the bottom of discussions
between OCC and Network Rail / its contractors about the Botley Road
closure, in particular the events surrounding the further delays to the
reopening of Botley Road, which Network Rail recent made public in July
2024.
However, the information revealed by these FOIs is typically modest.
Today, I asked the responsible OCC cabinet member Andrew Gant (in the OCC
council meeting) which form of written communications tools he most
commonly used to communicate with Network Rail and its contactors in
relation to the Botley Road reopening delays. He informed me that his most
commonly used written communications tools is email.
I am surprised by this answer, given the paucity of email correspondence
revealed in past FOIs. I therefore seek to test Mr Gant's assertion with a
new FOI.
Please specifically search for WhatsApps, texts, MS Teams - in addition to
email - in all correspondence between Mr Gant and Network Rail between
June 2024 and today's date - 10 September 2024, ideally until the end of
today's date - but certain from the point in time this request was
submitted is fine.
Correspondence between Andrew Gant and Claire Mahoney may be a
particularly useful search parameter, in light of previous FOI responses.
Specifically in scope of my enquiry is any discussions between Andrew Gant
and others on the subject of freedom of information requests (or
equivalent), and how to best to deal with this issue, in terms of how best
to communicate between OCC and NR in light of various FOI requests about
the ongoing Botley Road closure.
If you are unable to supply information due to auto-message deleting
functionalities (i am aware, for example, that Teams messages may
automatically expire after a certain period of time) please confirm this,
if you encounter this issue when searching for correspondence.
Yours faithfully,
Richard Parnham
-------------------------------------------------------------------
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Dear Mr Parnham,
I am writing to you regarding the above request. I can confirm the Council
holds the information you have requested; however, it may be subject to a
qualified exemption under the Environmental Information Regulations
(2004).
Although the Environmental Information Regulations carries a presumption
in favour of disclosure, it provides exemptions which may be used to
withhold information in specified circumstances. Some of these exemptions,
referred to as ‘qualified exemptions’, are subject to a public interest
test. This test is used to balance the public interest in disclosure
against the public interest in favour of withholding the information.
In line with the terms of a qualified exemption, I have to consider
whether it would be in the public interest for us to provide you with the
information requested. However, I have not yet reached a decision on the
balance of the public interest in this case.
Under Regulations 5, 6 and 14 of the Act, I am able to extend the
statutory time lime of 20 working days if the information held maybe
exempt under a qualified exemption. In this case, I require more time to
consider the balance of the public interest when deciding whether to
disclose the information or not.
We expect to send you the information you asked for, or a decision on your
request, by 5 November 2024 and thank you for your patience.
Yours sincerely,
Renata Malinowski
Freedom of Information Support Officer
Voice of the Customer Team
Customers and Organisational Development
Oxfordshire County Council
Email: [1][email address]
[2]www.oxfordshire.gov.uk
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If you have received it in error, please notify the sender by reply and
delete it immediately. Views expressed by the sender may not be those of
Oxfordshire County Council. Council emails are subject to the Freedom of
Information Act 2000. [3]email disclaimer. For information about how
Oxfordshire County Council manages your personal information please see
our [4]Privacy Notice.
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Dear FOI Team,
Noted. Please assume a referral to the ICO will be made if I am not satisfied with any refusal given. I am aware of the conditions the ICO imposes on refusal, so will expect to see a detailed justification for any refusal - not a mere assertion that a refusal is justified.
I am aware of numerous related requests on this issue, and am monitoring them closely.
Yours sincerely,
Richard Parnham
Our reference: 24113 FOI
Dear Richard Parnham
Thank you for your request of 10^th September 2024 in which you asked for
the following information:
Your Request
Please specifically search for WhatsApps, texts, MS Teams - in addition to
email - in all correspondence between Mr Gant and Network Rail between
June 2024 and today's date - 10 September 2024, ideally until the end of
today's date - but certain from the point in time this request was
submitted is fine.
Our Response
Please find attached the information you have requested. There is no
communication other than email.
Please note that some of the information requested is not available to you
under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 as it is exempt from disclosure.
Specifically, it is personal data as defined by Section 40 of the FOI Act.
This exemption is absolute and no public interest is required to apply it.
Internal review
If you are dissatisfied with the service or response to your request, you
can ask for an internal review as follows:
· Contact the Freedom of Information team in Law &
Governance: [1][Oxfordshire County Council request email]
· Write to the Freedom of Information team at the FREEPOST
address:
Freedom of Information Team
Oxfordshire County Council
FREEPOST (RTLL-ECKS-GLUA)
Oxford OX1 1YA
If you remain dissatisfied with the handling of your request, you have a
right to appeal to the Information Commissioner at:
The Information Commissioner's Office,
Wycliffe House,
Water Lane,
Wilmslow,
Cheshire,
SK9 5AF
Telephone: 0303 123 1113
Website: [2]www.ico.gov.uk
Please let me know if you have further enquiries. I would be grateful if
you could use the reference number given at the top of this email.
Yours sincerely,
James Willoughby
Access to Information Team Leader
Law & Governance
Customers, Culture and Corporate Services
Oxfordshire County Council, New Road, Oxford, OX1 1ND
Email : [3][email address]
My working hours are Monday to Friday 6:00 AM to 3:30 PM
This email, including attachments, may contain confidential information.
If you have received it in error, please notify the sender by reply and
delete it immediately. Views expressed by the sender may not be those of
Oxfordshire County Council. Council emails are subject to the Freedom of
Information Act 2000. [4]email disclaimer. For information about how
Oxfordshire County Council manages your personal information please see
our [5]Privacy Notice.
References
Visible links
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4. https://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/emaildisc...
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