Dear Mr Kenning

Thank you for your email of 14 September 2022 to Ards and North Down Borough Council.

We confirm your request regarding bullying, harassment and sick leave will be processed as a request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. You will receive the information you have requested within 20 working days of the date of receipt of your request by the Council unless the Council does not hold the information or there is a reason to withhold all or part of the information requested. The Council will write to you in any event.

For further information in relation to the Freedom of Information Act we would refer you to the Information Commissioner's Office website, www.ico.org.uk

If you wish to discuss the above, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Regards,

FOI Team
Ards and North Down Borough Council
Town Hall
The Castle
Bangor
BT20 4BT
Tel: 0300 013 3333

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Dear Mr Kenning,

We refer to the above matter and write further to our acknowledgement
email of 15^th September 2022.

Your request has been processed by Ards and North Down Borough Council in
accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and please see the
Council’s response below.

 1. How many complaints of bullying and harassment have been made by
council employees/ex council employees between 1/4/2020 and 1/9/2022
whether upheld or not?

In accordance with section 40(5B)(a)(i) of the Freedom of Information Act
the Council is neither confirming nor denying whether recorded information
is held relevant to your question. To either confirm or deny whether
recorded information is held would be to provide public comment on
employment matters. A confirmation or denial regarding this question would
be outside of the reasonable expectations of individuals as the reasonable
expectation is that Council would not comment publicly on staffing matters
to the public at large. To confirm or deny would therefore be unfair and a
breach of the first data protection principle of lawful, fair and
transparent processing. For this reason, the Council is neither confirming
nor denying whether recorded information is held relevant to this question
in accordance with section 40(5B)(a)(i) of the Freedom of Information Act.
No inference should be drawn from this response.

 2. How many whistleblowing complaints have been made between by
employees/ex employees between 1/4/2020 and 1/9/2022 whether upheld or
not? Please see response to Question 1.

 3. Which department within the council domain has received the most
complaints of bullying & harassment and whistle blowing complaints
between 1/4/2020 and 01/9/2022 whether upheld or not? Please see
response to Question 1.

 4. How many individual members of staff within the Neighbourhood
Environment Team have had a period of sick leave from 01/4/20 and
01/9/22? Please see response to Question 1.

 5. What is the combined total of sick leave taken by Neighbourhood
Environment Team employees in total hours during 2021 and 2022 to
date? Please see response to Question 1.

Should you require clarification on any part of this response, please do
not hesitate to contact us.

Should you be unhappy with the response you may request an Internal Review
by contacting [1][Ards and North Down Borough Council request email]. Please note that requests
for Internal Reviews must be submitted within two months from the date of
this response.   Further information on the Internal Review process is
available on the Council’s website.  In the event you are unhappy with the
outcome of any Internal Review conducted by Council you may apply to the
Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) for a review of our response.
Please note that the ICO generally expects Internal Reviews to be
completed prior to reviewing the decisions of public bodies.

Regards,

FOI Team

Ards and North Down Borough Council
Town Hall
The Castle
Bangor
BT20 4BT
Tel: 0300 013 3333

The information contained in or attached to this message is intended only
for the people to whom it is addressed. If you are not the intended
recipient, any use, storage, disclosure or copying of this information is
unauthorised and prohibited. This information may be confidential or
subject to legal privilege. If you have received this email in error
please notify the sender immediately by using the reply facility in your
email software and then delete the email from your inbox. The contents of
this message do not represent the expressed view of Ards and North Down
Borough Council unless that is clearly stated. The Council cannot accept
liability in the event that the onward transmission, opening, or use of
this message and/or any attachments adversely affects the recipient's
systems or data. Personal information contained in or attached to this
message will be processed in line with the Council’s obligations under the
Data Protection Act 2018, its Data Protection Policy and for the purpose
for which it was provided. If you have a data protection query, please put
your request in writing, stating clearly who you are and your query to:
Data Protection Officer, Ards and North Down Borough Council, Town Hall,
The Castle, Bangor, BT20 4BT, email:
[email address], tel: 0300 013 3333 or visit the
Council’s website at www.ardsandnorthdown.gov.uk/privacy-and-....

References

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1. mailto:[Ards and North Down Borough Council request email]

Dear Mr Kenning,

We refer to the above and acknowledge receipt of your email of 13 October 2022 to Ards and North Down Borough Council.

We will process your email as a request for an Internal Review of the Council’s response dated 13 October 2022 regarding FOI498/22-23/009.

Your request for an Internal Review will be passed to the Director for Organisational Development and Administration, Wendy Swanston, and a response will be issued within twenty working days from the date of receipt of your request. The internal review reference is FOI479/22-23/006.

Regards,

FOI Team
Ards and North Down Borough Council
Town Hall
The Castle
Bangor
BT20 4BT
Tel: 0300 013 3333

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Dear Mr Kenning

Re: Internal Review, Bullying/Harassment and Sick Leave

Our Ref: FOI479/22-23/006

I am writing in response to your request for an internal review, which was
received by Ards and North Down Borough Council on 13^th October 2022.

An Internal Review Panel, which the undersigned chaired, met to consider
the FOI Team’s response of 13^th October 2022 and your request for a
review of the decision not to confirm or deny whether the information you
requested was held in accordance with section 40(5B)(a)(i) of the Freedom
of Information Act. The factors considered by the Panel and the conclusion
it has reached is set out in the remainder of this correspondence.

The Data Protection Act 2018 sets out how personal data must be processed.

Section 3(2) of the Data Protection Act 2018 defines personal data as “any
information relating to an identified or identifiable individual”.
Information, including statistical information in the context of
employment matters from which individuals would be identifiable would fall
under the 2018 Act’s definition of personal data.

The Panel has considered whether confirmation or denial of whether
information is held relevant to your request would contravene any of the
Data Protection principles, with a focus on Article 5(1)(a) of the General
Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which states that “personal data shall
be processed lawfully, fairly and in a transparent manner in relation to
the data subject”. The Panel has considered whether confirming or denying
whether relevant information is held to the world at large (which is what
a response under the Freedom of Information Act is considered as) would be
lawful, fair and transparent. The lawful bases listed in Article 6(1)(b)
of the GDPR have been considered in the context of the most relevant basis
as set out in Article 6(1)(f):

“processing is necessary for the purposes of the legitimate interests
pursued by the controller or by a third party except where such interests
are overridden by the interests or fundamental rights and freedoms of the
data subject which require protection of personal data”

In considering this lawful basis, the Panel has reviewed (i) whether a
legitimate interest is being pursued in the request for information; (ii)
whether public disclosure is necessary to meet the legitimate interest in
question and (iii) whether the legitimate interests override the
legitimate interests or fundamental rights and freedoms of the data
subject.

The Panel recognises the legitimate interest in openness and transparency.

The Panel has reviewed whether disclosure under the Freedom of Information
Act is “necessary”. A response under the Freedom of Information Act cannot
be considered solely a response to the individual making the request but
is considered a response to the wider world at large. As such, a
confirmation or denial under the Freedom of Information Act must be the
least intrusive means of meeting your legitimate interest. As there is no
legal obligation contained within local government legislation requiring
the Council to confirm or deny the information in the manner you have
requested, there are no less intrusive means of achieving the legitimate
interest.

The Panel has looked at the balance between the legitimate interests in
confirmation / denial of whether information is held against the
individuals’ interests or fundamental rights and freedoms, and the impact
on the individuals.

To either confirm or deny whether recorded information is held would be to
provide public comment on employment matters. A confirmation or denial
regarding this question would be outside of the reasonable expectations of
individuals as the reasonable expectation is that Council would not
comment publicly on staffing matters to the public at large in the context
of your request for information. To confirm or deny would therefore be
unfair and a breach of the first data protection principle of lawful, fair
and transparent processing. Such a breach of their Data Protection rights
would cause unwarranted harm and distress to individuals. The Panel is
also mindful that the Council publishes annual statistics relating to
sickness absences across the entire organisation.

Taking these factors into account along with the legitimate interests in
disclosure, leads the Panel to conclude that confirmation or denial of
whether recorded information is held regarding your request would not be
proportionate and there is insufficient legitimate interest to outweigh
individuals’ fundamental rights and freedoms, including their Data
Protection rights. As the Panel considers a confirmation or denial to be
unlawful, it has not gone on to consider whether it would be fair or
transparent. For the reasons outlined above, the Panel submits that it is
appropriate to engage the exemption at section 40(5B)(a)(i) of the Freedom
of Information Act on the basis confirmation or denial of whether
information is held would contravene the Data Protection principle of
lawful, fair and transparent processing – Article 6(1)(f) of the GDPR.

If you are not satisfied with the way in which your internal review
request has been handled, or with this response, you may contact the
Information Commissioner’s Office at:

The ICO – Northern Ireland

3rd Floor

14 Cromac Place,

Belfast

BT7 2JB

Telephone: 0303 123 1113

Email: [1][email address]

Yours sincerely,

Wendy Swanston

The information contained in or attached to this message is intended only
for the people to whom it is addressed. If you are not the intended
recipient, any use, storage, disclosure or copying of this information is
unauthorised and prohibited. This information may be confidential or
subject to legal privilege. If you have received this email in error
please notify the sender immediately by using the reply facility in your
email software and then delete the email from your inbox. The contents of
this message do not represent the expressed view of Ards and North Down
Borough Council unless that is clearly stated. The Council cannot accept
liability in the event that the onward transmission, opening, or use of
this message and/or any attachments adversely affects the recipient's
systems or data. Personal information contained in or attached to this
message will be processed in line with the Council’s obligations under the
Data Protection Act 2018, its Data Protection Policy and for the purpose
for which it was provided. If you have a data protection query, please put
your request in writing, stating clearly who you are and your query to:
Data Protection Officer, Ards and North Down Borough Council, Town Hall,
The Castle, Bangor, BT20 4BT, email:
[email address], tel: 0300 013 3333 or visit the
Council’s website at www.ardsandnorthdown.gov.uk/privacy-and-....

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]