Christmas parties cost

Waiting for an internal review by Health and Care Professions Council of their handling of this request.

Dear Health and Care Professions Council,

With regard to the Christmas party for which the council paid £17,052.15 for a single evening's entertainment, please tell me

1) from where the money came - ie government grant, loan, registrant's fees
2) who authorised the payment
3) how much of this bill represented alcohol and if so, the cost of wine and champagne per bottle and number purchased
4) how many hours of paid time it took to arrange
5) the venue location
6) whether none HCPC members were paid for - partners, spouses, employees of law firms and service providers
7) total number of attendees
8) total amount spent on Christmas parties in the past 5 years

Yours faithfully,

Simon Hoyle

FOI, Health and Care Professions Council

Dear Mr Hoyle

Thank you for your request for information about the cost of the Council's Christmas parties which was received on 5 April 2016. We are treating this as a request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

We will deal with your request as promptly as possible and, at the latest, within 20 working days. If you have any queries about your request please contact us using this email address, or the address below.

The reference number for your request is FR04557.

Yours sincerely

Maxine Pryce
Freedom of Information
Health and Care Professions Council
Park House, 184 Kennington Park Road
London SE11 4BU

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FOI, Health and Care Professions Council

Dear Mr Hoyle,

 

Thank you for your recent information request regarding the HCPC’s
employee Christmas lunch. Your request has been handled under the Freedom
of Information Act (FOIA) (2000).

 

I have set out your questions and the HCPC’s responses below.

 

1) from where the money came - ie government grant, loan, registrant's
fees

 

Expenditure for the Christmas lunch is allocated within the communications
budget. Like other health and care professional regulators, HCPC’s
operational costs are funded through registration fees.  We regard the
Christmas lunch as an important part of our engagement programme for
employees.

 

2) who authorised the payment

 

The Christmas lunch was authorised by the Director of Communications.

 

3) how much of this bill represented alcohol and if so, the cost of wine
and champagne per bottle and number purchased

 

The agreed cost of the lunch was £72 per head including VAT, which
included 1 glass of sparkling wine on arrival, a 3 course meal, a third of
a bottle of wine or 1 soft drink, hire of a public address system with
microphone and staffing of a cash bar if HCPC employees wanted to purchase
more drinks. A further 37 bottles of wine were provided on the day at a
cost of £145.15 including VAT.

 

4) how many hours of paid time it took to arrange

 

We do not hold this information.

 

5) the venue location

 

The Christmas lunch was held in a function room at the Kia Oval, the
Surrey County Cricket ground.

 

6) whether non HCPC members were paid for - partners, spouses, employees
of law firms and service providers

 

There were no partners, spouses or employees of law firms or other HCPC
suppliers.  The only attendees were HCPC employees and the Chair of HCPC.

 

7) total number of attendees

 

224

 

8) total amount spent on Christmas parties in the past 5 years

 

The amount spent on the all employee Christmas lunch for past five years
is as follows:

 

2015: £17,052.15

2014: £17,224.36

2013: £17,173.10

2012: £13,547.68

2011: £9,891.90

 

Internal review

If you are unhappy with the way your request for information has been
handled, you can request a review by writing to:

Secretariat Department

Health and Care Professions Council

Park House

184 Kennington Park Road

London

SE11 4BU

 

Email: [email address]

 

If you remain dissatisfied with the handling of your request or complaint,
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: 08456 30 60 60 or 01625 54 57 45 Website: www.ico.gov.uk

 

There is no charge for making an appeal.

 

Yours sincerely

 

Freedom of Information

Health and Care Professions Council

Park House, 184 Kennington Park Road, London SE11 4BU

www.hcpc-uk.org

 

tel +44 (0)20 7840 9710 (direct dial) or +44 (0)845 3004472 (Main
switchboard)

[HCPC request email]

 

To sign up to our e-newsletter, please email [email address]

 

Please consider the environment before printing this email 

 

Correspondence is welcome in English or Welsh / Gallwch ohebu yn Gymraeg
neu Saesneg.

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Dear Health and Care Professions Council,

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

I am writing to request an internal review of Health and Care Professions Council's handling of my FOI request 'Christmas parties cost'.

Your figures do not add up. You have failed to account for £779 of the total. Therefore you have failed to comply with the act. Please revert to me with corrected figures.

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

Yours faithfully,

Simon Hoyle

FOI, Health and Care Professions Council

Dear Mr Hoyle

Thank you for your email.

Your request for an internal review has been passed onto the Director of Policy and Standards.

The reference number for your request is FR04611.

Kind regards

Yours sincerely

Giba Begum
Freedom of Information
Health and Care Professions Council
Park House, 184 Kennington Park Road, London SE11 4BU
www.hcpc-uk.org

tel +44 (0)20 7840 9710 (direct dial) or +44 (0)845 3004472 (Main switchboard)
[HCPC request email]

To sign up to our e-newsletter, please email [email address]

Please consider the environment before printing this email

Correspondence is welcome in English or Welsh / Gallwch ohebu yn Gymraeg neu Saesneg.

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