Christopher Garland Conservative Leader
Dear Sir or Madam,
Please confirm whether or not Mr Garland is in actual fact a member of the Freemasons and all declarations of interest including any and all outside employment?
Yours faithfully,
S Smith
Dear Sir or Madam
Please find attached our acknowledgement of your request.
Yours faithfully
Louise Brimson
Executive Support Officer
Maidstone Borough Council
Dear Sir or Madam
Please find attached our response to your request below.
Yours faithfully
Louise Brimson
Executive Support Officer
Maidstone Borough Council
Dear Louise Brimson,
Thank you for confirming that the Conservative Leader of Maidstone Borough Council Councillor Christopher Garland belongs to a Masonic Lodge and is therefore a Freemason.
Can you please explain why you failed to supply this information previously when it was requested on the 6th February 2009 and confirm if any other elected members are also members of Masonic Lodges i.e. Freemasons?
http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/fr...
Yours sincerely,
S Smith
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Dear Sir or Madam
I refer to your email 6th May and I can confirm that I personally received the request on 24th April 2009 and have supplied the information within the due time limit for a response.
I apologise if you believe there was a delay in a response from the Council.
In respect of your further request we will forward the relevant information to you by 20 working days of receipt of your request.
Neil Harris
Democratic Services
Dear Neil Harris
Please refer to email/link supplied on 6th May 2009 relating to FOI addressed by Emma Apps Maidstone Borough Council on the 5th March 2009 and explain why the information requested was not supplied previously.
Yours sincerely,
S Smith
Dear Sir or Madam
I have investigated this matter further and can confirm my response letter was raised and sent on 5th March 2009, please see a copy attached. I am unable to ascertain why you did not receive this. Please accept my apologies for this delay.
Neil Harris
Democratic Services
Dear Neil Harris,
As you can see Conservative Leader Christopher Garland does not appear, although he is a Freemason please explain why.
quote:
2) Please name all members.
We have no knowledge of any Members of the Council being Free
Masons as we do not ask for this information.
Yours sincerely,
S Smith
Dear S Smith
Thank you for your various correspondence on this matter concerning Councillor Garland and his membership of the Freemasons or not. Firstly I must apologise that the information given below is not correct. The Council does not ask Councillors to disclose their membership of the Freemasons but they can disclose it in the Charity question and I am aware that you have received a copy of Councillor Garlands interest form in which he has disclosed his membership of the Freemasons.
You have also subsequently asked if any other Councillors have disclosed membership of the freemasons and I can confirm that Councillors Beerling and Thick have disclosed such membership. I hope this answers your further query.
If I can be of any further assistance in this matter please do not hesitate to contact me
Yours sincerely
Neil Harris
Democratic Services Manager
Maidstone Borough Council
Dear Neil Harris,
Thank you for confirming 2 more Elected Members are also members of Masonic Lodges, can you please state which political party Councillor Beerling & Councillor Thick belong to, and which Masonic Lodges.
Can you also clarify if the rest of the information concerning the Leader of Maidstone Borough Council is correct including any additional outside employment.
Many thanks
Yours sincerely,
S Smith
I am currently out of the Office until 18 May. If you require any
assistance please contact my Secretary Louise Brimson on x2304 or Jill
Lucas on x2243.
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Maidstone, Kent ME15 6JQ
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you:
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This email is confidential. If you receive it by mistake, please advise
the sender by email immediately. Any unauthorised use of the message or
attachments is prohibited. Unless stated otherwise, any opinions are
personal and cannot be attributed to Maidstone Borough Council. Unless a
Purchase Order is attached this email is not a Contract or an Order. It is
your responsibility to carry out virus checks before opening any
attachment.
Dear Sir or Madam,
Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.
I am writing to request an internal review of Maidstone Borough Council's handling of my FOI request 'Christopher Garland Conservative Leader'.
A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address:
http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/ch...
Yours sincerely,
S Smith
Dear S Smith,
Please could you let me know what aspect of the response you wish me to review?
Yours sincerely
Paul Fisher
Solicitor
Head of Legal Services
Maidstone Borough Council
01622 602006
Dear S Smith
Further to your e mail below I am able to confirm that Councillor Beerling has not disclosed his lodge whilst Councillor Thick has disclosed he is a member of the Eastern Star Lodge 95.
I hope that answers your query.
Yours sincerely
Neil Harris
Democratic Services Manager
Maidstone Borough Council
Dear Paul Fisher,
Thank you for confirming that the Conservative Leader of Maidstone
Borough Council Councillor Christopher Garland belongs to a Masonic
Lodge and is therefore a Freemason.
Please state if ALL employment and declarations have been declared and why being a freemason was not declared on the declaration of interest form, when previously requested FOI of the 6th February 2009.
Please confirm to which political parties councillor Beerling & Thick belong and councillor Beerling's lodge and why this has not been declared.
Please refrain from avoiding and delaying the answers further, as this is not considered professional or good practice.
Yours sincerely,
S Smith
Dear Sir or Madam,
Can you please be kind enough to say when a response will be delivered.
Yours sincerely,
S Smith
Dear Mr Smith,
Please see the attached.
Regards
Elizabeth Roach
Elizabeth Roach/Penny Cloke
Secretaries to Paul Taylor
Assistant Director of Customer Services and Partnerships
Maidstone Borough Council
01622 602605/2309
Dear Elizabeth Roach,
Thank you for confirming that Maidstone Borough Council failed to supply correct information that was lodged on MBC Conservative Leaders declaration of interest form,apparently on 20th June 2008, showing alongside fellow (Conservative) Cllr Thick & Cllr Beerling (LibDem) belong to Masonic Lodges.
But failed to acknowledge or give reasons as to why the council have failed to declare accurate information in their resposne to the FOI request of
6th February 2009?
Unfortunately you have also failed to answer fully the FOI request,
Please state if ALL employment and declarations have been declared by MBC Conservative Leader Christopher Garland.
Hopefully this has made the request clearer and will be a simple matter to remedy.
Yours sincerely,
S Smith
Dear S Smith
I refer to your e mail to Elizabeth Roach which is set out below concerning your freedom of information request. Firstly I did apologise for the mistake made in the first response on 13 May.
However turning to your request have all employment and declarations been declared by Councillor Garland I can confirm that the only information relating to this matter is his Register of Interests form a copy of which was sent to you on 5 May.
I hope that clarifies the matter
Regards
Neil Harris
Democratic Services Manager
Maidstone Borough Council
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