Climate emergency staff training materials

The request was refused by Cotswold District Council.

Dear Cotswold District Council,

Section 13.1.4 of the Council's Climate Emergency Strategy 2020-2030 states that:

"Action is already being taken to develop and roll-out a programme of information and training which will bring all staff up to a level of understanding of the science of climate change, the risks it brings, the means of reducing emissions, and the role of the council."

Please provide me a copy of any training materials that are provided to staff in connection with the above objective.

Yours faithfully,

Helen Cross

foi.review@cotswold.gov.uk, Cotswold District Council

Thank you for your request for information. This mailbox does not record new requests.
Please use the link to submit your request: https://www.cotswold.gov.uk/about-the-co...

Your request/s will being dealt with under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 or Environmental Information Regulations 2004 and will be answered within twenty working days from the date of receipt. This timescale may be extended under certain circumstances. If this happens you will be notified of this and the estimated date of response.

Dear Cotswold District Council FOI Team,

I note your message that this is a "mailbox that does not record new requests". This email address is published by the council as one that the public should use in connection with FOI requests, therefore it must be monitored in some way. If you have received my request, then you are required by law to process it.

Section 8 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 requires that a request be made in writing, include the requester’s name and an address for correspondence; and describe the information being requested. There is no requirement for a request to be sent to a particular mailbox, indeed, I note that as per ICO guidance, even requests made via social media are valid for the purposes of the act.

The ICO have also said that "Whilst a public authority can request a form is filled in, you are not obliged to do this."

As I am not obliged to complete your webform, I am declining to do so on this occasion. I believe that I have already made a valid request for information that meets all requirements under the act. I also note that your webform has certain mandatory fields that would require me to provide information that I am not obliged to by law.

I would be grateful if you would confirm that you are processing my request for information, or alternatively, if you would provide me with the details of the person that I should contact to request an internal review into your handling of my request.

Thank you in advance for your assistance in this matter,

Helen Cross

foi.review@cotswold.gov.uk, Cotswold District Council

Thank you for your request for information. This mailbox does not record new requests.
Please use the link to submit your request: https://www.cotswold.gov.uk/about-the-co...

Your request/s will being dealt with under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 or Environmental Information Regulations 2004 and will be answered within twenty working days from the date of receipt. This timescale may be extended under certain circumstances. If this happens you will be notified of this and the estimated date of response.

Helen Cross left an annotation ()

The response that I have received is almost identical to one that I received in response to a previous request made to Forest of Dean Council:
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/w...

That was not an automatic response, and my request was answered.

FOI requests made to Forest of Dean Council and Cotswold District Council are handled by staff working for Publica. When I made a request to Publica directly, they also tried to get me to fill in their webform: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/w...

FOI law does not require you to write to a specific address or to fill in any specific form.

I have sought guidance from the ICO on this issue, and they have told me that: "Whilst a public authority can request a form is filled in, you are not obliged to do this." If an authority refuses to process your request and instead points you to fill in a webform, the ICO's advice is to: "Raise a formal complaint with the public authority in the first instance. Then a complaint with the ICO."

Dear Cotswold District Council,

I am writing to request confirmation that you have received, and are processing my request for information, that was submitted to you via email on 18 June. My request is as follows:

Section 13.1.4 of the Council's Climate Emergency Strategy 2020-2030 states that:

"Action is already being taken to develop and roll-out a programme of information and training which will bring all staff up to a level of understanding of the science of climate change, the risks it brings, the means of reducing emissions, and the role of the council."

Please provide me a copy of any training materials that are provided to staff in connection with the above objective.

Thank you in advance for your assistance,

Helen Cross

Cotswold DC Customer Services, Cotswold District Council

[1]Cotswold District Council logo
Thank you for contacting us
Your reference number is 01100235.

Your enquiry will be passed to one of our advisors who will be in contact
if required.

If you need to provide further information then simply respond to this
email.

Most information can be found on our website, please visit
[2]www.cotswold.gov.uk

Regards
Customer Services
Cotswold District Council
Trinity Road
Cirencester Date: 23/06/2022
Gloucestershire
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Cotswold DC Customer Services, Cotswold District Council

[1]Cotswold District Council logo
Customer update
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Update: Thank you for your request for information.
Please use the link to submit your request

https://www.cotswold.gov.uk/about-the-co...

Your request/s will being dealt with under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 or Environmental Information Regulations 2004 and will be
answered within twenty working days from the date of receipt. This timescale may be extended under certain circumstances. If this happens you will be
notified of this and the estimated date of response.

Kind regards

Your reference number is 01100235.

If you need to provide further information then simply respond to this email.

Most information can be found on our website, please visit [2]www.cotswold.gov.uk

Regards
Customer Services

How do you rate your overall experience of the service delivered by Cotswold District Council?
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Cotswold District Council
Trinity Road
Cirencester Date: 23/06/2022
Gloucestershire
GL7 1PX [6]Privacy notice

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Dear Cotswold DC Customer Services,

I am afraid that you have not answered my question.

I would be grateful if you would confirm that you are processing the request for information that I submitted on 18 June, or alternatively, if you would provide me with the email address that I should use to request an internal review into your handling of my request.

Thank you in advance for your assistance in this matter,

Helen Cross

Cotswold DC Customer Services, Cotswold District Council

[1]Cotswold District Council logo
Thank you for contacting us
Your reference number is 01100235.

Your enquiry will be passed to one of our advisors who will be in contact
if required.

If you need to provide further information then simply respond to this
email.

Most information can be found on our website, please visit
[2]www.cotswold.gov.uk

Regards
Customer Services
Cotswold District Council
Trinity Road
Cirencester Date: 23/06/2022
Gloucestershire
GL7 1PX [4]Privacy notice

[3]Visit our website

References

Visible links
2. https://www.cotswold.gov.uk/
3. https://www.cotswold.gov.uk/
4. https://www.cotswold.gov.uk/privacy

DoNotReply FOI,

1 Attachment

Dear Helen Cross

Further to your email of the 23 June 2022, we can confirm that your request was received on the 18 June 2022 and is being processed.

Yours sincerely

Freedom of Information (CDC)

show quoted sections

Georgie Palama,

1 Attachment

Dear Helen, 

 

Further to your Freedom of Information request, please accept our
apologies that we have been unable to provide this information within the
20 day statutory period. However, please find attached the response to
your request contained in this email. 

If you are unhappy with the service you have received in relation to your
freedom of information request and wish to request a review you should
write to the Monitoring Officer, Cotswold District Council, Trinity Road,
Cirencester, Gloucestershire GL7 1PX or email
[1][email address

If you are not content with the outcome of your review, you may apply
directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision. Generally the ICO
cannot make a decision unless you have exhausted the review procedure
provided by the Council. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:
The Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane,
Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF.

Kind Regards,

Freedom of Information 

Cotswold District Council

Georgie Palama
Strategic Support Officer​

══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

Publica is a company wholly owned by Cotswold District Council, Forest of
Dean District Council, West Oxfordshire District Council and Cheltenham
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The content of this email and any related emails do not constitute a
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Dear Cotswold District Council,

I'm writing to request an internal review of your response to my request, your ref: 001749

You have not provided me with a copy of the information that I am seeking, nor have you issued a valid refusal notice stating what exemptions you have sought to apply.

You have sent me an extract from the licencing conditions of some of the training material, but the fact that information is subject to Copyright does not automatically exempt it from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act.

In addition, I would ask you to consider whether any information falling within the scope of my request could be considered environmental information, and as such, whether that element of my request should have been handled in accordance with the Environmental Information Regulations.

Kind regards,

Helen Cross

foi.review@cotswold.gov.uk, Cotswold District Council

Thank you for your request for information. This mailbox does not record new requests.
Please use the link to submit your request: https://www.cotswold.gov.uk/about-the-co...

Your request/s will being dealt with under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 or Environmental Information Regulations 2004 and will be answered within twenty working days from the date of receipt. This timescale may be extended under certain circumstances. If this happens you will be notified of this and the estimated date of response.
Recipients should be aware that all e-mails and attachments sent and received by West Oxfordshire, Cotswold and/or Forest of Dean District Council may be accessible to others in the Council for business or litigation purposes, and/or disclosed to a third party under the Freedom of Information or Data Protection Legislation. If you have received this e-mail in error please inform the sender and delete it.

FOI Requests,

Dear Helen,

This is an email to acknowledge your request for an internal review regarding FOI/001749.

I can assure you it has been passed onto the correct channels for action.

Kind regards
Georgie
Freedom of Information Team

show quoted sections

FOI Review (CDC), Cotswold District Council

1 Attachment

Dear Helen Cross

 

Please find attached the Councils response to your request for an internal
review.

 

Regards

Freedom of Information Team

Cotswold District Council

Publica is a company wholly owned by Cotswold District Council, Forest of
Dean District Council, West Oxfordshire District Council and Cheltenham
Borough Council to deliver local services on their behalf.

The content of this email and any related emails do not constitute a
legally binding agreement and we do not accept service of court
proceedings or any other formal notices by email unless specifically
agreed by us in writing.

Recipients should be aware that all e-mails and attachments sent and
received by Publica on behalf of West Oxfordshire, Cotswold and/or Forest
of Dean District Council may be accessible to others in the Council for
business or litigation purposes, and/or disclosed to a third party under
the Freedom of Information or Data Protection Legislation.