Comfy Meetings… Exclusive Membership Agreement.
Dear Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council,
If the Chief Executive has sent this to you chaps at the Information Team, please respond via this forum.
On May 21, the Director of Regeneration, Mr. Cole, wrote to me stating, "The Council meets with the newly formed BMTA committee on a monthly basis, and it was agreed that this meeting’s membership would be that of Council officers and the (BMTA) committee only."
I would like to understand when it was agreed that the exclusive membership of these meetings was restricted to Officers and Birkenhead Market Tenants Association representatives and who agreed to this agreement. Please provide all relevant documents and emails held by the Council related to this ….agreement, this should include a copy of the signed agreement with the position held by all signatories or the complete chain of emails relating to this irregular agreement. This is a Freedom of Information Request.
Late edit… I have spoken with the Chairman of the Market Traders Association and he has stated “No such agreement exists”
Yours faithfully,
Erebus Smith AKA Alan Featherstone
Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council, sent the following message relating to this information request to me via private email
Dear Mr Featherstone
We acknowledge your contact below that has been forwarded from Wirral Council’s Chief Executive.
We can confirm your four requests below, that we have additionally received from the WDTK platform, have now been logged, please find references as follows.
FOI/CRM 1689389 : Comfy Meeting Membership Agreement.
Erebus Smith AKA Alan Featherstone
Dear Mr Featherstone
In response to your enquiry, we can advise that there is no recorded
information held, no emails recorded or documents created. To advise and
assist you, please note that these sessions are carried out informally
with the BMTA. There is no formal membership agreement held by the Council
but traders who are not members of the BMTA have the opportunity to engage
with the Council independently.
The Council meets with the BMTA as the representative body for all traders
within the Market, regardless of whether a trader is a member of the BMTA
or not. If a trader is not a member of the BMTA that is not to say they
are excluded from engagement with the Council.
We trust this clarifies the position.
Yours sincerely
Lynette Paterson
Principal Information Management Officer
Law and Corporate Services
Wirral Council
PO Box 290
Brighton Street
Wallasey
CH27 9FQ
Email: [1][Wirral Borough Council request email]
Visit our website: [2]www.wirral.gov.uk
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Dear Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council,
Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.
Mr Cole only stayed with the Council for a few weeks and I understand he was briefed in writing via emails. Please check all briefing notes and emails between Mr Cole, Mr Shaw, Mr Neal and CllrJones and then confirm there is nothing there that helped Mr Cole form the following opinion.
“ I note your concerns on meeting attendance – for the sake of clarity, the Council meets with the newly formed BMTA committee on a monthly basis, and it was agreed that this meeting’s membership would be that of Council officers and the committee only.”
I am writing to request an internal review of Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council's handling of my FOI request 'Comfy Meetings… Exclusive Membership Agreement.'.
[ GIVE DETAILS ABOUT YOUR COMPLAINT HERE ]
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,
Erebus Smith AKA Alan Featherstone
Dear Mr Featherstone
IR/FOI 1689389
[1]https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/c...
[2][FOI #1147519 email]
I write in response to your recent request for an internal review, in
which you stated:
Please check all briefing notes and emails between Mr Cole, Mr Shaw, Mr
Neal and Cllr Jones and then confirm there is nothing there that helped Mr
Cole form the following opinion. “ I note your concerns on meeting
attendance – for the sake of clarity, the Council meets with the newly
formed BMTA committee on a monthly basis, and it was agreed that this
meeting’s membership would be that of Council officers and the committee
only.”
I can confirm that a forensic search of the Council’s servers has now been
undertaken and that no emails or documentation were identified.
I therefore uphold the Council's original response and consider this
matter closed. You do of course have the right to complain to the
Information Commissioner's Office, contact details for which has been
provided previously.
Your sincerely
Tracy O'Hare
Information Management Technical Officer
Law and Corporate Services
Wirral Council
PO Box 290
Brighton Street
Wallasey
CH27 9FQ
Email:[3][email address]
Visit our website: [4]www.wirral.gov.uk
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4. http://www.wirral.gov.uk/
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Erebus Smith AKA Alan Featherstone left an annotation ()
Complaint sent to ICO
Hi Team ICO.
I would like to complain about Wirral Borough Council’s handling of this information request.
I sent the original request sent on 15 July.
On 5 August the Council responded by denying any requested documents existed.
On 7 August I wrote to the Council requesting an internal review and giving my reasons for the request. The Council have failed to respond to the email sent on 7 August.
Kindest regards
Alan Featherstone
PS
I would also like to complain that the Regeneration Directorate at Wirral Borough Council appears to be following a corporate policy of delaying, prevaricating and misunderstanding information requests.