Commercial Sensitivity Exchanges (BHL)
Dear Birmingham City Council,
With regard to my FoIA responses concerning Kier Highways, where you have cited 'commercial interests' (s43) please provide the exchanges between Kier*, BHL* and BCC
I refer you to https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/c...
Yours faithfully,
Mr P Swift
*Kier Highways & Birmingham Highways Ltd hold the information on your behalf
'The information was supplied by Birmingham Highways Ltd which engaged with
its subcontractor Kier. The information provided is that provided in response to
the request.' BCC response 27/04/2022
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/c...
Dear Birmingham City Council,
Please advise by when I can expect to receive the information, 20 working days have passed.
Yours faithfully,
Mr P Swift
Mr P Swift left an annotation ()
from the ICO:
Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA)
Your complaint about: Birmingham City Council
WDTK link: Commercial Sensitivity Exchanges (BHL) - a Freedom of
Information request to Birmingham City Council - WhatDoTheyKnow
Our reference: IC-200108-V1P6
Thank you for your complaint about the above public authority’s delay in
responding to your request for information.
I have contacted the public authority and asked it to respond to your request
within 10 working days.
If you haven’t had a response in that time, please let us know by emailing
icocasework@ico.org.uk.
Please include your reference number in the subject title of your email.
If the public authority responds to your request and refuses to release the
information you have asked for and you are dissatisfied, you should request an
internal review.
Once you have exhausted the internal review procedure and if you don’t agree
with the outcome, you can ask us to continue to investigate your complaint.
Please make sure you provide us with a copy of your internal review request and
the public authority’s response.
Dear Mr Swift
Further to our response of 9 November 2022 (ref 46172885) this matter now
falls into realm of vexatious and has now been added to that request.
Yours sincerely
Jenny Bent
Digital & Customer Support Services
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Dear Birmingham City Council,
Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.
I am writing to request an internal review of Birmingham City Council's handling of my FOI request 'Commercial Sensitivity Exchanges (BHL)'.
Please address this request and explain to what you are referring.
It appears this matter was intentionally ignored, and you elected not to comply with s.1 FoIA
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,
Mr P Swift
Mr P Swift left an annotation ()
01/12/2022 from the ICO:
Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA)
Your complaint about: Birmingham City Council (the Council)
WDTK link: Commercial Sensitivity Exchanges (BHL) - a Freedom of
Information request to Birmingham City Council - WhatDoTheyKnow
Our reference: IC-200108-V1P6
Thank you for your complaint regarding the above Public Authority. We previously sent the Council a letter on 9 November 2022 reminding them of their
responsibilities to respond under section 10 FOIA. Their deadline to respond by was 23 November 2022.
Please confirm whether or not you have received a response from the Council and if you are satisfied with the outcome. If we do not hear from you by 8 December 2022 we will assume that the Council have responded and will close the case accordingly.
I hope the above is clear, however if you are not satisfied, or have any other questions, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
Mr P Swift left an annotation ()
01/12/2022 to the ICO:
Thank you for your email.
16/11/2022 BCC responded
‘Further to our response of 9 November 2022 (ref 46172885) this matter now falls into realm of vexatious and has now been added to that request.’
This somewhat bland, non-specific, dismissal is unhelpful therefore, 16/11/2022, I sought an internal review.
To address your letter of today, following your involvement, I received a response (as above) however, I am not satisfied with the outcome.
Mr P Swift left an annotation ()
ICO Case Reference: IC-200108-V1P6
6 December 2022
Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA)
Your complaint about: Birmingham City Council
WDTK link: Commercial Sensitivity Exchanges (BHL) - a Freedom of
Information request to Birmingham City Council - WhatDoTheyKnow
Our reference: IC-200108-V1P6
From the correspondence that you have provided, I can see that you are dissatisfied with your response from the council but it appears that you have not yet asked the public authority to review their response to your request.
If an applicant is not satisfied with the response an authority has provided, the Commissioner generally expects complainants to allow public authorities the
opportunity to respond to any arguments as to why the requested information should be released. An authority should provide an internal review within 20 working days of the request for one, and no longer than 40 working days.
We therefore advise you to first ask the public authority to reconsider its response to your request. When doing so, it may be helpful if you respond to any specific reasons given by the public authority for withholding information.
If you have, in fact, exhausted the authority’s internal review procedure, please provide evidence of this so we can progress your complaint.
Information Commissioner’s Office
Dear Mr Swift
I am writing further to your email dated 16 November 2022 seeking an
internal review.
Request
With regard to my FoIA responses concerning Kier Highways, where you have
cited 'commercial interests' (s43) please provide the exchanges between
Kier*, BHL* and BCC
I refer you to
[1]https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/c...
Yours faithfully,
Mr P Swift
*Kier Highways & Birmingham Highways Ltd hold the information on your
behalf
'The information was supplied by Birmingham Highways Ltd which engaged
with its subcontractor Kier. The information provided is that provided in
response to the request.' BCC response 27/04/2022
[2]https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/c...
The panel met on 23 November 2022 and in deliberating its decision, the
panel gave consideration to:
• The original request
• Response provided by the directorate
• Submission from the applicant
The panel have reviewed the request and the response provided. The panel
agreed the service area had already provided a detailed response in FOI
46172885 why any requests submitted regarding Kier Highways and Birmingham
Highways Ltd would be deemed vexatious.
The panel have concluded that the service area can maintain reliance on
the exemption under s14 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 on the
grounds that the Council considers the request to be vexatious.
The panel have not upheld the appeal.
We trust this is satisfactory. If however, you are not satisfied with the
City Council's decision, you may apply to the Information Commission for
an independent review at the following address:-
The Information Commissioner
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
[3]www.ico.gov.uk
Yours sincerely
Mr Malkiat Thiarai
Head of Corporate Information Management
BIRMINGHAM CITY COUNCIL DISCLAIMER This email contains proprietary
confidential information some or all of which may be legally privileged
and/or subject to the provisions of privacy legislation. It is intended
solely for the addressee. If you are not the intended recipient, an
addressing or transmission error has misdirected this e-mail; you must not
use, disclose, copy, print or disseminate the information contained within
this e-mail. Please notify the author immediately by replying to this
email. Any views expressed in this email are those of the individual
sender, except where the sender specifically states these to be the views
of Birmingham City Council. This email has been scanned for all viruses
and all reasonable precautions have been taken to ensure that no viruses
are present. Birmingham City Council cannot accept responsibility for any
loss or damage arising from the use of this email or attachments.
Birmingham City Council The information contained within this e-mail (and
any attachment) sent by Birmingham City Council is confidential and may be
legally privileged. It is intended only for the named recipient or entity
to whom it is addressed. If you are not the intended recipient please
accept our apologies and notify the sender immediately. Unauthorised
access, use, disclosure, storage or copying is not permitted and may be
unlawful. Any e-mail including its content may be monitored and used by
Birmingham City Council for reasons of security and for monitoring
internal compliance with the office policy on staff use. E-mail blocking
software may also be used. Any views or opinions presented are solely
those of the originator and do not necessarily represent those of
Birmingham City Council. We cannot guarantee that this message or any
attachment is virus free or has not been intercepted and amended.
References
Visible links
1. https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/c...
2. https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/c...
3. file:///tmp/foiextract20221207-1932681-rsya2n#
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Mr P Swift left an annotation ()
to ICO