Communications between Mark Hawthorne and Jenny Eastwood

The request was refused by Gloucestershire County Council.

Dear Gloucestershire County Council,

Please provide all communications between Mark Hawthorne and Jenny Eastwood (editor of The Citizen). Please also include any from a personal email account in accordance with the guidance issued by the Information Commissioner's Office on 15th December 2011:

http://www.ico.gov.uk/news/latest_news/2...

Yours faithfully,

Ian Clark

Freedom of Information questions/information requests, Gloucestershire County Council

Dear Mr Clark

 

Request for Information (Reference 12/FOI/5364)

 

Thank you for your request for information for all communications between
Mark Hawthorne and Jenny Eastwood, received on 27 October 2012. Your
request is being considered and you will receive a response as soon as
possible, and within the statutory timescale of 20 working days as defined
by the Freedom of Information Act (FoIA) 2000; that date is 23 November
2012.

 

Gloucestershire County Council is committed to the principles of FoIA and
will, wherever possible, provide all information requested unless
constrained by another statute or by an exemption within the FoIA. Please
note some information you have requested may not be provided to you; this
will only be information that can be withheld by law, and the reason will
be explained to you when we send out any information that can be released.

 

We may need to contact you if the request needs to be clarified; this is
to ensure we provide you with the information you require.

 

If the information you have requested is held by another public authority,
we will transfer the request to them. If you have any objections to this,
please contact us as soon as possible so we know not to transfer the
request, and we will provide you with the relevant contact details
instead.

 

Yours sincerely

 

 

Information Management Service Administrator

 

Gloucestershire County Council

Shire Hall

Westgate Street

Gloucester

GL1 2TG

 

Tel: 01452 425317

Email: [1][Gloucestershire County Council request email]

 

Go to [2]www.gloucestershire.gov.uk to find information on any County
Council service. It couldn’t be easier to find information instantly and
in some cases apply for services online.

 

For Freedom of Information (FOI) requests please email
[3][Gloucestershire County Council request email]

 

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Think before you print - only print this email if absolutely necessary.

This email and any attachments are strictly confidential and intended for the addressee only.  
If you are not the named addressee you must not disclose, copy or take any action in 
reliance of this transmission and you should notify us as soon as possible.

This email and any attachments are believed to be free from viruses but it is your 
responsibility to carry out all necessary virus checks and Gloucestershire County Council 
accepts no liability in connection therewith. 

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[Gloucestershire County Council request email]
2. http://www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/
3. mailto:[Gloucestershire County Council request email]

Michael Ryan left an annotation ()

If this request relates to the Javelin Park incinerator, then Cllr Hawthorne might wish to look at this article from the Daily Mirror of 12 November 2012 (page 8) which reports the West Midlands Region as having the highest infant death rate in England & Wales for 2011:

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/hug...

If Cllr Hawthorne looks at the ONS data for the infant mortality rates in the 30 Councils which comprise the West Midlands Region, he'll see that the rates vary from 0.9 per 1,000 live births to 10.6 per 1,000.

If he looks at the four highest infant death rates in West Midlands Councils, he'll see that the highest rate is in North Warks Council which is downwind of Tyseley incinerator, the 2nd-highest in Walsall Council, which is downwind of Wolverhampton incinerator, the 3rd-highest is Stoke-on-Trent, which has an incinerator, and the 4th-highest is Birmingham Council which is home to Tyseley incinerator.

It's no use Cllr Hawthorne asking the NHS why Birmingham's infant death rates are so high as they've been reported as being clueless on this issue:

http://www.birminghampost.net/news/2008/...

http://www.birminghammail.net/news/local...

Birmingham City's concern about the incinerator/infant mortality issue is best described as "non-existent" as seen from:

http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/in...

I suggest that Cllr Hawthorne looks at the 2003-2011 infant mortality rates in the 142 electoral wards which make up Gloucestershire County Council and think about the impact of emissions from the Javelin Park incinerator on some of the wards which had zero infant deaths recorded by ONS in each of those nine years.

Michael Ryan left an annotation ()

If Cllr Hawthorne shares the opinion of Martin Kirby that incineration is the way forward, eg "Denmark, for example, burns 54 per cent of its waste in heat and power stations." ("Rubbish and hot air", Western Daily Press, 20 November 2012) he should also note that Denmark, as well as probably being the incinerator capital of the world, is also the cancer capital.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/health...

WILMSHURST, Teresa, Gloucestershire County Council

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Clark

Request for Information (Reference 12/FOI/5364)

 

I am writing in response to your request for information received on 27
October 2012 concerning communications between Mark Hawthorne and Jenny
Eastwood (editor of The Citizen).

 

Your request has been carefully considered and I am able to confirm that
Gloucestershire County Council can provide some of the information you
have requested.

Please find the information that can be disclosed attached.

We have come to the decision that the remainder of the information is
personal data as defined by the Data Protection Act 1998.

 

As you are not the data subject, release of this information would
constitute a breach of principle 1 of the Data Protection Act. Principle 1
states that personal data shall be processed (used) fairly and lawfully
and, in particular, shall not be processed unless at least one of the
conditions in Schedule 2 is met; in this case none of the conditions in
Schedule 2 have been met.

 

This means that the section 40 exemption of the Freedom of Information Act
2000 (FoIA) is engaged; this email therefore acts as a refusal notice
under section 17 of the FoIA as some of the information you have requested
is exempt from disclosure.

 

If you feel that we have failed to comply with the FoIA in relation to
this request, you may make a complaint or request an internal review by
writing back within 40 working days of the date of receipt of this email,
and sending us any supporting evidence which you think supports your
complaint.  Please follow this link to view the Information Compliance
Complaints Procedure:
[1]http://www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/CHttpH...
There will be no charge for dealing with your complaint. Please address
your complaint or request for an internal review to the Information
Management Service at:

 

Gloucestershire County Council

Ground Floor, Block 2/3

Shire Hall, Westgate Street

Gloucester

GL1 2TG

 

Or by email to [2][Gloucestershire County Council request email] 

To help us understand our users and improve our service we would
appreciate your feedback on the quality of service and response you have
received in relation to your recent request for information.  If you would
like to provide feedback on this process please use our online form which
is available at
[3]http://gloucestershire.firmstep.com/defa....

I will now close your request as of this date.

Yours faithfully

 

 

The Information Management Service

 

Gloucestershire County Council

Shire Hall

Westgate Street

Gloucester

GL1 2TG

 

Go to [4]www.gloucestershire.gov.uk to find information on any County
Council service. It couldn’t be easier to find information instantly and
in some cases apply for services online.

 

For Freedom of Information (FOI) requests please email
[5][Gloucestershire County Council request email]

 

 

 

 

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Think before you print - only print this email if absolutely necessary.

This email and any attachments are strictly confidential and intended for the addressee only.  
If you are not the named addressee you must not disclose, copy or take any action in 
reliance of this transmission and you should notify us as soon as possible.

This email and any attachments are believed to be free from viruses but it is your 
responsibility to carry out all necessary virus checks and Gloucestershire County Council 
accepts no liability in connection therewith. 

References

Visible links
1. http://www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/CHttpH...
2. mailto:[Gloucestershire County Council request email]
3. http://gloucestershire.firmstep.com/defa...
4. http://www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/
5. mailto:[Gloucestershire County Council request email]

Dear Gloucestershire County Council,

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

I am writing to request an internal review of Gloucestershire County Council's handling of my FOI request 'Communications between Mark Hawthorne and Jenny Eastwood'.

If there are materials regarding council business then I believe that these should be released. If this is not possible then a release with personal details redacted would be equally acceptable.

Alternatively, if the communications cannot be released following review, please indicate the number of communications that are withheld. As such an indication does not breach data protection legislation, this should be possible.

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

Yours faithfully,

Ian Clark

Freedom of Information questions/information requests, Gloucestershire County Council

Dear Mr Clark

Request for Information (Reference 12/FOI/5504)

 

I am emailing to acknowledge your complaint received on 29 November 2012
in relation to your request for information.  I understand you wish to
appeal against the decision not to provide all of the requested
information.

 

Your appeal is currently being looked into and I hope to be able to
provide you with a response by 31 December 2012, if it looks likely that
there will be a delay I will keep you informed of progress.

 

If you have any further information to support your appeal please email it
to [1][Gloucestershire County Council request email] or post it to me at the address below.

 

Yours sincerely

 

 

Sue Morris

Information Management Service Administrator

 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Think before you print - only print this email if absolutely necessary.

This email and any attachments are strictly confidential and intended for the addressee only.  
If you are not the named addressee you must not disclose, copy or take any action in 
reliance of this transmission and you should notify us as soon as possible.

This email and any attachments are believed to be free from viruses but it is your 
responsibility to carry out all necessary virus checks and Gloucestershire County Council 
accepts no liability in connection therewith. 

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[Gloucestershire County Council request email]

Freedom of Information questions/information requests, Gloucestershire County Council

Dear Mr Clark
 
Complaint reference (12/FOI/5504)
 
I have undertaken a thorough investigation and I am now able to provide a
response to your complaint, received on 29 November 2012.
 
Review of the case (original reference 12/FOI/5364)
 

 1. You believe that communications regarding council business should be
released.

 
I have undertaken searches for Mark Hawthorne’s communications with Jenny
Eastwood. I can confirm that all those held on Council systems that relate
to Council business and are between Mark Hawthorne and Jenny Eastwood have
been provided to you.
 
A small amount of personal information was removed from the information
provided. I have reviewed this information and agree that it is personal
information that should not be provided; the exemption in section 40 of
the Freedom of Information Act  (FoIA) applies to this information. 
 
I have also confirmed with Mark Hawthorne that he does not use his
personal email account for Council business. I have no rights to search
his personal account, and am satisfied with this confirmation.
 

 2. If this is not possible then a release with personal details redacted
would be equally acceptable.

 
All the information that is held has already been released to you, as a
PDF attachment to our response of 23 November 2012.
 
The response explained that the exemption in section 40 of the FoIA
applied as some personal information had been removed.  You were also
informed that the response was acting as a refusal notice under section 17
of the FoIA.
 

 3. Alternatively, if the communications cannot be released following
review, you would like the number of communications that are withheld.

 
Four emails have not been provided as they are purely personal in nature.
These were made available for review as part of the original request and I
can confirm that there is no information about Council business in them.
 
In conclusion, the Council responded appropriately to your request and
made a full and frank disclosure of information, whilst still respecting
the rights of the individuals concerned. As such your complaint is not
upheld.
 
Right of appeal
 
If you remain dissatisfied with the outcome of the investigation into your
complaint, and this further response, please contact the Information
Commissioner, whose contact details are:
Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Tel: 01625 545 700
 
Alternatively you can complete their [1]freedom of information complaints
form (PDF version). If all evidence in support of your complaint is
available electronically, please complete their [2]complaints form (word
version for electronic submission) and save it to your computer before
submitting it as an attachment, along with any evidence, to the [3]online
enquiry form.
 
I will now close your complaint as of this date.
 
Yours sincerely,
 
Corporate Information and Compliance Manager
 
Gloucestershire County Council
Shire Hall
Westgate Street
Gloucester
GL1 2TG
 
Go to [4]www.gloucestershire.gov.uk to find information on any County
Council service. It couldn’t be easier to find information instantly and
in some cases apply for services online.
 
For Freedom of Information (FOI) requests please email
[5][Gloucestershire County Council request email]
 
 
 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Think before you print - only print this email if absolutely necessary.

This email and any attachments are strictly confidential and intended for the addressee only.  
If you are not the named addressee you must not disclose, copy or take any action in 
reliance of this transmission and you should notify us as soon as possible.

This email and any attachments are believed to be free from viruses but it is your 
responsibility to carry out all necessary virus checks and Gloucestershire County Council 
accepts no liability in connection therewith. 

References

Visible links
1. http://www.ico.gov.uk/upload/documents/l...
2. http://www.ico.gov.uk/upload/documents/l...
3. http://www.ico.gov.uk/Global/online_enqu...
4. http://www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/
5. mailto:[Gloucestershire County Council request email]