Community Radio Milton Keynes
Dear Office of Communications,
Could you please supply all relevant information regarding the application for a Community FM Licence by Community Radio Milton Keynes.
Please include any document where this application is mentioned, minutes from all meetings where discussions of the application took place and all documents from third parties, if any.
Yours faithfully,
Jeremy Young
Reference: 00567215
01/08/2018 09:39
Riverside House
2a Southwark Bridge Road
London SE1 9HA
Jerin John
Information Requests
Freedom of Information request
Dear Jeremy Young,
Thank you for your request for information about Community Radio Milton Keynes.
Your request was received on 01/08/2018.
Where we hold the information you have requested we will endeavour to answer
your request in full and within 20 Working Days.
If we are unable to provide the information requested, we will explain why the
information has not been provided.
If you have any queries then please
contact [1][Ofcom request email].
Please remember to quote the reference number above in any future
communications.
Yours sincerely,
Jerin John
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Our mailing address is:
[5][Ofcom request email]
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References
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1. mailto:[Ofcom request email]
2. https://twitter.com/ofcom
3. https://www.facebook.com/ofcom
4. http://www.ofcom.org.uk/
5. mailto:[Ofcom request email]
Dear Mr Young,
Please find attached our response to your request for information.
Yours sincerely,
Jerin John
:: Jerin John
Information Rights Adviser
Information Rights
Governance & Accountability
Corporate Services
Tel: 020 7981 3668
Email: [email address]
:: Ofcom
Riverside House
2a Southwark Bridge Road
London SE1 9HA
[1]www.ofcom.org.uk
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Dear Office of Communications,
Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.
I am writing to request an internal review of Office of Communications's handling of my FOI request 'Community Radio Milton Keynes'.
I feel OFCOM have not done due diligence in responding to the request. The information in your response is not specific nor relevant to the application. This information provided suggest OFCOM make general decisions without evidence or reason.
It is inconceivable that OFCOM did not conduct any actual investigations into CRMK and other stations in the area before making their decisions - this information make no mention either way. The information provided by OFCOM has little or no resemblance to the other stations broadcasting in the area.
This is not an adequate response to an honest Freedom of information request but more of a refusal to share.
I would like to raise this to the next stage for full disclosure of how OFCOM came to any conclusion with so little information about the region. Surely there is more information considered than what has been returned to me.
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,
Jeremy Young
Dear Mr Young
Please find attached our response to your internal review request.
Kind regards
Julia
Dear Julia Snape,
FOI Reference: 567215
Internal review reference: 613405
Thank you for your reply.
The reason for our concern is that the OFCOM process of granting FM Licenses is not as transparent as it should be and appears to be personal opinions which makes up all of your decisions.
You said, "minutes are not generated for community radio licence awards and that
such information was therefore not held." : this leads normal people to believe that you are refusing the Freedom of Information Act request.
OFCOM's approach to transparency makes this government organisation appear to be lacking diverse and inclusive behaviours but blocking requested information. it is inconceivable that there were not notes taken or information noted while making a key broadcasting decisions.
Information supplied by the applicant is readily available by searching the OFCOM website (with a little work) but OFCOM have not supplied any meaningful information relating to their though process or given any clarity to how it reaches decisions.
There is much chat on-line that there are two decision makers at OFCOM who are both white men over 50. We now know that these two men are not elected and do not make notes or have transparent behaviours.
OFCOM's lack of transparency and respect for our FOI request is evidence that there is something wrong with your organisation. OFCOM makes key local community decisions, in London, behind closed doors, without minutes or relevant up to date information (as the applications are written almost a year prior and OFCOM does not listen what is actually being broadcast by existing services) and does not have an appeal process.
Can OFCOM please provide all information about how they reached any decisions?
Yours sincerely,
Jeremy Young
Im away from the office, back Thursday 25 October. Please contact
[email address] in my absence or if your email relates to a
Freedom of Information Request please email
[Ofcom request email] where a colleague will be able to help
you. Kind regards Julia
Dear Mr Young
I refer to your email dated 24 October 2018 in response to our internal review dated 3 October 2018.
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 sets out a number of exemptions which permit information to be withheld from a requester. In respect of your request, some of those exemptions applied, and we therefore could not disclose the information. Our internal review of your request upheld the application of those exemptions.
We have endeavoured to set out the information we hold and don't hold and explain why exemptions apply. However, if you are still not satisfied, you may make a complaint to the Information Commissioner.
If you are unhappy about the decision made regarding New City Radio, it is of course open to you to seek independent legal advice in respect of persuing a judicial review.
Kind regards
Julia
Dear Julia Snape,
OFCOM surely kept minutes during these decision meetings. Under the Freedom Of Information Act these should be made available. Why are you hiding this information?
Yours sincerely,
Jeremy Young
Dear Mr Young
Thank you for your email dated 5 November 2018 in response to our correspondence of 29 October 2018. We have treated your email dated 5 November as a new request for information under the Freedom of Information Act, namely, a request for minutes of the decision meeting regarding New City Radio.
I can confirm that we do not hold minutes from the decision meeting about New City Radio. Decisions in these meetings are recorded in the form of a statement. This is agreed by the decision-makers and sets out their reasons and the statutory requirements relating to community radio licensing. The statement is considered a sufficient record. Minutes are not held.
I hope this clarifies and answers your request.
Kind regards
Julia Snape
If you are unhappy with the response or level of service you have received in relation to your request from Ofcom, you may ask for an internal review. If you ask us for an internal review of our decision, it will be treated as a formal complaint and will be subject to an independent review within Ofcom. We will acknowledge the complaint and inform you of the date by which you might expect to be told the outcome.
The following outcomes are possible:
• the original decision is upheld; or
• the original decision is reversed or modified.
Timing
If you wish to exercise your right to an internal review you should contact us within two months of the date of this letter. There is no statutory deadline for undertaking internal reviews and it will depend upon the complexity of the case. However, we aim to conclude all such reviews within 20 working days, and up to 40 working days in exceptional cases. We will keep you informed of the progress of any such review. If you wish to request an internal review, you should contact:
The Secretary to the Corporation
Ofcom
Riverside House
2a Southwark Bridge Road
London SE1 9HA
If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:
Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
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