Dear Oxford City Council,

Please release any correspondence (drafts, emails, notes, and recordings of telephone conversations) relating to community centres in Oxford City in 2013 and 2014 particularly between Peter Sloman, Tim Sadler, Ian Preedy, Mark Spriggs, and Angela Christofoli.

I would also like to see any correspondance between the city council and the council's legal department.

Yours faithfully,

Roger Kindly

Dear Oxford City Council,

> Asking for information about all community centres, albeit that you have
limited the years, is a very wide-ranging request.
> Therefore, is it
possible for you to refine your request so that the time limit is not
> exceeded.

I see, how would you suggest that I refine my request? Perhaps by limiting the number of centres? Can you give me more of an idea of what quantity of data it is reasonable for you to find withing the statutory 18.5 hours?

Yours faithfully,

roger kindly

Dear Oxford City Council,

> I refer to your email below. It is very difficult for me to suggest how
> you should refine your request. It would depend on the information that
> you are seeking. Certainly limiting the number of centres would help. You
> could also consider reducing the number of named officers.

The information which I am requesting waas as specified in my original request, which is archived at: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/c... should you need to refer to it.

In that case please refine my request to the following:
Please release any correspondence (drafts, emails, notes, and
recordings of telephone conversations) relating to community
centres in OX3 or OX4 in 2013 and 2014 particularly between Peter Sloman, Tim Sadler, Ian Preedy, Mark Spriggs, and Angela Christofoli.

Hopefully this reduction in the scope of this request will be enough for you to comply within the statutory hours.

While I think about it, I wonder if the council has a "data dictionary" or list of data fields that are held. This might help me to be more specific when making future requests?

Yours faithfully,

roger kindly

Dear Oxford City Council,

> The Council's involvement in respect of Community Centres is considerable.
> Indeed, Mr Spriggs' job relates entirely to Community Centres. Therefore,
> for just this one officer obtaining the information > you have requested
> would be significant given the number of Community Centres in the OX3 and
> OX4 postcode areas. I believe that coupled with the > information the other
> officers to which you refer may hold, it would take > more than the 18.5
> hours allowed.

I find it rather surprising that the council's IT systems are not in a fit state to be able to search for this information. In these days of big data and powerful cheap search it should be trivial to pull out the documents in question. Well, we are where we are, I suppose.

> In the circumstances are you able to be more precise about the nature of
> your enquiry and whether there is a specific topic in which you are
> interested?

I was originally just interested in trying to work out if the council was aiming to shut down one or more of the centres in Oxford.

But it seems that events have overtaken me (http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/yourtow...), so I'd like to find out how the decision to take over the running of East Oxford community centre was reached, what options were considered and so on.

I suggest that I formulate my request as in the following paragraph, but should this prove too complex for the council's IT systems, perhaps you could offer me some advice on how to reformulate the request.

"Please release any correspondence (drafts, emails, notes, and recordings of telephone conversations) relating to the decision to take over the running of East Oxford Community Centre in 2013 and 2014 particularly between Tim Sadler, Mark Spriggs, and Angela Christofoli and city councillors."

I'd previously asked whether the council had a "data dictionary" to help me more precisely formulate my requests. You've not provided this or stated whether such a document exists. Perhaps you could let me know so that I can make more effective requests in future?

Yours faithfully,

roger

Dear Oxford City Council,

You have failed to reply to my request within the required period of 20 days, so please initiate an internal review in advance of my complaint to the information commissioner. I look forward to receiving your reply with ll due haste.

Yours faithfully,

roger kindly

Dear Oxford City Council,

I have yet to be informed of the progress of the formal review that I have requested with relation to my Freedom of Information request, which is now seriously overdue.

You can review the request and your inadequate responses to it: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/c...

Yours faithfully,

roger kindly

Dear Oxford City Council,

As you know, I have been in touch with the ICO who wrote to you about your failure to respond to my request or my request for review.

They have told me that a member of staff was ill and that you expect to respond "within two weeks".

It is a shame that your systems didn't allow you to inform me of the situation. Nevertheless, I look forward to receiving your response as promised. Albeit extremely late.

Yours faithfully,

roger kindly