Criminal convictions

Ards and North Down Borough Council did not have the information requested.

Dear Ards and North Down Borough Council,

I noted that a couple of weeks ago a council employee was convicted in court of harassment of a female.

What is the council policy regarding this person having contact with females in the workplace?

What is the council policy in regards to this person in regards to meeting lone females as part of his employment?

Will any disciplinary action be taken against this person or persons convicted for such offences by the council?

Was an inquiry carried out into this person or any other council employee using a works vehicle to commit an offence of harassment against women?

Does a member of staff have to disclose any conviction in a court of law?

Has anyone disclosed a recent conviction in court?

Can a member of staff be dismissed for gross misconduct for actions carried out but not in genuine execution of their current employment/role?

Yours faithfully,

Ryan Sloane
Copy to Jim Shannon MP

FOI, Ards and North Down Borough Council

Dear Mr Sloane,

We refer to the above matter and acknowledge receipt of your request for information dated 25 January 2019.

You have requested information from Ards and North Down Borough Council in relation to criminal convictions. Your request will be processed in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Accordingly, you will receive the information you have requested within 20 working days of the date of receipt of your request by the Council unless the Council does not hold the information or there is a reason to withhold all or part of the information requested. Council will write to you in any event.

For further information in relation to the Freedom of Information Act I would refer you to the Information Commissioner's Office website, www.ico.org.uk

If you wish to discuss the above please do not hesitate to contact us.

Regards,

FOI Team

Ards and North Down Borough Council
Town Hall
The Castle
Bangor
BT20 4BT
Tel: 0300 013 3333 ext 40718

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Ards and North Down Borough Council processes your personal data for the purpose of administering your request for information. Your information will be held for 3 years, or 7 years if your request is subject to review. Your details will not be shared.

You have a right to see and review the information held on you. If you wish to request your personal information or have a data protection query, please put your request in writing to: Data Protection Officer, Ards and North Down Borough Council, Town Hall, The Castle, Bangor, BT20 4BT, Email: [email address] Tel: 0300 013 3333. If you are not satisfied with how the Council has handled this matter, you may refer it to the Information Commissioner's Office at 02890278757 or email [email address].

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FOI, Ards and North Down Borough Council

Dear Mr Sloane,

 

We refer to the above matter and write further to your request for
information dated 25^th January 2019.

 

Ards and North Down Borough Council has processed your request in
accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and please see
Council’s response below.

 

What is the council policy regarding this person having contact with
females in the workplace?

 

In accordance with section 40(5B)(a)(i) of the Freedom of Information Act,
Council is neither confirming nor denying whether information is held
relevant to this part of your request. To either confirm or deny whether
information is held would be to provide public comment on an identifiable
individual employee’s employment. Such a confirmation or denial would be
outside of the reasonable expectations of Council staff as the reasonable
expectation is that Council would not comment on internal staff matters.
To confirm or deny would therefore be unfair and a breach of the first
data protection principle of lawful and fair processing. On that basis,
Council is neither confirming nor denying whether information is held. No
inference should be drawn from this response.

 

The Council does have in place a Dignity at Work policy which covers all
employees.

 

What is the council policy in regards to this person in regards to meeting
lone females as part of his employment?

 

For the reasons set out in response to your first question, Council is
neither confirming nor denying whether information is held relevant to
this part of your request in accordance with section 40(5B)(a)(i) of the
Freedom of Information Act. No inference should be drawn from this
response.

 

Will any disciplinary action be taken against this person or persons
convicted for such offences by the council?

 

For the reasons set out in response to your first question, Council is
neither confirming nor denying whether information is held relevant to
this part of your request in accordance with section 40(5B)(a)(i) of the
Freedom of Information Act. No inference should be drawn from this
response.

 

The Council investigates and takes disciplinary action where appropriate.

 

Was an inquiry carried out into this person or any other council employee
using a works vehicle to commit an offence of harassment against women?

 

For the reasons set out in response to your first question, Council is
neither confirming nor denying whether information is held relevant to
this part of your request in accordance with section 40(5B)(a)(i) of the
Freedom of Information Act. No inference should be drawn from this
response.

 

The Council investigates and takes disciplinary action where appropriate.

 

Does a member of staff have to disclose any conviction in a court of law?

 

No.

 

Has anyone disclosed a recent conviction in court?

 

For the reasons set out in response to your first question, Council is
neither confirming nor denying whether information is held relevant to
this part of your request in accordance with section 40(5B)(a)(i) of the
Freedom of Information Act. No inference should be drawn from this
response.

 

Can a member of staff be dismissed for gross misconduct for actions
carried out but not in genuine execution of their current employment/role?

 

The Council would investigate any such cases and take appropriate action.

 

Should you require clarification on any part of this response, please do
not hesitate to contact us.

 

Should you be unhappy with the response you may request an Internal Review
by contacting [1][Ards and North Down Borough Council request email]. Please note that requests
for Internal Reviews must be submitted within two months from the date of
this response. Further information on the Internal Review process is
available on the Council’s website.  In the event you are unhappy with the
outcome of any Internal Review conducted by Council you may apply to the
Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) for a review of our response.
Please note that the ICO generally expects Internal Reviews to be
completed prior to reviewing the decisions of public bodies.

 

Regards,

 

FOI Team

Ards and North Down Borough Council

Town Hall

The Castle

Bangor

BT20 4BT

Tel: 0300 013 3333 ext 40718

 

The information contained in or attached to this message is intended only
for the people to whom it is addressed. If you are not the intended
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please notify the sender immediately by using the reply facility in your
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systems or data. Personal information contained in or attached to this
message will be processed in line with the Council’s obligations under the
Data Protection Act 2018, its Data Protection Policy and for the purpose
for which it was provided. If you have a data protection query, please put
your request in writing, stating clearly who you are and your query to:
Data Protection Officer, Ards and North Down Borough Council, Town Hall,
The Castle, Bangor, BT20 4BT, email:
[email address], tel: 0300 013 3333 or visit the
Council’s website at www.ardsandnorthdown.gov.uk/privacy-and-....

References

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1. mailto:[Ards and North Down Borough Council request email]

Dear Ards and North Down Borough Council,

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

I am writing to request an internal review of Ards and North Down Borough Council's handling of my FOI request 'Criminal convictions'.

Without prejudice this information is already in the public domain as published in the local press. Therefore I would request an answer.

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,

Ryan Sloane

FOI, Ards and North Down Borough Council

Dear Mr Sloane,

We refer to the above and acknowledge receipt of your email requesting an Internal Review of Council’s response in regard to FOI498/18-19/013.

Your request for an Internal Review has been passed to the Director for Organisational Development and Administration, and a response will be issued within twenty working days of the date of receipt of your request.

In the interim, should you wish to discuss the above please do not hesitate to contact us.

Regards,

FOI Team

Ards and North Down Borough Council
Town Hall
The Castle
Bangor
BT20 4BT
Tel: 0300 013 3333 ext 40718

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Swanston, Wendy, Ards and North Down Borough Council

Dear Mr Sloane,

 

I refer to the above matter and to your request for an Internal Review
received on 25^th February 2019 in relation to FOI498/18-19/013

 

A review panel, which was chaired by the undersigned, met on Wednesday
13^th March 2019 to discuss the matters raised in your internal review
request.

 

In your request for an internal review you have stated “this information
is already in the public domain as published in the local press”. The
Review Panel noted there is no information in the public domain relating
to your specific questions pertaining to the employment of an identifiable
individual.

 

The panel considered the application of section 40(5B)(a)(i) of the
Freedom of Information Act 2000 in the original response dated 22^nd
February 2019. The panel agreed that to either confirm or deny whether
information is held relevant to your requests would be, in effect,
providing public comment on an identifiable individual employee’s
employment. An individual employee would have a reasonable expectation
Council would not comment publicly on matters pertaining to their
employment and to confirm or deny whether such information is held would
be a breach of their data protection rights. As no lawful condition for
processing personal data would be satisfied were Council to confirm or
deny whether information is held, the panel agreed that it was correct to
engage the section 40(5B)(a)(i) neither confirm nor deny exception to
disclosure.

 

The Review Panel concurred with the original Panel’s decision.

 

If you are not satisfied with the way in which your internal review
request has been handled, you may contact the Information Commissioner’s
Office at:

 

The ICO – Northern Ireland

3rd Floor

14 Cromac Place,

Belfast

BT7 2JB

Telephone: 028 9027 8757 / 0303 123 1114

Email: [1][email address]

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Wendy Swanston

 

 

 

 

Wendy Swanston

Director of Organisational Development and Administration

Ards and North Down Borough Council

Town Hall

The Castle

Bangor, BT20 4BT

Phone 0300 013 3333 Extn 40700

 

 

The information contained in or attached to this message is intended only
for the people to whom it is addressed. If you are not the intended
recipient, any use, storage, disclosure or copying of this information is
unauthorised and prohibited. This information may be confidential or
subject to legal privilege. If you have received this email in error
please notify the sender immediately by using the reply facility in your
email software and then delete the email from your inbox. The contents of
this message do not represent the expressed view of Ards and North Down
Borough Council unless that is clearly stated. The Council cannot accept
liability in the event that the onward transmission, opening, or use of
this message and/or any attachments adversely affects the recipient's
systems or data. Personal information contained in or attached to this
message will be processed in line with the Council’s obligations under the
Data Protection Act 2018, its Data Protection Policy and for the purpose
for which it was provided. If you have a data protection query, please put
your request in writing, stating clearly who you are and your query to:
Data Protection Officer, Ards and North Down Borough Council, Town Hall,
The Castle, Bangor, BT20 4BT, email:
[email address], tel: 0300 013 3333 or visit the
Council’s website at www.ardsandnorthdown.gov.uk/privacy-and-....

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]