Deductions from Elected Members Allowances
Dear Newham Borough Council,
Deductions from Elected Members Allowances.
Between 6 April 2010 and 5 April 2014, how much, in total, has been deducted (by the Council) from the Basic Allowances paid to elected members of Newham Council and passed to funds/ accounts controlled by the Labour Group or the Labour Party?
Between 6 April 2010 and 5 April 2014, how much, in total, has been deducted (by the Council) from the Special Responsibility Allowances paid to elected members of Newham Council and passed to funds/ accounts controlled by the Mayor, the Labour Group or the Labour Party?
Yours faithfully,
Alan Combe
REQUESTER REFERENCE: C9939
ENQUIRY REFERENCE: E19642
Please quote your references when contacting the Council.
Dear Sir/Madam,
Freedom of Information Act 2000
Thank you for your request for information received on 24/06/2014. We are dealing with your request and plan to respond before 22/07/2014.
If you have any queries or concerns, please contact the Information Governance Team on 020 8430 3737 or email us at: [email address]
Yours Faithfully
Information Governance Team
Newham Council
Newham Council Publication Scheme is on: www.newham.gov.uk
Dear Newham Borough Council,
You indicated that you would be responding to this request re Deductions from elected members allowances by 23 July.
I still await your response.
Yours faithfully,
Alan Combe
Dear Mr Combe,
Please accept our apologies for the delay in responding to your request. Please now find attached our response under the disclosure provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
If you require any further information please do not hesitate to contact a member of our team on (020) 8430 2000 or email us at [email address].
Alternatively, if you believe we have not dealt with your request satisfactorily you may initially complain to us and then to the Information Commissioner's Office. The Information Commissioner would expect you to have given the Council the opportunity to deal with your appeal prior to you contacting them. Please see guidance on the Freedom of Information Appeals page: http://www.newham.gov.uk/Pages/Services/...
As with other local authorities, the number of enquiries has increased each year since the introduction of the Freedom of Information legislation. Therefore, to enable us to deal with your enquiry more efficiently, we have introduced an online form. We would ask that you submit all future requests via our online form:
https://aforms.newham.gov.uk/default.asp...
In addition, you may find it useful to access the following link, where you can view our Publication Scheme, a list of previous requests and responses and/or use our E-Form should you wish to make further requests:
http://www.newham.gov.uk/Pages/ServiceCh...
Yours sincerely,
Information Governance
London Borough of Newham
Newham Dockside, 1000 Dockside Road, London E16 2QU
[email address]
Dear Newham Borough Council,
Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.
I am writing to request an internal review of Newham Borough Council's handling of my FOI request 'Deductions from Elected Members Allowances'.
You have in the past answered questions about the deductions from elected members allowances from Nathan Lee in 2009. You have published the allowances paid to elected members on your website, so it is a real stretch to seek to refuse my request under Section 40. I now ask you to review your response and let me have the information requested.
A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/d...
Yours faithfully,
Alan Combe
Good Morning
Thank you for your email.
We shall now conduct an Internal Review of the response previously provided to your request under Reference E19642 and respond to you in full in due course.
Kind regards
Information Governance
London Borough of Newham
Newham Dockside, 1000 Dockside Road, London E16 2QU
Dear Mr Combe,
We attach our internal review response under the disclosure provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
If you require any further information please do not hesitate to contact a member of our team on (020) 8430 2000 or email us at [cyfeiriad ebost].
Alternatively, if you believe we have not dealt with your request satisfactorily you may initially complain to us and then to the Information Commissioner's Office. The Information Commissioner would expect you to have given the Council the opportunity to deal with your appeal prior to you contacting them. Please see guidance on the Freedom of Information Appeals page: http://www.newham.gov.uk/Pages/Services/...
As with other local authorities, the number of enquiries has increased each year since the introduction of the Freedom of Information legislation. Therefore, to enable us to deal with your enquiry more efficiently, we have introduced an online form. We would ask that you submit all future requests via our online form:
https://aforms.newham.gov.uk/default.asp...
In addition, you may find it useful to access the following link, where you can view our Publication Scheme, a list of previous requests and responses and/or use our E-Form should you wish to make further requests:
http://www.newham.gov.uk/Pages/ServiceCh...
Yours sincerely,
Information Governance
London Borough of Newham
Newham Dockside, 1000 Dockside Road, London E16 2QU [cyfeiriad ebost]
Alan Combe left an annotation ()
The Information Commissioners Office has now issued a Decision Notice which directs Newham to give up the information!
I reproduce the text of the decision below.
1. The complainant has requested from Newham Council the total amount it has deducted from its elected councillors’ basic and where applicable special responsibility allowances and passed to funds/accounts controlled by the mayor, the Labour Group or the Labour Party between 6 April 2010 and 5 April 2014.
2. Newham Council has withheld the requested information under section 40(2) of the FOIA on the basis that it is personal data the disclosure of which would be unlawful and unfair under the Data Protection Act 1998.
3. The Commissioner’s decision is that Newham Council has failed to engage section 40(2) of the FOIA.
4. The Commissioner requires Newham Council to take the following steps to ensure compliance with the legislation.
Disclose the information withheld under section 40(2).
5. The public authority must take these steps within 35 calendar days of the date of this decision notice. Failure to comply may result in the Commissioner making written certification of this fact to the High Court pursuant to section 54 of the Act and may be dealt with as a contempt of court.
Dear Mr Combe,
Re: Deductions from Elected Members Allowances
We attach our response following a decision made by the Information
Commissioner's Office under the disclosure provisions of the Freedom of
Information Act 2000.
If you require any further information please do not hesitate to contact a
member of our team on (020) 8430 2000 or email us at
[1][email address].
Yours sincerely,
Information Governance
London Borough of Newham
Newham Dockside, 1000 Dockside Road, London E16 2QU
[2][email address]
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Alan Combe left an annotation ()
At last, having been asked the original question in June 2014, Newham finally gives up the information on 13 February 2015.... with a little help from the Information Commissioner.
Newham passed £234,000 to the Newham Labour party between April 2010 and April 2014.
No wonder the Newham Labour Party outspends all its rivals at every election and wins all 60 of the Council seats plus the Mayoralty and the 2 parliamentary seat.
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Alan Combe left an annotation ()
I have subsequently referred this matter to the Information Commissioners Office. I await a response.