Dear Emma Robertson

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000 - INFORMATION REQUEST

Thank you for your request for information about: Details Of Complaints
Made And Warnings Issued To A Ward Councillor

Your request was received on 02/05/2024 and is being handled under the
terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
Your query has been given the reference 00206985.

In some circumstances a fee may be payable and if that is the case I will
let you know. A fees notice will be issued to you, and you will be
required to pay before I will proceed to deal with your request.
You should receive the information requested within 20 working days unless
the Council does not hold the information or there is a reason for it to
be withheld. I will write to you in any event.
If you have any requirements regarding the format any information should
be supplied in, e.g. the language to be used, audio, large print and so
on, then if you have not already done so please let me know.

If you have any queries or concerns then please do not hesitate to contact
me. Please remember to quote the reference number above in any future
communications.
Further information about your rights is also available from the
Information
Commissioner at:

Information Commissioner's Office - Wales

Second Floor, Churchill House

Churchill Way,

Cardiff

CF10 2HH

029 20678400

[email address]

Yours sincerely

Information Governance Officer

Legal Services

Vale of Glamorgan Council / Cyngor Bro Morgannwg

tel / ffôn: 01446 700111

e-mail / e-bost: [email address] or
[email address]

Consider the environment. Please don't print this e-mail unless you really
need to.

Ystyriwch yr amgylchedd. Peidiwch ag argraffu'r neges hon oni bai fod gwir
angen.

Visit our Website at [1]www.valeofglamorgan.gov.uk

Ewch i'n gwefan yn [2]www.bromorgannwg.gov.uk

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Correspondence is welcomed in Welsh or English / Croesewir Gohebiaeth yn y
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References

Visible links
1. http://www.valeofglamorgan.gov.uk/
2. http://www.bromorgannwg.gov.uk/
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Dear Emma Robertson

Thank you for your request for information regarding details of complaints made and warnings Issued to a Ward Councillor, which we received on the 1st of May 2024.

Your request
I would appreciate if you could give me all details of complaints made about the Councillor detailed below and also all official warnings that she has received. As I know she has received many complaints and presumably warnings, can you also tell me if she is going to be suspended or disqualified and what the current status is in terms of how close she is to them? i.e. final warning etc.

As she is a Councillor and representing the public, knowledge of the above is in the public interest.

The Councillor in question is Councillor Samantha Campbell who represents the Rhoose Ward and is and independent.

Our response
We believe the information that you have requested is exempt in accordance with Section 40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. This exemption covers the personal data of third parties where complying with the request would breach any of the principles in the General Data Protection Regulation 2018 (GDPR). We believe that disclosure of this information would not be fair or lawful and would breach Principle (a) of the GDPR.

The legal definition of personal information contained in the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA) is information that relates to a living individual, who can be identified from the information, or from other information held or likely to be held by the data controller. This would of course include names and addresses, however it would also include a wide range of other information which could be used to identify individuals.

Please follow the link below for further information relating to 'personal data' on the ICO's website:
https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/gui...

In addition, we are also applying Section 44 of the Freedom of Information Act as we believe that complying with your request is not allowed under law. The reason for this is explained below.

Complaints relating to Elected Members of the Council can either be made to the Council's Monitoring Officer and / or to the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales. However, there are restrictions in law i.e. Local Government Investigations (Functions of Monitoring Officers and Standards Committees)(Wales) Regulations 2001 on the disclosure of information as detailed below

Provision 5.-(1) Information obtained by a Monitoring Officer when conducting an investigation must not be disclosed unless:
(a)the disclosure is made for the purposes of enabling a Monitoring Officer or Standards Committee to perform their functions under these Regulations; (b) the disclosure is made for the purpose of enabling a Local Commissioner in Wales to carry out his or her functions; (c)the person to whom the information relates has consented to its disclosure; (d)the information has previously been disclosed to the public with lawful authority; (e)the disclosure is for the purposes of criminal proceedings in any part of the United Kingdom and the information in question was not obtained as a result of personal enquiries of the person subject to the criminal proceedings under Regulation 4 above; or (f)the disclosure is made to the Audit Commission for the purposes of any function of the Audit Commission or an auditor under the Audit Commission Act 1998(1).
(2) In this Regulation and in Regulation 4 above, any reference to documents includes a reference to information held by means of a computer or in any other electronic form.

Furthermore, it is important to also note that even where an investigation is undertaken by the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales, and referred back to the Monitoring Officer either for investigation or for a hearing before a Standards Committee the procedure under Part III of the Local Government Act 2000 and related regulations at section 8 provides that a Member may make representations to Standards Committee who can determine whether the matter is heard in private or public.

Both Section 40 and Section 44 are absolute exemptions and are not subject to the public interest test.

In accordance with section 17 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, this is a Refusal Notice to provide the information that you have requested.

If you are dissatisfied with the handling of your request, you have the right to ask for an internal review. Internal review requests should be made within 40 working days of the date of receipt of the response to your original letter and should be addressed to:
c/o The Monitoring Officer - [email address]
or by post to The Monitoring Officer, Civic Offices, Holton Road, Barry, CF63 4RU.

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 - Wales
Second Floor, Churchill House
Churchill Way,
Cardiff
CF10 2HH
029 20678400 / Fax:029 20678399
[email address]

Yours sincerely

Information Governance Officer
Legal Services
Vale of Glamorgan Council / Cyngor Bro Morgannwg
tel / ffôn: 01446 700111
mob / sym:
e-mail / e-bost: [email address] or [email address]

Consider the environment. Please don't print this e-mail unless you really need to.
Ystyriwch yr amgylchedd. Peidiwch ag argraffu'r neges hon oni bai fod gwir angen.

Visit our Website at http://www.valeofglamorgan.gov.uk/
Ewch i'n gwefan yn http://www.bromorgannwg.gov.uk/

Find us on Facebook / Cewch ddod o hyd i ni ar Facebook
Follow us on Twitter / Dilynwch ni ar Twitter

Correspondence is welcomed in Welsh or English / Croesewir Gohebiaeth yn y Gymraeg neu yn Saesneg.

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