Our Ref: 3160887

20-JAN-10

Dear Mr. Jeroz,

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT - REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

I acknowledge your request for information received today.

Your request is being considered and if the information requested is held
by the County Council it will be sent to you within the statutory
timescale of 20 working days as defined by the Freedom of Information Act
2000, subject to the information not being exempt or containing a
reference to a third party.

If appropriate, the information will be provided in paper copy, normal
font size. If you require alternative formats, e.g. language, audio,
large print, etc. then please let me know.

For your information, the Act defines a number of exemptions that may
prevent release of the information you have requested. There will be an
assessment and if any of the exemption categories apply then the exempt
information will not be released. You will be informed if this is the
case, including your rights of appeal.

If the information you request contains reference to a third party then
they may be consulted prior to a decision being taken on whether or not to
release the information to you.

There may a fee payable for this information to cover photocopying,
postage and any other production costs. This will be considered and you
will be informed if a fee is payable. In this event the fee must be paid
before the information is processed and released. The 20 working day time
limit for responses is suspended until receipt of the payment.

In line with the Information Commissioner's directive on the disclosure of
information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 your request will
form part of our disclosure log. Therefore, a version of our response
which will protect your anonymity will be posted on Durham County Council
website.

If you have any queries or concerns then please contact:

Freedom of Information / Data Protection Coordinator

Durham County Council

Assistant Chief Executive's Office

Room 4/10

County Hall

Durham

DH1 5UF

Tel: 0191 383 3815

Email: [1][Durham County Council request email]

Further information is also available from the Information Commissioner
at:

Information Commissioner's Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

Telephone: 01625 545 745

Fax: 01625 524 510

Email: [email address]

www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk

Yours sincerely,

Neale Boswell

Freedom of Information Team

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Our Ref: 3160887

17-FEB-10

Dear Al Jeroz,

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT - REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

Your request for information on Durham Welfare Rights Jobs, received on
20-JAN-2010, has now been considered.

You requested: 1. How many Durham Welfare Rights Advisor/Officer posts
(full, part-time and temporary) have been filled in the past year?

Our response: 7 posts - all full-time (5 temporary)

You requested: 2. Of these, how many have been advertised in newspapers?

Our response: None of the posts have been advertised via the press.

You requested: 3. Which newspapers?

Our response: N/A

You requested: 4. Of these, how many have been advertised on websites?

Our response: 2

You requested: 5. Which websites?

Our response: Durham County Council website and Sector1.net

You requested: 6. Where advertising has been limited, what steps have been
taken to ensure that recruitment has been fair and inclusive?

Our response: As these are not 'specialist' posts, throughout the local
government re-organisation period they have firstly been advertised
internally and open to all permanent DCC staff (inc former District
Council staff), or those with 12-months continuous service. All staff
have access to this internal job system and we also promote this when we
circulate the weekly `Jobspot' to all staff within our service area.

You requested: 7. What steps have been taken to avoid external candidates
being approached and invited to apply for positions for which advertised
has been limited?

Our response: Managers have been made aware on the procedures for internal
advertising, as are staff within the Workforce Support Team. Any
applications that are submitted from external applicants would be sifted
out at the shortlisting stage.

You requested: 8. Have external candidates been approached or "head
hunted" for positions and, if so, how has this been justified in terms of
the council's equal opportunities policies?

Our response: Durham County Council is not aware of any external
candidates being `head hunted' for positions.

If you are dissatisfied with the handling of your request please contact:

Freedom of Information / Data Protection Coordinator

Durham County Council

Assistant Chief Executive's Office

Room 4/10

County Hall

Durham

DH1 5UF

Tel: 0191 383 3815

Email: [1][Durham County Council request email]

After you have exhausted our internal appeals procedure you also have a
right of appeal to the Information Commissioner at:

Information Commissioner's Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

Telephone: 01625 545 745

Fax: 01625 524 510

Email: [2][email address]

Most of the documents that we provide in response to Freedom of
Information Act requests will be subject to copyright protection. In most
cases the copyright will be owned by Durham County Council. The copyright
in other documents may be owned by another person or organisation, as
indicated on the documents themselves.

You are free to use any documents supplied for your own use, including for
non-commercial research purposes. The documents may also be used for the
purposes of news reporting. However, any other type of re-use, for
example, by publishing the documents or issuing copies to the public will
require the permission of the copyright owner.

For documents where the copyright is owned by Durham County Council,
please contact me for details of the conditions on re-use.

For documents where the copyright is owned by another person or
organisation, you would need to apply to the copyright owner to obtain
their permission.

Yours sincerely,

Neale Boswell

Freedom of Information Team

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