EDDC's 2014 Viewpoint Surveys - an explanation.

The request was partially successful.

Dear East Devon District Council,

I would like to make a formal request under the Freedom of
Information Act 2000. I am also making this Request under the
Environmental Impact Regulations 2004 which require disclosure on
the part of Local Authorities.

I wish to know the fullest details of East Devon District Council's Viewpoint Surveys - personal details of respondents excepted of course.

1. What surveys have been carried out?
2. Who carried them out and at what cost?
3. When were they carried out?
4.What methodology and analysis were applied and who chose the method used (Fullest details)
5. How were respondents selected ? (Full details of method, sources , how representativeness was guaranteed etc.)
6.What questions were asked and who generated the questions?
7.Summary of results, answers, response rates etc.
8. Who from EDDC oversaw the survey and what formal qualifications do they posses to ensure that it was a valid exercise.
9. Please provide a copy of the contract with the survey provider, and if it is not contained therein, the brief from EDDC, together with details of which officer signed it off.
10. Was the provider appointed after a competative tendering process, if not why not?

Please ensure that each question is addressed.

Thank you.

Yours faithfully,

T Todd

East Devon District Council

Thank you for submitting a request for information. We will respond to your request as quickly as possible, within the 20 working day statutory deadline under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

For updates on this case, please quote your unique reference number 101000352624 .

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East Devon District Council
Web: www.eastdevon.gov.uk

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East Devon District Council

Dear Mr Todd,

Thank you for your request for information. Please find the response to your query below.

What surveys have been carried out?
Summary of results, answers, response rates etc.
Available here: http://new.eastdevon.gov.uk/consultation...

Who carried them out and at what cost?
The Organisational Development Team of East Devon District Council carried out all the questionnaires apart from the focus group of people with protected equalities characteristics which was carried out by Living Options, http://www.livingoptions.org/
The total cost (excluding officer time which cannot be accounted for) for all the surveys listed here http://new.eastdevon.gov.uk/consultation... was £5,530.

When were they carried out?
They were all carried out in the financial year 2013/ 2014.

What methodology and analysis were applied and who chose the method used (Fullest details)
Available here: http://new.eastdevon.gov.uk/consultation... The methods were selected by the Organisational Development Team of East Devon District Council. The analysis was carried out using SPSS computer package for social sciences.

How were respondents selected ? (Full details of method, sources , how representativeness was guaranteed etc.)
For the survey of general residents http://new.eastdevon.gov.uk/consultation... 3,000 addresses were selected at random from the Land and Property Gazeteer database using a computer formula.
The other surveys were self selecting, information available here: http://new.eastdevon.gov.uk/consultation...

What questions were asked and who generated the questions?
Available here in the summaries: http://new.eastdevon.gov.uk/consultation...
The questions were generated by East Devon District Council officers.

Who from EDDC oversaw the survey and what formal qualifications do they posses to ensure that it was a valid exercise.
All surveys apart from the focus group of people with protected equalities characteristics were carried out by the Organisational Development Team of East Devon District Council specifically the Community Engagement and Funding Officer who meets the requirements of the person specification for the job role. The Organisational Development Team worked with the Strategic Management Team to design the questionnaire and agree the questions.

Please provide a copy of the contract with the survey provider, and if it is not contained therein, the brief from EDDC, together with details of which officer signed it off.
Was the provider appointed after a competative (sic) tendering process, if not why not?
All surveys apart from the focus group of people with protected equalities characteristics were carried out by the Organisational Development Team of East Devon District Council. Living Options were asked to carry out the focus group of people with protected equalities characteristics as they have the expertise to do this, it was not part of a competitive tendering process due to the cost of the work.

I hope this is helpful.

If you are not satisfied with the way we have responded to your request, please contact our Interim Monitoring Officer, Ian Clarke at [email address] to request an internal review.

You may also approach the Information Commissioner for advice at www.ico.gov.uk

Regards

Kate

Kate Symington
Information and Complaints Officer
East Devon District Council

01395 517417
www.eastdevon.gov.uk

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Dear East Devon District Council,

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

I am writing to request an internal review of East Devon District Council's handling of my FOI request 'EDDC's 2014 Viewpoint Surveys - an explanation.'.

Whilst it is most refreshing to receive an answer to an FOI within, and indeed well within, the time allowed by the Act, this cannot, by any stretch of the imagination, be considered a proper response to the questions asked.

I requested full information but the answers, in the main refer to summaries and not primary data from which summaries have been concoted. Other questions are avoided by answering a different question, e.g. I specifically asked what formal qualifications the survey overseer posessed. You chose to answer by saying that they met the job role specification.

Having asked for the fullest details you provide at best, partial information. What, for example is the Land and Property Gazetter database and what was the computer formula that extracted random respondents.

I note, with some concern, that in the main, the surveys were conducted by in-house staff and clearly influenced by senior staff (who exactly are the Strategic Management Team? A search using the phrase on both of your websites fails to provide any clear answers but one assumes senior staff and senior politicians).

The purpose of my FOI was to determine whether the much quoted Viewpoint surveys were reliable measurements of public opinion. The failure to properly answer my questions simply serves to create further doubt as to their value.

I must emphasis that I did not ask for summaries but for detail. Only by examining the detail can I and other members of the public assess whether or not there is any validity in the claims that are being promoted following these surveys. As members of the Strategic Management Team had an input on the questions I would wish to see the notes and records that show how whatever questions were asked (you omit that answer) were generated and by whom

Please review in full.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/e...

Yours faithfully,
Tim Todd

Ian Clarke,

Dear Mr Todd

 

I am sorry that you feel dissatisfied with the way we have responded to
your request for information. Please find our responses to your key points
below:

 

I specifically asked what  formal qualifications the survey overseer
possessed. You chose to answer by saying that they met the job role
specification. 

You have previously requested the formal qualifications of the Community
Engagement and Funding Officer. We do not give out the qualifications of
individual members of staff as this constitutes their personal data and is
exempt under s40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act. The post holder
meets the requirements of the person specification for the job role, which
has been sent to you previously.

 

Having asked for the fullest details you provide at best, partial
information. What, for example is the Land and Property Gazetteer database
and what was the computer formula that extracted random respondents.

The Land and Property Gazetteer is the most up to date database of
addresses that we hold:  [1]http://www.nlpg.org.uk/nlpg/link.htm?nwi...

This database was interrogated by a Microsoft Access database formula that
selected addresses at certain random intervals.

 

I note, with some concern, that in the main, the surveys were conducted by
in-house staff and clearly influenced by senior staff (who exactly are the
Strategic Management Team? A search using the phrase on both of your
websites fails to provide any clear answers but one assumes senior staff
and senior politicians).

The Strategic Management Team is made up of the six most senior staff
within East Devon District Council. Please see further detail on senior
staff here
[2]http://www.eastdevon.gov.uk/eddc_smt_str...
 

 

I must emphasise that I did not ask for summaries but for detail. Only by
examining the detail can  I and other members of the public assess whether
or not there is any validity in the claims that are being promoted
following these surveys. As members of the Strategic Management Team had
an input on the questions I would wish to see the notes and records that
show how whatever questions were asked (you omit that answer) were
generated and by whom?

Questions and comments were input directly into the draft questionnaires
continuously until it was finalised. Previous drafts of the questionnaires
do not exist.

 

I hope this is helpful but if you remain dissatisfied you do have the
right to refer this matter to the Information Commissioner at
[3]www.ico.gov.uk

 

Yours sincerely

 

Ian Clarke

Solicitor – Interim Monitoring Officer EDDC

 

 

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References

Visible links
1. http://www.nlpg.org.uk/nlpg/link.htm?nwi...
2. http://www.eastdevon.gov.uk/eddc_smt_str...
3. http://www.ico.gov.uk/

tim todd left an annotation ()

Enough informastion has been received to cast great doubt on this so called survey- but important parts have been left unanswered so a complaint to ICO must now follow.