FOI requests submitted on Oxford City Council website
Dear Oxford City Council,
There is provision on Oxford City Council website to submit an FOI request:
https://www.oxford.gov.uk/info/20048/fre...
However, I can see no webpage where I can view submitted FOI requests to OXford City Council and their response.
Please provide me with the webpage or any other means as to how I can view FOI requests made to the Council and the Council's response.
Yours faithfully,
Lucia Romano
Dear Lucia Romano
Please find attached a letter that covers your three recent emails, each containing a question on the administration of FOIs within Oxford City.
Elizabeth Godin | Information Governance Manager | Law and Governance | SAC 3.8 | Oxford City Council | St Aldates Chambers | 109-113 St. Aldate's | Oxford | OX1 1DS |
Website: www.oxford.gov.uk | Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/OxfordCity | Like us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/OxfordCityCouncil
Stop the virus from spreading. Keep Oxford safe.
Follow the guidance: Clean hands. Wear a face mask. Keep your distance. Get tested if you have symptoms.
Dear GODIN Liz,
Thanks you for your response.
You Wrote:
746543-0f231063 - give an address to which the authority can reply. This can be a postal or email
address’
I would draw your attention to section 8.1.b of the FOI which suggests an email address should be sufficient and it is not necessary to provide a postal address..
So why does Oxford City Council require a postal address before a FOI can be submitted via their website?
You do not need to supply a postal address in order to make an FOI request. If a public authority asks you for your full, physical address, reply to them saying that section 8.1.b of the FOI Act asks for an "address for correspondence", and that the email address you are using is sufficient.
Yours sincerely,
Lucia Romano
Dear Lucia Romano
Thank you for your response. You are correct that the authority requires either an email address or a postal address but not both. From your previous email I had wrongly assumed that you were asking why you had to give either and I apologise for this misunderstanding.
After receiving this further email from you I have tested our form on the website for submitting FOI requests and you are right in that the form requires both fields completed in order to make an FOI Request.
I have emailed our IT service to request that this is changed as soon as possible.
Thank you for bringing this to my attention, it is from this type of feedback that we are able to improve our service.
Kind Regards
Liz
Elizabeth Godin | Information Governance Manager | Law and Governance | SAC 3.8 | Oxford City Council | St Aldates Chambers | 109-113 St. Aldate's | Oxford | OX1 1DS | 01865 252513.
Website: www.oxford.gov.uk | Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/OxfordCity | Like us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/OxfordCityCouncil
Stop the virus from spreading. Keep Oxford safe.
Follow the guidance: Clean hands. Wear a face mask. Keep your distance. Get tested if you have symptoms.
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