How do I get Stockport council to release the latest toxic waste dump school contamination investigation results?

Sheila Oliver made this Freedom of Information request to Government Office for the North West This request has been closed to new correspondence. Contact us if you think it should be reopened.

Government Office for the North West did not have the information requested.

Dear Government Office for the North West,

The Council is keeping the latest school on a toxic waste dump contamination investigation results secret, despite them initially trying to put the school on unremediated toxic waste. Our independent experts have been right all along. The Council is keeping the latest results secret from me and other council taxpayers. Obviously, this information should be in the public domain.

What avenues are open to me to get them to disclose this before the school opens in September, so that I can have the results checked by independent experts? The Information Commission can take up to two years to rule on a case and I can't contact the Local Ombudsman because I don't live near the school.

You must have some authority over Stockport Council to make them act in an open and honest manner, surely. Have you anything in your constitution? Eric Pickles thinks you can police them, so he must have some reason for thinking that.

Yours faithfully,

Sheila

GONWMAILBOX,

Sheila

Thank you for your email.

From the information you have provided, it seems that Stockport Council
are the organisation who are likely to hold the information in which you
are interested. If you direct your Freedom of Information request to
them, they would then be obliged to disclose to you the information they
hold that pertains to your query. They have a system for managing FOI
requests that will ensure your query is dealt with promptly: if you visit
[1]this page of their website, you can read about this procedure and find
out who you should contact.

If you are unhappy with the manner in which the council have addressed any
of your previous queries, you can address a complaint about this to the
council directly. You can read about Stockport MBC's complaints procedure
[2]here. You can also, if you remain dissatisfied, contact the [3]Local
Government Ombudsman. This is a national service, and you can contact them
no matter where you live or work.

You could also consider writing to your MP, who should be happy to take up
this query on your behalf and who will be able to contact the council,
other organisations both locally and nationally, and DCLG, as appropriate.
You can find your local MP by visiting the [4]Parliament website, or by
searching on a website called [5]They Work For You.

As Government Office for the North West will be closing at the end of this
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you have a follow up query, therefore, please visit the Direct Gov website
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to you). I have included a link [7]here to DCLG contact information,
should you require it.

I do hope this email will be helpful to you and that you are able to get
all the information you require.

Regards
GONW Mailbox

>>> Sheila Oliver <[FOI #64453 email]> 08 March
2011 >>>
Dear Government Office for the North West,

The Council is keeping the latest school on a toxic waste dump
contamination investigation results secret, despite them initially
trying to put the school on unremediated toxic waste. Our
independent experts have been right all along. The Council is
keeping the latest results secret from me and other council
taxpayers. Obviously, this information should be in the public
domain.

What avenues are open to me to get them to disclose this before the
school opens in September, so that I can have the results checked
by independent experts? The Information Commission can take up to
two years to rule on a case and I can't contact the Local Ombudsman
because I don't live near the school.

You must have some authority over Stockport Council to make them
act in an open and honest manner, surely. Have you anything in your
constitution? Eric Pickles thinks you can police them, so he must
have some reason for thinking that.

Yours faithfully,

Sheila

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Dear GONWMAILBOX,

Hi, the Information Commission has said they should respond, they have this letter yet they are refusing. I can only assume, after all that has gone on with the contamination, that they need to keep it secret. Another council taxpayer has asked them and they are ignoring her too.

This is the text from the Information Commission (by the way, I was never vexatious in the first place - the Council mislead the Information Commission quite seriously):-

Information Commissioner's Office
Promoting public access to official information and protecting your personal information
15th February 2010
Case Reference Number RCC0296506 / FS50232537 Stockport Borough Council
Dear Mrs Oliver
Thank you for your letter of 7 February 2010. In your letter you state that since the issuing of the Decision Notice in relation to case FS50232537 on 10 November 2009 further evidence has come to light which you feel no proves you are not vexatious. You also state that since the Decision Notice was issued all your subsequent requests for information made to the Council have been refused on the basis that the requests are vexatious.
The Decision Notice found that at the time of your request, which was 1 December 2008, your request was manifestly unreasonable and therefore Stockport Borough Council were correct to refuse to disclose to you the information you requested by virtue of 12(4)(b) of the Environmental Information Regulations. All Decision Notice must consider the circumstances at the time the request was made and cannot take into account circumstances that post date the request. If you are unhappy with the findings of the Decision Notice you should appeal to the First-Tier Tribunal (Information Rights). Any appeal should be lodged with the Tribunal within 28 days of the date of the Decision Notice. The contact details for the Tribunal are found at the bottom of the Decision Notice.
In relation to your second point, that the Council are now refusing all your requests for information on the basis that they are vexatious, the Decision Notice relates specifically to the request you made on the 1 December 2008 and does not make any finding regarding future requests. If you have made further requests and these have been refused you should ask the Council to review the requests and if following this review you remain unhappy with their response you can bring a new complaint to the Commissioner.
Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF t:0845 630 6060 f:01625 524510 e:[email address] w:ico.gov.uk
---------------------------------------------------

The school will open in September this year. I need to get independent experts to verify the contamination remediation has been done properly. It was done in a grossly negligent manner before (evidence available on request). I need to see that that appalling attitude to the safety of children has changed. I suspect it hasn't.

What next, back to haranguing Eric Pickles? I don't mind what I do as long as I get results.

Yours sincerely,

Sheila Oliver

GONWMAILBOX,

Thank you for your email.

The Comprehensive Spending Review 2010 confirmed the closure of the Government Office Network, and the Government Office for the North West closes on 31 March 2011.

This account is no longer monitored and as a result your email has not been read or forwarded.

You may find that your query is answered through the Directgov website. Directgov is the government's digital service and it delivers information and practical advice about public services.

The Directgov website can be found at http://www.direct.gov.uk

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Dear GONWMAILBOX,

Hi, the Information Commission has said they should respond, they
have this letter yet they are refusing. I can only assume, after
all that has gone on with the contamination, that they need to keep
it secret. Another council taxpayer has asked them and they are
ignoring her too.

This is the text from the Information Commission (by the way, I was
never vexatious in the first place - the Council mislead the
Information Commission quite seriously):-

Information Commissioner's Office
Promoting public access to official information and protecting your
personal information
15th February 2010
Case Reference Number RCC0296506 / FS50232537 Stockport Borough
Council
Dear Mrs Oliver
Thank you for your letter of 7 February 2010. In your letter you
state that since the issuing of the Decision Notice in relation to
case FS50232537 on 10 November 2009 further evidence has come to
light which you feel no proves you are not vexatious. You also
state that since the Decision Notice was issued all your subsequent
requests for information made to the Council have been refused on
the basis that the requests are vexatious.
The Decision Notice found that at the time of your request, which
was 1 December 2008, your request was manifestly unreasonable and
therefore Stockport Borough Council were correct to refuse to
disclose to you the information you requested by virtue of 12(4)(b)
of the Environmental Information Regulations. All Decision Notice
must consider the circumstances at the time the request was made
and cannot take into account circumstances that post date the
request. If you are unhappy with the findings of the Decision
Notice you should appeal to the First-Tier Tribunal (Information
Rights). Any appeal should be lodged with the Tribunal within 28
days of the date of the Decision Notice. The contact details for
the Tribunal are found at the bottom of the Decision Notice.
In relation to your second point, that the Council are now refusing
all your requests for information on the basis that they are
vexatious, the Decision Notice relates specifically to the request
you made on the 1 December 2008 and does not make any finding
regarding future requests. If you have made further requests and
these have been refused you should ask the Council to review the
requests and if following this review you remain unhappy with their
response you can bring a new complaint to the Commissioner.
Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane,
Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF t:0845 630 6060 f:01625 524510
e:[email address] w:ico.gov.uk

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