Information about internal audit and CAFT

Dear Barnet Bugle Limited,

I am writing to acknowledge receipt of your below request under the
Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the FOIA), received by the London
Borough of Barnet (the Council) on 17 June 2011.

Under the FOIA you are entitled to a prompt response which in any event
should be sent within 20 working days from the date the Council received
your request.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you wish to discuss your
request.

Kind Regards,

Catherine Wilson Pointer
Governance Officer

Corporate Governance Directorate
London Borough of Barnet, North London Business Park, Oakleigh Road
South, London N11 1NP
Tel: 020 8359 7757
Barnet Online: www.barnet.gov.uk
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Dear Barnet Bugle Limited,

I am writing regarding your request to the London Borough of Barnet (the Council) under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the FOIA) for access to the following:

...all the information the Council holds regarding the size and expenditure of Internal Audit and CAFT from municipal year 2006/7 to date. To include, but not limited to:
1. Emails between Members and Officers (in any permutation);
2. Proposals in preparation for budgets;
3. Risk analyses over changes to either service;
4. Discussions/papers/minutes at Director's Group or any other officer meetings.

My response to your request is below.

Response
I can confirm that the Council holds some information of the description specified in your request. That information is contained in the attached documents, listed below:

- Council Budget & Council Tax 2006_7 considered at the Cabinet Meeting on 27 February 2006;
- Council Budget and Council Tax 2007_08 considered at the Cabinet Meeting on 26 February 2007;
- Council Budget and Council Tax 2008_09 considered at the Cabinet Meeting on 21 February 2008;
- Council Budget and Council Tax 2009_10 considered at the Cabinet Meeting on 23 February 2009;
- Budget & Council Tax 2010_11, and Budget & Council Tax 2010_11 Appendices considered at the Cabinet Meeting on 22 February 2010; and
- Budget, Council Tax and Medium-Term Financial Strategy 2011_12 - 2013_14 considered at the Cabinet Meeting on 14 February 2011.

These documents should be read in conjunction with the decisions at subsequent Council meetings on the following dates:
- 7 March 2006;
- 6 March 2007;
- 4 March 2008;
- 3 March 2009;
- 2 March 2010; and
- 1 March 2011.

Details of these meetings can be accessed here: http://committeepapers.barnet.gov.uk/dem...

Refusal Notice
Given the changes in personnel, Councillors and filing systems since 2006 our preliminary assessment is that identifying, locating, retrieving and extracting the information required to respond to your request would exceed the appropriate costs limit under section 12 of the FOIA. This is currently £450.

In relation to part 1 of your request I note that the FOIA only applies to information created or received by members that relates to their role in exercising functions of the local authority (eg: as a Cabinet Member). The Act does not apply to information created or received for representative or political purposes (eg: corresponding with residents in their ward or agreeing how to vote with other party members).

We estimate that identifying, locating, retrieving and extracting the information requested, including identifying those emails between Members and officers to which the FOIA applies would require searches of innumerable files. At a cost of £25 per hour of each officer's time to perform these tasks we are satisfied that complying with this request would greatly exceed the appropriate costs limit under section 12 of the FOIA.

Advice and Assistance
In accordance with its duty under section 16 of the FOIA, the Council has considered how we might assist you with refining your request to bring it within the cost limit of £450 but have concluded, based on the volume of files that would be included in any search that this would not be possible.

Your Rights
If you are unhappy with the way your request for information has been handled, you can request a review by writing to the FOI Officer at: The London Borough of Barnet, North London Business Park, Oakleigh Road South, London, N11 1NP (email [Barnet Borough Council request email]).

If you remain dissatisfied with the handling of your request or complaint, you have a right to appeal to the Information Commissioner at: The Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF (telephone: 08456 30 60 60 or 01625 54 57 45; website: www.ico.gov.uk).

There is no charge for making an appeal.

Yours sincerely,

Catherine Wilson Pointer
Governance Officer

Corporate Governance Directorate
London Borough of Barnet, North London Business Park, Oakleigh Road South, London N11 1NP
Tel: 020 8359 7757
Barnet Online: www.barnet.gov.uk
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