Information relating to the Risborough Area Residents Association's petition for a better town plan for Princes Risborough
Dear Wycombe District Council,
Earlier this year, the Risborough Area Residents Association (RARA) organised a petition to demonstrate local opposition to the Wycombe District Plan. The petition was aimed at the Planning Inspector, but a copy was submitted to Wycombe District Council in their capacity as the local authority with responsibility for planning in the Wycombe District. The petition was subsequently debated by Wycombe District Council in June 2017.
Under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 2000, RARA are requesting that you provide all emails and other information (as defined in section 84 of the Act) and any relevant information that may be held in private accounts that relates to public authority business in accordance with section 3(2)b of the Act.
RARA feels that it is necessary to cite section 3(2)b as there are established cases of elected members using personal email addresses, mobile phones, etc. for business relating to public authority business, especially at parish and district levels of government.
Yours faithfully,
Risborough Area Residents Association
I am writing in connection with your request for information under the
Freedom of Information Act 2000 for information relating to Risborough
Area Residents Association's petition, which I received on 15 November
2017.
Please be advised that as the request relates to Local Plan issues the
information requested falls under environmental information and therefore
the Environmental Information Regualtions apply. However the information
considered in scope for this request would be the same regardless i.e.
all information held about the subject matter above, regardless of who
holds the information, the format of the information or where it is held.
The criteria for whether the information is within scope of the request
will be if it relates to public authority business.
I will be processing the request on behalf of the council and I understand
that the scope of the information requested includes all information
(including correspondence) within planning, democratic services and
related members in relation to the petition concerned.
I hope to have a response to you by 13 December but if you have any
further comments relating to your request, please contact me quoting the
reference number above.
Yours faithfully
Jennifer Griffin
Records Manager
Wycombe District Council
Queen Victoria Road
High Wycombe
Bucks
HP11 1BB
Direct line: 01494 421190
Ref Email: [FOI #446519 email]
From: [email address]
To: [email address],
[email address], [email address]
Subject: FOI Form Submitted
Title: Mr
Forenames:
Surname: RARA
Address1:
Address2:
Address3:
Town:
County:
Postcode:
Phone:
Email: [FOI #446519 email]
CommType: Freedom of Information
Freetext: Dear Wycombe District Council,
Earlier this year, the Risborough Area Residents Association (RARA)
organised a petition to demonstrate local opposition to the Wycombe
District Plan. The petition was aimed at the Planning Inspector, but a
copy was submitted to Wycombe District Council in their capacity as the
local authority with responsibility for planning in the Wycombe District.
The petition was subsequently debated by Wycombe District Council in June
2017.
Under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 2000, RARA are requesting that
you provide all emails and other information (as defined in section 84 of
the Act) and any relevant information that may be held in private accounts
that relates to public authority business in accordance with section 3(2)b
of the Act.
RARA feels that it is necessary to cite section 3(2)b as there are
established cases of elected members using personal email addresses,
mobile phones, etc. for business relating to public authority business,
especially at parish and district levels of government.
Yours faithfully,
Risborough Area Residents Association
Subject: Planning Policy
Senders Ref: Risborough Area Residents Association's petition
FileRef: Not Known
Location: Not Known
Email End
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Two councils instead of five - the best solution for the people of Bucks
There is currently a debate in Buckinghamshire about the future of local
government. The district councils' proposal is for two new unitary
councils for Bucks. We believe this is the best solution for the people
who live and work here. Find out more at www.modernisingbucks.org
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Dear Sarah Barfield,
Thank you for your response. We are only concerned about information that relates to communication concerning RARA's petition. While this matter is linked to the local plan, we are only interested in correspondence that relates to the petition.
Yours sincerely,
Risborough Area Residents Association
I am writing in connection with your request for information under the
Environmental Information 2004 for information relating to Risborough
Area Residents Association's petition, which I received on 15 November
2017.
Wycombe District Council confirms that it does hold information covered
by your request; however we believe that we need further time in which to
provide a full response to you.
We consider that the exception 12(4)(e) in the regulations applies to the
information you requested. This exception applies to information which
relates to internal discussions and the protection of internal discussions
and thinking space. We are currently in the process of reviewing the
information we hold and considering the public interest in releasing this
information however due to volume of the information it is impracticable
to respond fully to your request within 20 working days. I am therefore
writing to inform you that we intend to issue you with a formal response
by 15 January 2018.
Yours sincerely
Jennifer Griffin
Records Manager
Wycombe District Council
Queen Victoria Road
High Wycombe
Bucks
HP11 1BB
Direct line: 01494 421190
Ref Email: [FOI #446519 email]
From: [email address]
To: [email address],
[email address], [email address]
Subject: FOI Form Submitted
Title: Mr
Forenames:
Surname: RARA
Address1:
Address2:
Address3:
Town:
County:
Postcode:
Phone:
Email: [FOI #446519 email]
CommType: Freedom of Information
Freetext: Dear Wycombe District Council,
Earlier this year, the Risborough Area Residents Association (RARA)
organised a petition to demonstrate local opposition to the Wycombe
District Plan. The petition was aimed at the Planning Inspector, but a
copy was submitted to Wycombe District Council in their capacity as the
local authority with responsibility for planning in the Wycombe District.
The petition was subsequently debated by Wycombe District Council in June
2017.
Under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 2000, RARA are requesting that
you provide all emails and other information (as defined in section 84 of
the Act) and any relevant information that may be held in private accounts
that relates to public authority business in accordance with section 3(2)b
of the Act.
RARA feels that it is necessary to cite section 3(2)b as there are
established cases of elected members using personal email addresses,
mobile phones, etc. for business relating to public authority business,
especially at parish and district levels of government.
Yours faithfully,
Risborough Area Residents Association
Subject: Planning Policy
Senders Ref: Risborough Area Residents Association's petition
FileRef: Not Known
Location: Not Known
Email End
****** HELP US TO REDUCE PAPER USE ******
****** DO NOT PRINT THIS EMAIL UNLESS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY ******
****** DISCLAIMER *****
Any opinions expressed in this email are those of the individual and are
not necessarily those of Wycombe District Council.
This email and any files transmitted within it are strictly confidential
and intended solely for the use of the individual or
entity to which it is addressed. If you are not the intended recipient of
this email you must not copy, distribute or use the
communication in any other way. If you do receive this email in error
please contact the sender as soon as possible and
delete the email and any attachments.
Wycombe District Council may monitor the contents of email sent and
received
via its network for the purposes of ensuring compliance with its policies
and procedures.
Wycombe District Council has scanned this email and attachments for
viruses but does not accept any responsibilities
for viruses once this email has been transmitted. The recipient is
responsible for scanning emails and any attachments for viruses
themselves.
Two councils instead of five - the best solution for the people of Bucks
There is currently a debate in Buckinghamshire about the future of local
government. The district councils' proposal is for two new unitary
councils for Bucks. We believe this is the best solution for the people
who live and work here. Find out more at www.modernisingbucks.org
This message has been scanned for viruses by MailControl, a service from
BlackSpider Technologies.
Click here to report this email as spam.
Find our latest news at [1]www.wycombe.gov.uk and follow us on Twitter
@wycombedc
References
Visible links
1. http://www.wycombe.gov.uk/
Dear Jennifer Griffin
Thank you for your response.
As per our email of 19th November, this request relates to RARA's petition and not the wider local plan process. We are only seeking the release of communications that relate to the council's (councillors and officials) handling and discussion of RARA's petition.
It is therefore difficult to see how the EIR applies in these circumstances, or why an extension is required to compile the relatively specific information we have requested. It is our assessment that this request should be managed in accordance with the FoIA.
Should you proceed with managing this request via the EIR process and invoke the qualified exception, it should be noted that 4,000 local residents signed the petition. This is more than half of the parish's electorate, and is a material consideration when carrying out any test under reg 12(1)(b), not to mention 'presumption in favour of disclosure'.
Yours sincerely,
Risborough Area Residents Association
I am out of the office until Friday 29 December. I will reply to your
email on my return.
Kind regards
I am writing again in connection with your request for information under
the Environmental Information 2004 for information relating to Risborough
Area Residents Association's petition, which I received on 15 November
2017.
As advised to you this request has been considered under the Environmental
Information Regulations 2004 (EIR). I can confirm that Wycombe District
Council has now completed its review of the information in relation to the
exception 12(4)(e) internal discussions and the protection of internal
discussions and thinking space.
Please find attached a number of documents relating to your request for
“all emails and other information (as defined in section 84 of the Act)
and any relevant information that may be held in private accounts that
relates to public authority business in accordance with section 3(2)b of
the Act.” The Council recognises that there is a strong argument that
planning decisions and the process leading to those decisions should be as
open and transparent as possible. Ideally all parties should be fully
informed about the issues considered by the Council and the public should
be satisfied that the final decisions have been made openly and are fully
explained.
However there are items listed below have been withheld as the Council
asserts that disclosure of the withheld information would inhibit officers
when they engage in free and frank discussions in the future and
consequently this would lead to poorer quality of advice and ultimately to
poorer decision making within the Council. Additionally, we believe that
there is a real risk that the content of the emails withheld could be
taken out of context and be easily misinterpreted, particularly where some
of the contents of the emails do not include contextual clarification or
explanation. The Council fears that the disclosure of the emails at this
juncture could mean that their contents could be misinterpreted and used
to erroneously inform current and on-going discussions.
+------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|Title |Date |Officer/s |
|----------------------------+-------------+-----------------------------|
|PR petition statement for |31 March |Penelope Tollitt / Sue |
|the leader. | |Robinson |
|----------------------------+-------------+-----------------------------|
|CONFIDENTIAL: RE: RARA |31 March |David Johncock/Penelope |
|PETITION | |Tollitt/Catherine Spalton |
|----------------------------+-------------+-----------------------------|
|FW draft news release for |7 June |Sue Robinson/ David Johncock |
|your commentapproval | | |
|----------------------------+-------------+-----------------------------|
|FW Draft statement in |3 April |David Johncock / Katrina Wood|
|response to the submission | |/ Catherine Spalton |
|of the petition | | |
|----------------------------+-------------+-----------------------------|
|RARA petitino cabinet report|18 May |David Johncock / Penelope |
| | |Tollitt |
|----------------------------+-------------+-----------------------------|
|RARA Wider Group Meeting |16 March |Penelope Tollitt / Chris |
|Minutes and Petition Update | |Schmidt-Reid / John Callaghan|
| | |/ Rosie Brake |
|----------------------------+-------------+-----------------------------|
|Publication of the |27 April 2017|Chris Schmidt-Reid |
|Risborough's Groundwater | | |
|Study | | |
|----------------------------+-------------+-----------------------------|
|RE URGENT last mintue press |30 March |Chris Schmidt-Reid / Sue |
|enquiry to the wire from | |Robinson |
|Bucks Free Press | | |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------+
The items listed below have been released with redactions
+------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|Title |Exception|Reason |
|-------------------------------+---------+------------------------------|
|Cabinet Member Meeting |12(4)(e) |Items relating to petition |
| | |released items not relating to|
|Tuesday 31.01.2017 4.00pm | |petition withheld |
|-------------------------------+---------+------------------------------|
|Cabinet Member Meeting Tuesday|12(4)(e) |Items relating to petition |
|11.04.2017 4.00pm | |released items not relating to|
| | |petition withheld |
|-------------------------------+---------+------------------------------|
|Communications Draft for |12(4)(e) |Comments removed - inhibit |
|comment/approval | |officers when they engage in |
| | |free and frank discussions |
| | | |
|-------------------------------+---------+------------------------------|
|RARA PETITION DEBATE – |12(4)(e) |Comments removed - inhibit |
|QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS | |officers when they engage in |
| | |free and frank discussions |
| | | |
|-------------------------------+---------+------------------------------|
|Communications Draft for |12(4)(e) |Comments removed - inhibit |
|comment/approval | |officers when they engage in |
| | |free and frank discussions |
| | | |
|-------------------------------+---------+------------------------------|
|Draft News release |13 |Personal mobile number removed|
+------------------------------------------------------------------------+
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remember to quote the reference number 18822 in any future communications.
If you are unhappy with the service you have received in relation to your
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you should write to the Information Officer Council Offices Queen Victoria
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If you are not content with the outcome your complaint, you may apply
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Kind regards
Jennifer
Jennifer Griffin
Records Manager
Corporate Policy
Wycombe District Council
Queen Victoria Road
High Wycombe
HP11 1BB
Direct line: 01494 421190
Find our latest news at [4]www.wycombe.gov.uk and follow us on Twitter
@wycombedc
References
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2. mailto:[Wycombe District Council request email]
3. http://www.ico.gov.uk/
4. http://www.wycombe.gov.uk/
Dear Jennifer Griffin,
Thank you for your response.
We note that a number of items have not been released for the following reasons:
"...disclosure of the withheld information would inhibit officers
when they engage in free and frank discussions in the future and
consequently this would lead to poorer quality of advice and ultimately to
poorer decision making within the Council. Additionally, we believe that
there is a real risk that the content of the emails withheld could be
taken out of context and be easily misinterpreted, particularly where some
of the contents of the emails do not include contextual clarification or
explanation. The Council fears that the disclosure of the emails at this
juncture could mean that their contents could be misinterpreted and used
to erroneously inform current and on-going discussions."
We are currently taking seeking legal advice on this matter and will respond in due course.
Yours sincerely,
Risborough Area Residents Association
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