Licence numbers for unsafe shooting in Rodley

Response to this request is long overdue. By law, under all circumstances, Leeds City Council should have responded by now (details). You can complain by requesting an internal review.

Dear Leeds City Council,

Please provide the "general" licence number or numbers, (e.g. GL28, GL35, GL36), which (a) have been and (b) are being, relied upon for shooting Canada geese, adjacent to the Leeds-Liverpool Canal SSSI., over which the police convened a public meeting on the 18 December 2019.

Yours faithfully,

Tracy Wale

DPFOI, Leeds City Council

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IMG.Requests, Leeds City Council

Good morning,

Freedom of information request Ref 262490 : License numbers for unsafe shooting in Rodley

Thank you for your request for the above information which we received on 24 February 2020. We will respond to your request in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000, or the Environmental Information Regulations 2004.

Your request has been assigned to one of our officers who will arrange a response within the appropriate statutory time limit.

Please remember to quote reference number FOI 262490 in any future communications.

Yours sincerely,
Marta Kapica
Information Governance Assistant
Leeds City Council

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IMG.Requests, Leeds City Council

Dear Tracy Wale

Freedom of Information Request (Ref: 262490)

I refer to the above and your request dated 24 February 2020. I have
contacted the relevant services and now provide a response to your request
relating to License numbers for unsafe shooting in Rodley.

Please provide the "general" licence number or numbers, (e.g. GL28, GL35,
GL36), which (a) have been and (b) are being, relied upon for shooting
Canada geese, adjacent to the Leeds-Liverpool Canal SSSI., over which the
police convened a public meeting on the 18 December 2019. 

 

The Geese are being controlled legally by independent shooters on the
Farmers private land – it has nothing whatsoever to do with Leeds City
council, Pest Control Services or Parks and Countryside Department.

 

The shooters will be using General Licence number 28 (GL28) see definition
below:

 

[1]https://www.gov.uk/government/publicatio...

 

When you use the above link the information does mention that when
controlling Canada Geese on or near sites which are protected for birds,
an individual licence should be applied for and so the general one would
not be enough.

 

The Pest Control Team can assure Ms Wale that Leeds City Council have had
no involvement in the shooting and know nothing about it or the meeting
with the police.

 

I trust that this response is satisfactory. If however you are
dissatisfied with this response you have a right to appeal to an
independent officer within the council. They will re-examine your request
and assess whether we have adhered to the requirements of the act. Should
you wish to follow this course of action please address your concerns in
writing to the above address.

 

You also have a right under Section 50 of the Freedom of Information Act
to ask the Information Commissioner to decide whether we have met with our
obligations under the act.  The Commissioner has however made it clear
that she expects all applicants to exhaust internal appeals procedures
prior to making such an application. Should you wish to contact the
Commissioner’s office then you can write to the following address:

Office of the Information Commissioner, Wycliffe House, Water Lane,
Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF.

You may also contact the Commissioner via her website at www.ico.org.uk

 

I trust that this is self-explanatory.  If you have any queries please
contact me using the contact information above.

Yours sincerely

 

Sam Slatcher

Information Governance Officer

Requests Team

Information Management & Governance

Digital & Information Service

Leeds City Council

Tel: 0113 37 84251

 

 

 

 

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Dear Sam Slatcher,

 

Thank you for your reply on the 4th March.

 

It may be, that for good reason, you and your colleagues made an educated guess, as to which "general" shooting licence or licences were and still are being used.

 

Understandably, you thought that "Leeds City Council has had no involvement in the shooting and know nothing about it or the meeting with the police".

 

However, my FoI request, followed desperate and urgent requests to LCC's Chief Executive, Tom Riordan, to use one or more of LCC's powers to protect local residents, especially vulnerable residents, from serious threats to their health, safety and wellbeing.

 

Responses were sent on his behalf by Adrian Tongue, LCC's Principal Legal Officer.

 

He will know which "general" licence or licences have been and are still being used.

 

In view of this clarification, I would be most grateful for a definitive answer to my original request.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Tracy Wale.

IMG.Requests, Leeds City Council

Good morning,

Freedom of information internal review request Ref 262490

Thank you for your request for the above information which we received on 8 March 2020. We will respond to your request in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000, or the Environmental Information Regulations 2004.

Your request has been assigned to one of our officers who will arrange a response within the appropriate statutory time limit.

Please remember to quote reference number FOI 262490 in any future communications.

Yours sincerely,
Marta Kapica
Information Governance Assistant
Leeds City Council

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IMG.Requests, Leeds City Council

Dear Tracy Wale,

I refer to your request dated 24/02/2020, the response of Leeds City Council dated 04/03/20, and your email of the 08/03/2020. I am sorry you were not satisfied with the response provided. I have investigated your concerns as the manager of the Information Management and Governance requests team, and provide my response in accordance with the council’s complaints procedure as a stage 2 complaint.

Your original request was as follows;

Please provide the "general" licence number or numbers, (e.g. GL28, GL35, GL36), which (a) have been and (b) are being, relied upon for shooting Canada geese, adjacent to the Leeds-Liverpool Canal SSSI., over which the police convened a public meeting on the 18 December 2019.

In the councils response of the 4th March you were supplied with information that advised the Geese were being controlled legally by independent shooters on the Farmers private land, that Leeds City Council were not involved in this matter, but that the shooters would be using General Licence number 28 (GL28). Having reviewed this response I consider that it lacked clarity in respect of your actual question, as well as including an assumption that GL28 was being used rather than a factual answer to your question. For this I am sorry.

I can confirm that the council does not hold a record of the license numbers or details of the licenses that have been or are being relied upon for shooting Canada Geese adjacent to the Leeds-Liverpool Canal. The council are not responsible for the provision of licenses, rather it is the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

This concludes my appeal at stage 2 of the councils complaints procedure. If you remain dissatisfied with the councils response you have a right under Section 50 of the Freedom of Information Act to ask the Information Commissioner to decide whether we have met with our obligations under the act. Should you wish to contact the Commissioner’s office then you can write to the following address:

Office of the Information Commissioner, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF.

You may also contact the Commissioner via her website at www.ico.org.uk

Olivia Knight
Principal Information Governance Officer
Requests Team
Information Management and Governance
Digital and Information Service
Leeds City Council

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