Mark Thompson, Director-General of the BBC - Common Purpose training
Dear Sir or Madam,
1. Has Mark Thompson, Director-General of the BBC ever attended a Common Purpose training course? If so, please list the courses they have attended, their dates, their cost and details of who paid for them.
2. Is Mark Thompson, Director-General of the BBC a Common Purpose "graduate"?
By Common Purpose, I mean the training organisation of that name: http://www.commonpurpose.org/home.aspx By Common Purpose "graduate", I refer to a specific class of person who has passed the advanced Common Purpose courses.
Yours faithfully,
John Walker
Dear Mr Walker,
Thank you for your request for information under the Freedom of
Information Act 2000, about Common Purpose training, which was received
on 18 June 2008. We shall deal with your request as promptly as possible
and, at the latest, within 20 working days. If you have any queries
about your request please contact us at the address below.
The reference number for your request is RFI20080664.
Kind regards.
The Information Policy and Compliance Team
BBC Freedom of Information
Room 2252, BBC White City
201 Wood Lane
London W12 7TS, UK
Website: www.bbc.co.uk/foi
Email: [BBC request email]
Tel: 020 8008 2883
Fax: 020 8008 2398
Dear Mr Walker,
Please find attached the BBC's response to your Freedom of Information
Request.
Regards
A Chard I AdviserI BBC I Information Policy & Compliance I BBC White City,
201 Wood Lane London, W12 7TS I
<<RFI20080664 - final response.pdf>>
[1]http://www.bbc.co.uk
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Dear Andrea Chard,
Thank you for your reply in which you say "The BBC can confirm that Mr Mark Thompson, Director-General of the BBC, has not attended a Common Purpose training course during his employment at the BBC, nor has he
become a ‘Common Purpose graduate’ during this time.
We can voluntarily confirm that Mark Thompson spoke at an event for the 10th anniversary of Common Purpose Oxfordshire in September 2007.
"
This reply does not answer the questions. I realise that Mr Thompson has served the BBC for a long period of time but this service has not been continuous.
I therefore ask again:
1. Has Mark Thompson, Director-General of the BBC, ever attended a Common Purpose training course? If so, please list the courses they have attended, their dates, their cost and details of who paid for them.
2. Is Mark Thompson, Director-General of the BBC, a Common Purpose graduate?
This time please take into account any periods when Mr Thompson was not employed by the BBC, which I believe was between 2002 and 2004.
Thank you.
Yours sincerely,
John Walker
Dear Mr Walker,
In response to your additional clarification I can confirm that the BBC
only holds information in terms of Section 1(1)(a)of the FOI Act for the
period that Mr Thompson has been employed with the BBC. There is no
reason for the BBC to hold information about Mr Thompson for periods
when he was not working for the BBC - therefore, we do not hold any
further information.
If you believe we are incorrect in our application of the FOI Act you
are able to request an internal review (as outlined in our response).
Regards
Andrea Chard
Dear FOI Enquiries,
Mr Thompson is a public servant and has spent the greater part of his working life at the BBC and having his not inconsiderable wages paid by the BBC Licence Tax payer.
It is perfectly reasonable for the BBC Licence Tax payers to know details of the level of qualification of BBC employees, whether these qualifications were obtained whilst at the BBC or elsewhere.
You say "There is no reason for the BBC to hold information about Mr Thompson for periods when he was not working for the BBC"
Yes there is. A diligent employer will keep records of the qualifications of their employees so that management will be able to match people with skills to the appropriate jobs and tasks.
I can't see what the problem is. If the answers are not in your records, all you have to do is contact Mr Thompson and ask him the questions that I have put to you.
Yours sincerely,
John Walker
Dear Mr Walker,
Regrettably I can only reiterate that we have checked the information
that the BBC holds with respect to Mr Thompson and common purpose
training and have supplied you with the information we hold. We do not
hold any further information about Mr Thompson and common purpose
training. Under the FOI Act a public authority is only obliged to
supply information which is in its possession.
Regards
Andrea Chard
Dear FOI Enquiries,
In that case, I request an internal review before I appeal to the Information Commissioner.
Yours sincerely,
John Walker
Dear Mr Walker,
We have received your request for an internal review relating to our
decision to provide you with information held by the BBC regarding whether
Mr Mark Thompson had completed common purpose training, under the Freedom
of Information Act 2000. Your request for an internal review was received
on 15 July 2008. We shall deal with the review as promptly as possible
and, at the latest, within 30 working days. If you have any queries
please contact us at the address below.
The reference number for your internal review is IR IR2008027.
BBC Information Policy and Compliance
Room 2252, BBC White City
201 Wood Lane,
London, W12 7TQS
Website: [1]www.bbc.co.uk/foi/
Email: [2][BBC request email]
Tel: 020 8008 2883
Fax: 020 8008 2398
[3]http://www.bbc.co.uk
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Dear Mr Walker,
Please find attached the BBC's Internal Review Decision Notice regarding
your freedom of Information Act request concerning Mr Mark Thompson and
Common Purpose training.
<<IR2008027 - Internal Review decision.pdf>>
Yours sincerely,
BBC Information Policy and Compliance
[1]http://www.bbc.co.uk
This e-mail (and any attachments) is confidential and may contain personal
views which are not the views of the BBC unless specifically stated.
If you have received it in error, please delete it from your system.
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JennyBN left an annotation ()
i'd have thought that any courses done whilst not in the employment of the BBC would be totally relevant to the guy being re-employed. I don't know what circumstances he left the BBC, or as to what position he held b4, but i'm guessing he's a high up guy, so any course he does is gonna be a higher standard than an 11+ exam or why else do it? was the guy re-employed on a nod and a wink, that we hear so much about? but if they were not made aware of this High Grade course, either voluntarily or under questioning at interview, this brings into question the very policies of the BBC to Employ higher grades, as i'd be very sure these questions would be asked of a bottom feeder applying for a position at the BBC, on a much lower salery!
M. Anthony Rose left an annotation ()
JennyBN: In the case of any normal extracurricular course, I'd agree entirely. I assume you haven't yet caught up with (google:) Brian Gerrish's expose' of the oh-so-harmless-sounding EUSSR-loving group "Common Purpose". Be warned if you take my hint and investigate deeper, you might not sleep so securely when you discover that yet another part of (y)our world is nothing like as innocent it appears at first glance.
M. Anthony Rose left an annotation ()
Disclaimer: I have no knowledge of Mark Thompson's role as a Common Purpose inductee or graduate or whatever he's been paid to achieve.... it is of course perfectly possible Mr Thompson regards CP as a benign self-improvement movement, and that he is blissfully unaware of Common Purpose's unadvertised agenda. It is possible, I s'pose. But as the BBC seems to pull the plug on e.g. exposing the notorious criminal clique in the Grampian Police/Hollie Greig case... under circumstances that point to covert political interference that casts a suspicious shadow in the (mis)direction of any BBC senior executive's integrity.
John Booth left an annotation ()
This is a list that may help
You will have to Zoom in as the list is very large
http://www.scribd.com/doc/12750017/Commo...
You can also search this database
http://www.cpexposed.com/graduates/
just choose a region and you an see all organisation who have people that have taken the "N.L.P" Matrix and other mind Training.
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M. Anthony Rose left an annotation ()
This rejection could conceivably have been worded to simply appear to comply with FIA legal protocol: one would not be excessively disingenuous in the circumstances by suggesting that the special training available to a Common Purpose graduate might cause another graduate (especially a professional colleague within the employer Organisation), considering the application, to tip scales of justice balanced on a knife-edge in favour of the colleague. Surely the FIA would permit a BBC Licence-Payer to request a list of salaried BBC employees and Directors who have graduated from C *&%$ P ;-)