Marketing/PR activities

The request was partially successful.

Dear The Gateway Academy,

1. Please could you provide data for the total spend on marketing and public relations activities in the academic years 2009/2010, 2010/2011 and 2011/12 (to date).

2. Please could you also provide a detailed breakdown of the total marketing/PR spend using the following categories:

-website

-social media

-printed media (e.g. letters and leaflets)

-advertising (including posters and banners)

-consultation (of parents)

-photography/digital media

-salaries

-entertainment/gifts

-public relations representation (to secure local or national print or broadcast media coverage or manage unfavourable media coverage, for example)

3. Please could you confirm whether you employ a full or part-time member of staff with responsibility for external public relations, marketing or communications. If so, please provide a figure for their annual salary (before tax) and any additional benefits such as pensions or bonuses.

4. Please could you confirm whether you have engaged the services of an education consultancy, during the last six years, for the purposes of public relations/marketing and/or to generate media coverage (print or broadcast) or manage unfavourable coverage.

If so, please provide the name of the organisation or individual, plus details of their duties and responsibilities, as per the contractual agreement. Please also provide details of how much they have been paid to date including any monthly or annual retainers.
If the consultancy has been arranged via a third party i.e. consultants, project management companies or contractors, please provide the full name of the organisation and their duties and responsibilities, as per the contractual agreement. Please also provide details of how much they have been paid to date, including any monthly or annual retainers.

Yours faithfully,

Rhian Jones

Dear The Gateway Academy,

Following our follow up telephone call please find the original message below as requested.

1. Please could you provide data for the total spend on marketing
and public relations activities in the academic years 2009/2010,
2010/2011 and 2011/12 (to date).

2. Please could you also provide a detailed breakdown of the total
marketing/PR spend using the following categories:

-website

-social media

-printed media (e.g. letters and leaflets)

-advertising (including posters and banners)

-consultation (of parents)

-photography/digital media

-salaries

-entertainment/gifts

-public relations representation (to secure local or national print
or broadcast media coverage or manage unfavourable media coverage,
for example)

3. Please could you confirm whether you employ a full or part-time
member of staff with responsibility for external public relations,
marketing or communications. If so, please provide a figure for
their annual salary (before tax) and any additional benefits such
as pensions or bonuses.

4. Please could you confirm whether you have engaged the services
of an education consultancy, during the last six years, for the
purposes of public relations/marketing and/or to generate media
coverage (print or broadcast) or manage unfavourable coverage.

If so, please provide the name of the organisation or individual,
plus details of their duties and responsibilities, as per the
contractual agreement. Please also provide details of how much they
have been paid to date including any monthly or annual retainers.
If the consultancy has been arranged via a third party i.e.
consultants, project management companies or contractors, please
provide the full name of the organisation and their duties and
responsibilities, as per the contractual agreement. Please also
provide details of how much they have been paid to date, including
any monthly or annual retainers.

Yours faithfully,

Rhian Jones

Rhian Jones left an annotation ()

Have tried to contact academy to ensure they have received request, there is no answer to the telephone number. Will keep trying.

Rhian Jones left an annotation ()

Have sent an email to the following addresses -

info@thegatewayacademy.org.uk
communications@thegatewayacademy.org.uk

with a link to the request and asking for confirmation that they have received it.

Rhian Jones left an annotation ()

Received the following email on 13.12.2011:

This request has been passed to our accounts department.

Kind regards
Allison King

Rhian Jones left an annotation ()

Spoke to Jan Wilson on 23/01, has assured me the information will be sent this week.

Rhian Jones left an annotation ()

I sent the following email to the academy on the 27.01.2012:

Hi Janette,

Following our recent telephone call please find the original Freedom of Information request I made to the Gateway Academy on the 14/11/2011.

The request can be viewed here - http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/ma...

It originally went to the email address - info@thegatewayacademy.org.uk

Under the Freedom of Information Act you are required to respond to the request within 20 working days, so I would appreciate a prompt response. For clarity please find the questions I wish to be answered for the request below -

1. Please could you provide data for the total spend on marketing and public relations activities in the academic years 2009/2010, 2010/2011 and 2011/12 (to date).

2. Please could you also provide a detailed breakdown of the total marketing/PR spend using the following categories:

-website

-social media

-printed media (e.g. letters and leaflets)

-advertising (including posters and banners)

-consultation (of parents)

-photography/digital media

-salaries

-entertainment/gifts

-public relations representation (to secure local or national print or broadcast media coverage or manage unfavourable media coverage, for example)

3. Please could you confirm whether you employ a full or part time member of staff with responsibility for external public relations, marketing or communications. If so, please provide a figure for their annual salary (before tax) and any additional benefits such as pensions or bonuses.

4. Please could you confirm whether you have engaged the services of an education consultancy, during the last six years, for the purposes of public relations/marketing and/or to generate media coverage (print or broadcast) or manage unfavourable coverage.

If so, please provide the name of the organisation or individual, plus details of their duties and responsibilities, as per the contractual agreement. Please also provide details of how much they have been paid to date including any monthly or annual retainers.

If the consultancy has been arranged via a third party i.e. consultants, project management companies or contractors, please provide the full name of the organisation and their duties and responsibilities, as per the contractual agreement. Please also provide details of how much they have been paid to date, including any monthly or annual retainers.

Regards,

Rhian Jones

Rhian Jones left an annotation ()

I sent the following email on the 7.02.2012:

Hi Janette,

I've still yet to receive a reply to the Freedom of Information request I made to the academy on the 14th of November. I have spoken to you since this date and sent the forwarded email you can see below on the 27th of Jan. I would appreciate it if you could chase this up for me asap.

Thanks,

Rhian Jones left an annotation ()

I received the following email on the 7th of feb 2012:

Hi Rhian

Having discussed your request with the Academy’s Vice-Chairman this afternoon, his response was that the Academy will not be making a response on the basis that the information would be either commercially sensitive or personal and confidential.

Regards

Jan Wilson

Rhian Jones left an annotation ()

I sent the following reply on the 7th of Feb 2012:

Hi Janette,

I refer you to the following ICO guidelines;

In the Introduction to the Freedom of Information Act 2000, the Commissioner lists the following public interest factors that would encourage the disclosure of information:

Promoting accountability and transparency in the spending of public money. The public interest is likely to be served, for instance in the context of private sector delivery of public services, if the disclosure of information ensures greater competition and better value for money that is public.

The Gateway Academy is a public body, funded by public money therefore falls under the legalities of the Freedom of Information act.

If your Vice-Chairman is confused about the act or the academies responsibility to the public he can find all the information from this website:

http://www.ico.gov.uk/for_organisations/...

If you continue refusing to cooperate I will be referring this case to the information commissioner.

Regards,

Rhian Jones

Rhian Jones left an annotation ()

I received a telephone call from a Mr Graham Foster at 14.14 on the 7th of Feb. He assured me that he did know what the Freedom of Information act was but that the request that I have submitted to the academy is not a 'proper request' because it falls under the category of commercially sensitive or personal data. I tried to ask Mr Foster to answer as much of the request as he regarded as valid and to clearly state which sections he was not going to respond to and why but he put the phone down before I could respond.

Dear The Gateway Academy,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of The Gateway Academy's handling of my FOI request 'Marketing/PR activities'.

Further to your email of 27/1/12 I do not consider that the
exemption you refer to (presumably concerning the release of commercially sensitive information) has been satisfied. In any case, if you are citing this exemption, you do need to explain why you feel it is commercially sensitive information, who would be affected and how.

The disclosure of information is relevant - and in the public interest - because it relates to the spending of public money.

I am requesting an internal review of this decision which should be completed within 20 days, In the unlikely event of a further refusal, I will refer the case to the ICO.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address:
http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/ma...

Yours faithfully,

Rhian Jones

Rhian Jones left an annotation ()

The academy send the information via email on the 14th of March 2012. I am awaiting clarification for question four, when this is is received the request will have been fully answered.