Officer declarations, Patrick Lingwood
Dear Oxfordshire County Council,
It is a matter of public record that, shortly before standing for office for Oxfordshire County Council, Charlie Hicks lived on a LTN boundary road in the Cowley part of Oxford, on a road that then had an LTN planter installed on it.
It is also a matter of public record that, at this time, the house Charlie Hicks lived at is currently co-owned by Oxfordshire County Council's Active & Healthy Travel Officer, Patrick Lingwood.
It is also a matter of public record that, following his election to Oxfordshire County Council, Charlie Hicks became deputy chair of the Place Overview & Scrutiny Committee, a committee that effectively scrutinises OCCs LTN policies, promoted by Patrick Lingwood.
A recent complaint to OCC's monitoring officer has revealed that Charlie Hicks continued to live at the house belonging to Patrick Lingwood (i.e. on a road with an LTN planter on it) after being elected to OCC as a councillor in May 2021, right up until the month before he became deputy chair of the Place Overview & Scrutiny Committee, which happened in September 2021.
It has been concluded by the monitoring officer that this close accommodation-based relationship between Patrick Lingwood, an officer with responsibility for active travel and Charlie Hicks, an councillor now responsible for scunitising activity travel, is acceptable, notwithstanding that both lived on a closed LTN road. "The complaint is in relation to an address that the Subject Councillor previously lived at and was disclosed on his register of interests at the relevant time (May 2021).". "The Subject Councillor no longer lives at the address in question, nor were they living there at the material times of the complaint."
In light of the above, I would like to be provided with all relevant declarations made by Patrick Lingwood relating to:
a) the LTN policy for Cowley from initial formation onwards - i.e. up to and including the decision regarding replacing the physical barriers with an APNR alternative.
b) Mr Lingwood's accommodation arrangements with Charlie Hicks from the point that Charlie became a councillor for Cowley until his move out date (August 2021).
I wish to all of Patrick Lingwood's OCC declaration regarding his home ownership and / or living arrangements with Charlie Hicks, where declarations of this type of relationship might reasonably be expected to be made. In particular, I would like to see any declarations made by Patrick Lingwood at OCC meetings where active travel / LTNs issues were discussed, irrespective of whether or not those meetings were public meetings.
I do not believe officer's declarations are routinely made public - please direct me to them if they are. If Mr Lingwood's declarations are not already in the public domain, the public interest in disclosure of these declarations can be justified in light of the road Mr Lingwood lived on a road that a policy he promoted helped close to through traffic, and the direct policy linkage between Patrick Lingwood's job and Charlie Hick's later job scrutinising policies promoted by Patrick Lingwood.
That said, I would be happy for Mr Lingwood's address to be redacted in your response, even though these details are already in the public domain, on official Land Registry records (Patrick Lingwood's property address) / OCC paperwork (Charlie Hick's former Cowley address), both of which are available online.
Yours faithfully,
Richard Parnham
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Dear Mr Parnham,
Our reference 22725 EIR
Thank you for your request under the Freedom of Information Act (2000) in
which you asked for the following information:
It is a matter of public record that, shortly before standing for office
for Oxfordshire County Council, Charlie Hicks lived on a LTN boundary road
in the Cowley part of Oxford, on a road that then had an LTN planter
installed on it.
It is also a matter of public record that, at this time, the house Charlie
Hicks lived at is currently co-owned by Oxfordshire County Council's
Active & Healthy Travel Officer, Patrick Lingwood.
It is also a matter of public record that, following his election to
Oxfordshire County Council, Charlie Hicks became deputy chair of the Place
Overview & Scrutiny Committee, a committee that effectively scrutinises
OCCs LTN policies, promoted by Patrick Lingwood.
A recent complaint to OCC's monitoring officer has revealed that Charlie
Hicks continued to live at the house belonging to Patrick Lingwood (i.e.,
on a road with an LTN planter on it) after being elected to OCC as a
councillor in May 2021, right up until the month before he became deputy
chair of the Place Overview & Scrutiny Committee, which happened in
September 2021.
It has been concluded by the monitoring officer that this close
accommodation-based relationship between Patrick Lingwood, an officer with
responsibility for active travel and Charlie Hicks, an councillor now
responsible for scunitising activity travel, is acceptable,
notwithstanding that both lived on a closed LTN road. "The complaint is in
relation to an address that the Subject Councillor previously lived at and
was disclosed on his register of interests at the relevant time (May
2021).". "The Subject Councillor no longer lives at the address in
question, nor were they living there at the material times of the
complaint."
In light of the above, I would like to be provided with all relevant
declarations made by Patrick Lingwood relating to:
a) the LTN policy for Cowley from initial formation onwards - i.e. up to
and including the decision regarding replacing the physical barriers with
an APNR alternative.
b) Mr Lingwood's accommodation arrangements with Charlie Hicks from the
point that Charlie became a councillor for Cowley until his move out date
(August 2021).
I wish to all of Patrick Lingwood's OCC declaration regarding his home
ownership and / or living arrangements with Charlie Hicks, where
declarations of this type of relationship might reasonably be expected to
be made. In particular, I would like to see any declarations made by
Patrick Lingwood at OCC meetings where active travel / LTNs issues were
discussed, irrespective of whether or not those meetings were public
meetings.
I do not believe officer's declarations are routinely made public - please
direct me to them if they are. If Mr Lingwood's declarations are not
already in the public domain, the public interest in disclosure of these
declarations can be justified in light of the road Mr Lingwood lived on a
road that a policy he promoted helped close to through traffic, and the
direct policy linkage between Patrick Lingwood's job and Charlie Hick's
later job scrutinising policies promoted by Patrick Lingwood.
That said, I would be happy for Mr Lingwood's address to be redacted in
your response, even though these details are already in the public domain,
on official Land Registry records (Patrick Lingwood's property address) /
OCC paperwork (Charlie Hick's former Cowley address), both of which are
available online.
We are writing to acknowledge your request. Your request has been logged
under reference 22725 FOI.
Your request is being considered and we aim to send your response by 25
January 2024 in accordance with the Legislation. However, if there are
circumstances where this is not possible, we will write to further inform
you of when you will expect to receive your response.
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any further enquiries
about your request, quoting your reference number above.
Kind regards
Renata
Renata Malinowski
FOI Support Officer
Voice of the Customer Team
Oxfordshire County Council
This email, including attachments, may contain confidential information.
If you have received it in error, please notify the sender by reply and
delete it immediately. Views expressed by the sender may not be those of
Oxfordshire County Council. Council emails are subject to the Freedom of
Information Act 2000. [1]email disclaimer. For information about how
Oxfordshire County Council manages your personal information please see
our [2]Privacy Notice.
References
Visible links
1. https://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/emaildisc...
2. https://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/council/a...
Dear Oxfordshire County Council,
A response to my request 22725 EIR regarding Patrick Lingwood's declarations is now overdue. Please provide it, promptly.
Yours faithfully,
Richard Parnham
Dear Mr Parnham,
Thank you for your email.
Please find attached a copy of your Freedom of Information request 22725 FOI, emailed to you on 18 January 2024.
Kind regards
Renata
Renata Malinowski
Freedom of Information Support Officer
Voice of the Customer Team
Customers and Organisational Development
Oxfordshire County Council
Email: [email address]
www.oxfordshire.gov.uk
Dear Oxfordshire County Council,
Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.
I am writing to request an internal review of Oxfordshire County Council's handling of my FOI request 'Officer declarations, Patrick Lingwood'.
My request has not been complied with. Please provide me with the information I asked for, and not information I didn't.
Below is what I asked for, in 22725 FOI.
I would like to be provided with all relevant declarations made by Patrick Lingwood relating to:
a) the LTN policy for Cowley from initial formation onwards - i.e. up to and including the decision regarding replacing the physical barriers with an APNR alternative.
b) Mr Lingwood's accommodation arrangements with Charlie Hicks from the point that Charlie became a councillor for Cowley until his move out date (August 2021).
c) I wish to all of Patrick Lingwood's OCC declaration regarding his home ownership and / or living arrangements with Charlie Hicks, where declarations of this type of relationship might reasonably be expected to be made. In particular, I would like to see any declarations made by Patrick Lingwood at OCC meetings where active travel / LTNs issues were discussed, irrespective of whether or not those meetings were public meetings.
I do not believe officer's declarations are routinely made public - please direct me to them if they are. If Mr Lingwood's declarations are not already in the public domain, the public interest in disclosure of these declarations can be justified in light of the road Mr Lingwood lived on a road that a policy he promoted helped close to through traffic, and the direct policy linkage between Patrick Lingwood's job and Charlie Hick's later job scrutinising policies promoted by Patrick Lingwood.
That said, I would be happy for Mr Lingwood's address to be redacted in your response, even though these details are already in the public domain, on official Land Registry records (Patrick Lingwood's property address) / OCC paperwork (Charlie Hick's former Cowley address), both of which are
available online.
A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/o...
Yours faithfully,
Richard Parnham
Dear Mr Parnham
You appear to be using two different WDTK accounts for this particular
request.
We acknowledged your internal review request on 30^th January, to a
different WDTK account and advised you will receive our response by
26^th February. A copy of this is attached.
Kind Regards
Lucy
Senior Freedom of Information Officer
Voice of the Customer Team
Customers and Organisational Development
Oxfordshire County Council
Email: [1][email address]
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
From: Richard Parnham <[FOI #1062664 email]>
Sent: 10 February 2024 09:15
To: FOI Team <[Oxfordshire County Council request email]>
Subject: Internal review of Freedom of Information request - Officer
declarations, Patrick Lingwood
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organisation. Do not
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Dear Oxfordshire County Council,
Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information
reviews.
I am writing to request an internal review of Oxfordshire County Council's
handling of my FOI request 'Officer declarations, Patrick Lingwood'.
My request has not been complied with. Please provide me with the
information I asked for, and not information I didn't.
Below is what I asked for, in 22725 FOI.
I would like to be provided with all relevant declarations made by Patrick
Lingwood relating to:
a) the LTN policy for Cowley from initial formation onwards - i.e. up to
and including the decision regarding replacing the physical barriers with
an APNR alternative.
b) Mr Lingwood's accommodation arrangements with Charlie Hicks from the
point that Charlie became a councillor for Cowley until his move out date
(August 2021).
c) I wish to all of Patrick Lingwood's OCC declaration regarding his home
ownership and / or living arrangements with Charlie Hicks, where
declarations of this type of relationship might reasonably be expected to
be made. In particular, I would like to see any declarations made by
Patrick Lingwood at OCC meetings where active travel / LTNs issues were
discussed, irrespective of whether or not those meetings were public
meetings.
I do not believe officer's declarations are routinely made public - please
direct me to them if they are. If Mr Lingwood's declarations are not
already in the public domain, the public interest in disclosure of these
declarations can be justified in light of the road Mr Lingwood lived on a
road that a policy he promoted helped close to through traffic, and the
direct policy linkage between Patrick Lingwood's job and Charlie Hick's
later job scrutinising policies promoted by Patrick Lingwood.
That said, I would be happy for Mr Lingwood's address to be redacted in
your response, even though these details are already in the public domain,
on official Land Registry records (Patrick Lingwood's property address) /
OCC paperwork (Charlie Hick's former Cowley address), both of which are
available online.
A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on
the Internet at this address:
[2]https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/o...
Yours faithfully,
Richard Parnham
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Dear FOI Team,
The deadline for the internal review of my FOI regarding officer declarations, Patrick Lingwood, has now come and gone.
If I do not receive the outcome of internal review promptly, I will complain to the ICO as soon as allowed.
I am also awaiting a response regarding a request for an internal review of OCC Councillor declaration regarding Charlie Hicks.
Please be aware, in case of confusion, that these are two separate FOIs, and two separate requests for internal review, both from 22 December 2023. It is possible that you have conflated both FOIs, despite one being headed "Councillor declarations" and the other being headed "Officer declarations, Patrick Lingwood".
Both FOI requests are inter-related and recount some of the same facts, because - as described in each FOI request - (for a short period of time), both Mr Lingwood and Mr Hicks both appeared to live in the same property at the same time - on a road that was closed to vehicles as part of the Temple Cowley LTN trial.
At the time they both appeared to live together, Mr Lingwood was promoting LTN policies externally on behalf of OCC. I am therefore keen to know what declarations Mr Lingwood made relating to this living arrangement, and more generally about the fact that his own road was closed as a result of an LTN policy that Mr Lingwood helped promote. This is the focus of one of my FOIs.
Shortly after moving out of Mr Lingwood's house, Councillor Hicks took on a scrutiny role that (potentially) resulted him in scrunitising his ex -landlord's polices. I am therefore asking (in my second FOI) for relevant declarations made by Charlie Hicks in the period between he became councillor (May 2021) and moving out of Mr Lingwood's property in August 2021.
In an earlier conduct complaint about Mr Hicks' conduct to the OCC Monitoring officer, the monitoring officer determined that all relevant declarations were made. However, I have yet to see much in the way of evidence of such declarations. This is precisely why I am asking for evidence of both councillor and officer declarations via FOIs - so far unsuccessfully. Before I take my complaint to the LGSCO about the outcome of my conduct complaint, I want to give OCC one final opportunity to share relevant information regarding councillor / officer declaratins with me.
I am looking for all relevant declarations, including those at non-public meetings, where such declarations are not routinely made publically available. I do not believe that officer declarations are routinely made public.
Yours sincerely,
Richard Parnham
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