OLDHAM COUNCIL'S POLICIES on banning members of the general public from council meetings/offices/events

REF: FOI 18128

Good morning,

We acknowledge with thanks your application for information, which has been considered as a request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

As such, this may take up to 20 working days to be processed and has been passed on to an appropriate officer.

Also please be aware that in certain circumstances an exemption may apply to the information that you have requested. This also includes the possible requirement of the statutory period to supply a response, being extended in accordance with the Act.

Should you have any queries, please contact:  [email address]

Kind regards

Information Management Team
Oldham Council
Civic Centre
West Street
Oldham  
OL1 1UL
[email address]

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Dear Lynne Kelly,

We thank you for your Freedom of Information request and can confirm the
answers to the questions raised below:

 1. A copy of the appropriate Council policy through which it approved
this action? 

Oldham Council does not have a written policy or procedure on banning the
public from meetings and/or public buildings, however the Council has
regard to the appropriate legislation when making decisions in
particular; 

The Local Government Act 1972 provides a right of access to members of the
public to observe and listen to the proceedings of public meetings.
However, this right is qualified in a number of ways; for example, the
Council is only required to provide reasonable (but limited)
accommodation, and members of the public may be excluded where the nature
of the business to be transacted is “confidential” or “exempt” (section
100A). In particular, section 100A(8) states that “this section is without
prejudice to any power of exclusion to suppress or prevent disorderly
conduct or other misbehaviour at a meeting”. This provision is replicated
in Section 4 of The Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings
and Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012 (i.e. the
Regulations that relate to meetings of the "Executive" which, in the case
of Oldham, is the Cabinet). 

 2. A copy of the Council’s Appeal’s policy through which those issued
with bans can contest the decisions made by the Council?   

Oldham Council does not have an appeals policy, however the Council has
regard to the appropriate legislation when making decisions in
particular; The Local Government Act 1972 provides a right of access to
members of the public to observe and listen to the proceedings of public
meetings. However, this right is qualified in a number of ways; for
example, the Council is only required to provide reasonable (but limited)
accommodation, and members of the public may be excluded where the nature
of the business to be transacted is “confidential” or “exempt” (section
100A). In particular, section 100A(8) states that “this section is without
prejudice to any power of exclusion to suppress or prevent disorderly
conduct or other misbehaviour at a meeting”. This provision is replicated
in Section 4 of The Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings
and Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012 (i.e. the
Regulations that relate to meetings of the "Executive" which, in the case
of Oldham, is the Cabinet). 

 3. Confirm if the Appeals policy was provided at the time the Council
issued banning letters and if not, where and how the public can access
this information?  

Information regarding appealing any decision is provided to recipients of
letters. 

 4. The number of bans issued? 

There have been less than 15 bans issued. Under the Act, Oldham Council
has a duty to supply any information on request, unless there is an
exemption. It is the Council’s policy only to apply the exemptions where
there is a genuine risk of harm or prejudice. In such cases, we will still
provide information if it is in the public interest to do so. With regards
to your request, in view of the low numbers/information involved, there is
the risk of possible identification of individuals and consequently, your
request is considered exempt from disclosure under Freedom of Information
2000 Section 40, Personal data.  

Personal data is defined in Article 4 of the General Data Protection
Regulations (GDPR) and further clarified under Part 1(3) of the Data
Protection Act 2018 as information relating to an identified or
identifiable living individual.  

It is an issue that statistical information is not anonymous in the hands
of the data controller as there is other information / identifiers in
their possession. It can be argued that statistical data is not personal
data as long as the data subject cannot be identified.  However, this has
to be considered against a background of “mosaic” requests [i.e. whether
giving a sample of the information, a profile can be built-up by combining
data from another source] which could be made by requests to other
authorities and organisations in order to put together a wider picture. 

 5. The number of people that have appealed their bans?  

Under the Act, Oldham Council has a duty to supply any information on
request, unless there is an exemption. It is the Council’s policy only to
apply the exemptions where there is a genuine risk of harm or prejudice.
In such cases, we will still provide information if it is in the public
interest to do so. With regards to your request, in view of the low
numbers/information involved, there is the risk of possible identification
of individuals and consequently, your request is considered exempt from
disclosure under Freedom of Information 2000 Section 40, Personal data. 

 6. The number of successful appeals to these bans?  

Under the Act, Oldham Council has a duty to supply any information on
request, unless there is an exemption. It is the Council’s policy only to
apply the exemptions where there is a genuine risk of harm or prejudice.
In such cases, we will still provide information if it is in the public
interest to do so. With regards to your request, in view of the low
numbers/information involved, there is the risk of possible identification
of individuals and consequently, your request is considered exempt from
disclosure under Freedom of Information 2000 Section 40, Personal data. 

 7. Can the Council also confirm it has carried out due diligence ensuring
the legality of these bans and if it has, the position of the Council
Officer who authorised this?   

The council’s decision was made in line with the Local Government Act 1972
which provides a right of access to members of the public to observe and
listen to the proceedings of public meetings. However, this right is
qualified in a number of ways; for example, the Council is only required
to provide reasonable (but limited) accommodation, and members of the
public may be excluded where the nature of the business to be transacted
is “confidential” or “exempt” (section 100A). In particular, section
100A(8) states that “this section is without prejudice to any power of
exclusion to suppress or prevent disorderly conduct or other misbehaviour
at a meeting”. This provision is replicated in Section 4 of The Local
Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and Access to Information)
(England) Regulations 2012 (i.e. the Regulations that relate to meetings
of the "Executive" which, in the case of Oldham, is the Cabinet). 

The letters were authorised by the Head of Paid Service for the Council. 

If you are dissatisfied with the handling of your request, you have the
right to ask for an internal review.  

Internal review requests should be submitted within two months of the date
of receipt of your original response and should be forwarded to: 

Email: [1][email address] 

Legal Services 

OMBC, PO Box 33,  

Civic Centre, West Street,  

Oldham  

OL1 1UL 

Kind Regards, 

Place & Economic Growth 

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