Open+ at Selsdon and Norbury Libraries
Dear Croydon Borough Council,
Please provide the following information:
- the cost of the installation of Open+ technology at Selsdon and Norbury Libraries,
- how was the work funded (including evidence of any approvals),
- the annual maintenance costs of each installation, and
- the cost (per hour) of the security provision at each of the two libraries when Open+ is in operation.
Yours faithfully,
Stephen Whiteside
Information Team Croydon
Digital Services
Assistant Chief Executive Directorate
Bernard Wetherill House
7th Floor, Zone B
Croydon
CR0 1EA
Contact: Information Team
[email address]
Dear Stephen Whiteside
Request FOI/10782
Further to your request received on 01/10/2024, I confirm that the Council
has now considered your request under the Freedom of Information Act
2000. Specifically, you have requested the following information:
"Dear Croydon Borough Council,
Please provide the following information:
- the cost of the installation of Open+ technology at Selsdon and Norbury
Libraries,
- how was the work funded (including evidence of any approvals),
- the annual maintenance costs of each installation, and
- the cost (per hour) of the security provision at each of the two
libraries when Open+ is in operation."
The cost of installing Open+ technology in 2019/20 was as follows:
Selsdon Library - £19,529
Norbury Library - £27,912
The work was funded from Council capital funding as part of the
refurbishment of both libraries.
The annual maintenance costs are £1,500 per library site.
The current cost of security provision at each library when Open+ is in
operation is £16.25 per hour.
The Council publishes Access to Information requests and responses on its
online Disclosure Log. (Any request included within this log will be
anonymised appropriately)
To view the Council’s Disclosure Log, please visit our website available
here:
[1]The Freedom of Information (FOI) Act | Croydon Council
(disclosure-log.co.uk)
If you are dissatisfied with the way the Council has handled your request
under the Freedom of Information Act, you may ask for an internal review.
This should be submitted to us within 40 working days of this response.
You can do this by outlining the details of your complaint by:
Email: [2][email address]
Writing: Information Team
London Borough of Croydon
Bernard Weatherill House
Floor 7 - Zone B
8 Mint Walk
Croydon, CR0 1EA
Any requests received after the 40 working day time limit will be
considered only at the discretion of the council.
If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have
the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a
decision. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:
Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire, SK9 5AF
Yours sincerely,
Information Team
Croydon Digital Services
Assistant Chief Executive Directorate
Bernard Wetherill House,
Mint Walk,
Croydon,
CR0 1EA
[3][email address]
References
Visible links
1. https://croydon.disclosure-log.co.uk/
2. mailto:[email%20address]
3. mailto:[email%20address]
Dear Croydon Borough Council,
Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.
I am writing to request an internal review of Croydon Borough Council's handling of my FOI request 'Open+ at Selsdon and Norbury Libraries'.
My request included " how was the work funded (including evidence of any approvals)". You have told me that "The work was funded from Council capital funding as part of the refurbishment of both libraries".
+++ Please confirm where and when approval was given for this expenditure?
+++ Please confirm whether any of that 'capital funding' came for the Community Infrastructure Levy *CIL", and if so please provide copies of any relevant 'CIL Expenditure Request Form -IFG" (including the approval sheets).
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,
Stephen Whiteside
Dear [email address],
Request FOI/10782
As I understand it, I SHOULD have received the outcome of the Council's internal review within 20 working days (i.e. by 25 November 2024). If the Council needed more time to investigate (of up to another 20 working days) I SHOULD have been advised of that sometime before that and have received your final decision by 23 December 2024, at the very latest.
Please provide the Council's final decision without further undue delay.
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/o...
Yours sincerely,
Stephen Whiteside
Dear Mr Whiteside
Further to your e-mail below, we asked the relevant service to look at
your request again, please see their response below -
In summary the published information in the IFS for the relevant year
confirms that
• For the year 2019/20 £1,606,666.00 was spent via CIL on Libraries
Investment General. [1]Infrastructure Funding Statement 2019/20 row
7 of section 3
• For the year 2020/21 £1,751,242 was spent via CIL on Libraries
Investment – Norbury Library full refurbishment of the build including
a new roof. [2]Infrastructure Funding Statement 2020/21 row 7 of
section 3
• For the year 2020/21 £9,053 was spent via CIL on Library Investment –
South Norwood play equipment. [3]Infrastructure Funding Statement
2020/21 row 7 of section 4
Kind regards
Information Team
Croydon Council
Part of FOI/00010937 which was merged into this case
Dear Croydon Borough Council,
Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information
reviews.
I am writing to request an internal review of Croydon Borough Councils
handling of my FOI request Open+ at Selsdon and Norbury Libraries.
My request included " how was the work funded (including evidence of any
approvals)". You have told me that "The work was funded from Council
capital funding as part of the refurbishment of both libraries".
+++ Please confirm where and when approval was given for this
expenditure?
+++ Please confirm whether any of that capital funding came for the
Community Infrastructure Levy *CIL", and if so please provide copies of
any relevant CIL Expenditure Request Form -IFG" (including the approval
sheets).
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,
Stephen Whiteside
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #1181876 email]
Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published
on the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/offi...
For more detailed guidance on safely disclosing information, read the
latest advice from the ICO:
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/ico-...
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/ico-...
Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses
will be delayed.
If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisations FOI page.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
References
Visible links
1. https://www.croydon.gov.uk/sites/default...
2. https://www.croydon.gov.uk/sites/default...
3. https://www.croydon.gov.uk/sites/default...
Stephen Whiteside left an annotation ()
With reference to the outcome of the internal review.
The third item, regarding CIL spend in 2020/21 on South Norwood Library is IRRELEVANT to this request.
With regard to the first item, row 7 of section 3 Infrastructure Funding Statement 2019/20 does show that in that financial year, CIL provided funding of £1,606,666.00 for 'Libraries Investment General', BUT for a breakdown of that figure we need to look at the Council's response (21 July 2021) to another FOI request ('CIL funding for Libraries'): https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/c...
That response states that during 2019/20, CIL provided funding of £430,000 for the refurbishment of Selsdon Library (first opened 2004) and £326,000 towards the full refurbishment (including a new roof) of Norbury Library.
With regard to the second item, row 7 of section 3 Infrastructure Funding Statement 2020/21 does indeed show that a FURTHER £1,751,242 of CIL funding was spent that year on the refurbishment of Norbury Library. We have NOT however been provided with a copy of any relevant 'CIL Expenditure Request Form - IFG" (including the approval sheets).
With regard to the subject of this information request, we must assume that the cost of the installation of Open+ technology at these two libraries is contained somewhere within the above figures.
We work to defend the right to FOI for everyone
Help us protect your right to hold public authorities to account. Donate and support our work.
Donate Now
Stephen Whiteside left an annotation ()
The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has accepted this case for investigation without an internal review as it has (again) been more than 40 working days since I requested it. (ICO reference: IC-358790-D0Q7)