"Resignations"?
Dear East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust,
I seem to recall the Trust announced that a Mr Neil Storey who had been your Director of Operations, "resigned" from the service in the middle of August 2013.
It now appears that your cash-strapped Trust has actually been paying him up until the end of last month.
My questions are
A, Did Mr Storey actually voluntarily offer his resignation in August 2013?
B, If not, who told him to leave?
C, If he did volunteer to resign, why have you paid him for so long and what is the total cost of that arrangement?
D, Would any such agreement have prevented him from doing any paid work elsewhere?
E, Can you tell me the names of anyone else who has similarly "resigned" but been put on "gardening leave" and what that has cost?
F, Have any former senior members or Directors of the Trust sued for unfair or constructive dismissal or are in the process of doing so and if so, how many and how much this has cost to date?
Yours faithfully,
J Lowe
Dear J Lowe
Thank you for your email dated 5th August 2014 where you requested information regarding the East of England Ambulance Service.
Your request will be dealt with under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and we will respond to you within twenty working days. Your request has been allocated the following reference: F18367 and I would be grateful if you could quote this reference in any future correspondence with the Trust.
If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me.
Yours sincerely
FoI Officer
East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust
Dear J Lowe
Further to your email dated 5th August 2014, the Trust is unfortunately unable to provide you with the information requested. Disclosure of such sensitive, personal information would constitute a breach of the rights of the individuals concerned under the Data Protection Act 1998. Consequently we have made the decision to withhold this information under s.40 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
I am obliged to advise you that if you are dissatisfied with the Trust’s response to your request you have a right to complain to the Trust and should set out your concerns to the Freedom of Information Officer, EEAST, Hospital Approach, Broomfield, Chelmsford, Essex, CM1 7WS or by email to [East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust request email]. If you remain dissatisfied following this, you have a right under Section 50 of the FOIA to seek a determination from the Information Commissioner on whether the Act has been properly applied by the Trust. For more information, please see www.ico.gov.uk.
Please do not hesitate to contact me should you require any further information.
Kind regards
FoI Officer
East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust
Dear East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust,
Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.
I am writing to request an internal review of East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust's handling of my FOI request '"Resignations"?'.
I would like a review into your decision to withhold information.
Clearly your decision to not answer questions about whether you told the truth about a Mr Storey "resigning" and how much you have paid him for doing nothing for nearly a year while it seems he has been out earning money elsewhere, should be seen as convenient for you.
If your Trust has put people on paid gardening leave because they were responsible for reducing the number of ambulances then that is a scandalous decision but one the public should have come to expect.
A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/r...
Yours faithfully,
J Lowe
Dear J Lowe
Thank you for your email. The Trust will undertake an internal review of our response to F18367 and will respond once completed.
Kind regards
FoI Officer
East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust
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