Rob Walsh, Chief Executive – Dishonesty, misconduct in public office, fraud etc.

fFaudwAtch UK made this Freedom of Information request to North East Lincolnshire Council This request has been closed to new correspondence. Contact us if you think it should be reopened.

The request was partially successful.

Dear North East Lincolnshire Council,

Please disclose all records in relation to allegations of (or complaints about) dishonesty, misconduct in public office fraud etc., levelled against Rob Walsh, Chief Executive of North East Lincolnshire Council.

Yours faithfully,

fFaudwAtch UK

PPD - FOI, North East Lincolnshire Council

Dear fFaudwAtch UK

 

Thank you for your information request, reference number NEL/1648/1516
which asked:

 

“Please disclose all records in relation to allegations of (or complaints
about) dishonesty, misconduct in public office fraud etc, levelled against
Rob Walsh, Chief Executive of North East Lincolnshire Council”

 

Based on the content of your correspondence, we determine that this
request is vexatious. Your correspondence is intended to raise unfounded
allegations against the Council, with no substance behind your
allegations, or intention to obtain information from North East
Lincolnshire Council.

 

Section 14 (1) of the Freedom of Information Act states that a public
authority is not obliged to comply with a request for information if that
request is vexatious.

 

North East Lincolnshire Council will therefore not be responding to this
request.

 

If you disagree with the Council determining your request is vexatious you
have the right to request an internal review by the Council. If following
this you remain dissatisfied you may contact the Office of the Information
Commissioner. If you wish to request an internal review, please contact me
and I will make the necessary arrangements.

 

Yours sincerely on behalf of North East Lincolnshire Council

 

Feedback Officer

 

 

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Dear North East Lincolnshire Council,

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

I am writing to request an internal review of North East Lincolnshire Council's handling of my FOI request 'Rob Walsh, Chief Executive – Dishonesty, misconduct in public office, fraud etc.'.

I contest your view that my request is vexatious.

Please see the final stage response to a 'Formal Complaint' which Rob Walsh, Chief Executive of North East Lincolnshire Council has taken responsibility for:

https://www.scribd.com/doc/304838566/Cou...

In essence, the Chief Executive has taken the opportunity to exploit the Magistrates' courts incompetence of awarding costs to the council which were applied for fraudulently, knowing that the court will not admit its mistake, and on that basis the council is failing to take responsibility for its part in the crime.

The council taxpayers of North East Lincolnshire should not be expected to fund such dishonesty and therefore there is value in my wanting to obtain this information.

Please reconsider my request on this basis and I'm sure you will come to the conclusion that is not vexatious.

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,

fFaudwAtch UK

PPD - FOI, North East Lincolnshire Council

Dear Sir / Madam

 

I am pleased to acknowledge your correspondence and wish to confirm that
an Internal Review of the handling of your Information Request
NEL/1648/1516 is to take place.

 

The Internal Review has been passed to the relevant department for
processing and you can expect your response within the 20 working day
limit. If it will take us longer than 20 working days to respond to you,
we will inform you of this and provide you with the expected date for
receiving a response.

 

Further information about how we will deal with your Freedom of
Information requests is available on our website at:
[1]http://www.nelincs.gov.uk/council/the-co....

 

Please feel free to contact me if you require any further information or
assistance quoting the reference number above.

 

Yours sincerely on behalf of North East Lincolnshire Council

 

Feedback Officer

 

 

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Dear PPD - FOI,

Thank you.

Yours sincerely,

fFaudwAtch UK

PPD - FOI, North East Lincolnshire Council

Dear Mr Gilliatt 

Further to your request an Internal Review has taken place into North East
Lincolnshire Council's handling of your information request NEL/1648/1617,
concerning allegations levelled against the Chief Executive of North East
Lincolnshire Council.

I have reviewed the response provided to you and the handling of your
request in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act and I am
satisfied that the Council has acted in accordance with the Freedom of
Information Act in the handling of your request.

I uphold the application of the section 14 (1) exemption on the grounds
that the correspondence, and further correspondence in your request for
internal review, contain statements intended to raise unfounded
allegations against the Council.

I would like to take this opportunity to highlight guidance issued by the
Information Commissioner in relation to expected behaviours when making
FOI requests, in particular that you should not:

·         Level unfounded accusations at North East Lincolnshire Council
or its staff.

·         Use FOI to reopen grievances which have already been fully
addressed by North East Lincolnshire Council, or subjected to independent
investigation with no evidence of wrongdoing being found.

I can confirm that North East Lincolnshire Council publishes an annual
fraud report which is available on the North East Lincolnshire Council
website at the following address:

[1]http://www.nelincs.gov.uk/council/the-co...

I trust that this Internal Review answers your queries in relation to your
request, and clarifies that your request has been handled in accordance
with the Freedom of Information Act. 

If you remain dissatisfied with the Council’s handling of your request, or
the decision of the internal review you can request an independent review
by contacting the Information Commissioner's Office at Wycliffe House,
Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF.

Yours sincerely on behalf of North East Lincolnshire Council

Ian Hollingsworth

Information Governance and Complaints

 

 

 

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Dear PPD - FOI,

I do not accept NELC's claim that my FoI request was made with the intention to raise unfounded allegations against the Council. If I had wanted to do that I would have alleged the following:

Perjury to Commit Fraud 2nd December 2015 ( http://tinyurl.com/p233lzt ), except that the allegations would not have been unfounded as you will see from a complaint to the Local Government Ombudsman against North East Lincolnshire Council ( http://tinyurl.com/zncng9o )

21 March 2016

List of Annexes:

Annex A: Council’s 14 March 2016 final response ( http://tinyurl.com/j4vtq6a )
Annex B: 10 November 2015 email query to Council ( http://tinyurl.com/zdvm4w5 )
Annex C: 17 December 2015 formal complaint letter to Council ( http://tinyurl.com/zc82om7 )
Annex D: Council’s 21 December 2015 cover letter ( http://tinyurl.com/zwr4j9g )
Annex E: Council’s 13 November 2015 response [see above Annex D]
Annex F: 25 December 2015 second formal complaint letter to Council ( http://tinyurl.com/jgwxk9t )
Annex G: Council’s 19 January 2016 first stage formal complaint response ( http://tinyurl.com/z98yq4r )
Annex H: 26 January 2016 third formal complaint letter to Council ( http://tinyurl.com/jzycog3 )

Clearly you will see, from Annex A ( http://tinyurl.com/j4vtq6a ) that the Council's Chief Executive is ultimately responsible.

Yours sincerely,

fFaudwAtch UK