Section 151 officer and Section 114 Notice
Dear Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council,
Can you tell me the name of the Council's Section 151 Officer? Has the 151 officer considered issuing a Section 114 Notice?
The attached may be of assistance,
Kent County Council finance officer Zena Cooke takes leave of absence
Simon Finlay, Local Democracy Reporter 23 January 2024
One of Kent County Council’s most senior and highest paid officials has taken a sudden and unexpected leave of absence from her role.
Zena Cooke, corporate director for finance and procurement, is understood to be still working for the authority but her deputy John Betts has now stepped into the position.
Her role carries a salary of up to £155,000 a year, according to KCC bandings.
Conservative KCC leader Roger Gough read a short statement to his group members yesterday morning (Jan 22) at County Hall. Cllr Gough gave no reason for Ms Cooke’s absence.
Ms Cooke’s job, which she has held for more than five years, is significant because she also acts as the Section 151 officer at KCC.
Her absence was noted at a key KCC meeting last week.
By law, the holder can issue a Section 114 notice, declaring the council effectively bankrupt if it cannot meet its statutory duties with the funding provided by central government.
One backbencher told LDRS: “No idea what’s going on. There are a lot of rumours now circulating, of course, none of which I would give any credence to.”
‘Zena’s role is the toughest in local government at the best of times and these are the hardest of times...’
Thanet Labour county councillor Barry Lewis said: “News to me - but it sounds serious.”
The council said: “KCC is not commenting on this.”
Ms Cooke has worked in local government for more than three decades, including as Director of Resources at the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, where she was the Section 151 officer.
Before that, she was a senior official at Maidstone Borough Council, according to her LinkedIn account.
KCC faces having to make drastic cutbacks as it scrambles to find tens of millions of pounds of savings or face having to issue a section 114 notice.
Another Tory backbencher said: “Zena’s role is the toughest in local government at the best of times and these are the hardest of times - there are enormous pressures from all sides.
“She’s uber experienced and has been in post for a long time. But no one will say anything but then that’s normal for most Conservative backbenchers these days.”
Yours faithfully,
Fergus Wilson
Thank you for your e-mail, requesting that certain information is made available to you under the Freedom of Information Act 2000/Environmental Information Regulations 2004. The Council has now started to process your request.
The Council always aims to disclose information as quickly as possible. However, if for some reason we cannot complete your request within 20 working days (ie by 04/03/2024) we will write to you again before that date to explain why and to let you know when you will receive the information. Please remember that documents sent by post may take few extra days to reach you.
The Council will normally disclose all the information which you have requested unless there is a good reason for not doing so. If any information will not be disclosed because it is exempt, we will write to you and explain why. Please note that, whilst the Council will disclose documents which already exist and which contain the information which you have requested, the Council is not required to compile documents specifically to deal with your request.
Once the information has been identified, the Council can also ask that you pay a fee to cover the costs of any printing, photocopying, postage, etc., for processing and delivering the information to you. Details of any fee to be paid will be notified to you as soon as possible.
Please quote the reference number 24/134 in any future correspondence about this request.
If you are dissatisfied with this response, then you may ask the Council to conduct an internal review of your case by writing to the Council’s FOI Team ([Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council request email]). If you are still not content after the Council has conducted an internal review of your case, then you may apply directly to the Information Commissioner (ICO) for a decision. Generally, the ICO cannot make a decision unless you have exhausted the internal review procedure provided by the Borough Council.
The Information Commissioner can be contacted in writing at: The Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF.
Stuart Edwards
Freedom of Information Co-Ordinator
website: www.tmbc.gov.uk
Mr Wilson
Thank you for your recent Freedom of Information request, please see below
The name of the council’s Section 151 officer is Sharon Shelton
Has the 151 officer considered issuing a Section 114 Notice? No she hasn’t
considered issuing a s114 notice
Internal Review
If you are dissatisfied with this response, you can request an internal
review of the decision by making a request to [1][Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council request email].
Complain to the Information Commissioner
If you are not content after the Council has conducted an internal review
of your case, then you may apply directly to the Information Commissioner
(ICO) for a decision.The Information Commissioner can be contacted in
writing at: The Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water
Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF.
Please quote the reference number at the top of this email in any future
correspondence about this request.
Sally
Sally Evans
PA to Director of Finance & Transformation
Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council
[2]Open an account to pay bills, report an issue or make an application
[3]Download the My TMBC app for updates on key services
Follow us on [4]Twitter, [5]Facebook and [6]Instagram for the latest
news
Open an account to pay bills, report an issue or make an application.
https://www.tmbc.gov.uk/myaccount
Download the My TMBC app to get the latest updates straight to your phone.
https://www.tmbc.gov.uk/council/download...
This message has been scanned for malware by Forcepoint. [7]www.forcepoint.com
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council request email]
2. https://www.tmbc.gov.uk/myaccount
3. https://www.tmbc.gov.uk/council/download...
4. https://twitter.com/TMBC_Kent
5. https://www.facebook.com/tonbridgeandmal...
6. https://www.instagram.com/tmbc.kent/
7. http://www.forcepoint.com/
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