Supporting gender reassignment recognition for pupils.

[name removed] made this Freedom of Information request to North Lanarkshire Council as part of a batch sent to 32 authorities This request has been closed to new correspondence. Contact us if you think it should be reopened.

The request was refused by North Lanarkshire Council.

Dear North Lanarkshire Council,

Per FOISA, please supply me with information contained within your records as follows:

1) Per School, please provide the number of pupils that have received gender reassignment recognition.

a) Please break the numbers down per school for male pupils identifying as female?

b) Please break the numbers down per school for female pupils identifying as males?

2) Please also provide the number of pupils per school that have received gender reassignment recognition that each school have supported and have any change of gender name officially recorded on the School and Educational System data base per school?

a) Please break this down for males identifying as females with name change recorded?

b) Please break this down for females now identifying as males with name change recorded?

Yours faithfully,

[name removed]
[name removed]

Angelene Kirkpatrick, North Lanarkshire Council

Dear Sir/madam

I acknowledge receipt of your request which is receiving attention.

I shall contact you again when I am in a position to respond more fully to your request.

Yours sincerely

Angelene Kirkpatrick
For Freedom of Information Co-ordinator
North Lanarkshire Council
Civic Centre
Windmillhill Street
Motherwell
ML1 1AB

Working from home
Please contact via email

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Dear Angelene Kirkpatrick,

Please note I do not now require a break down of numbers per school, as I appreciate that the numbers we talking about here are minimal and may identify an individual.

To assist I require the data from academic year 2019/20 to date broken down AY on AY.

Yours sincerely,

[name removed]

Angelene Kirkpatrick, North Lanarkshire Council

I am currently out of the office. Your email is forwarded onto another
member of the FOI Team..

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References

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1. https://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/your...

Jacqueline Keachie, North Lanarkshire Council

Dear Sir/Madam

Request for Information

I refer again to your e-mail dated 8 November 2022 seeking information in
terms of the Freedom of Information legislation.  I also refer to your
e-mail dated 28 November 2022 providing clarification of your request.

Having investigated, I regret to advise you that there is no central data
set that records the information sought. While your clarification
stipulates that you no longer require a “per school” breakdown, to compile
a Council wide figure, each of the 156 schools in North Lanarkshire would
have to be contacted and asked to search their records for a four-year
period.  That, as you will appreciate, would be highly labour intensive
and I have to advise that the cost of so doing would exceed the amount
prescribed for the purposes of Section 12 of the Act by the Regulations
made by the Scottish Ministers.

I acknowledge that this response is less helpful than I would have wished
however, North Lanarkshire Council is a large local authority and due to
the specific nature of the questions asked, I regret I cannot suggest any
ways to refine your request that would be less of a burden and still
provide you with useful data. 

I can advise that North Lanarkshire Council, having regard to the
provisions of Section 21 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act
2002, has established a procedure whereby any person who has requested
information and is in any way dissatisfied with the decision on that
request, can within forty working days require a review of that decision
by writing to the Head of Legal and Democratic Solutions, Civic Centre,
Windmillhill Street, Motherwell ML1 1AB.  Accordingly, if you are
dissatisfied with this decision and seek such review please write to the
Head of Legal and Democratic Solutions.

I would advise, also, that in terms of Section 47 of the Act a person who
is dissatisfied with a notice given by the local authority under Section
21 of the Act - ie. a notice following a review of a decision by a local
authority, or by the failure of a local authority to give such a notice -
may make application to the Scottish Information Commissioner for a
decision as to whether, in any respect specified in that application, the
request for information to which the requirement relates has been dealt
with in accordance with the Act.  Such an application must be made within
six months of the review decision and be in writing or in another form
which, by reason of it having some permanency is capable of being used for
subsequent reference. The application must state the name of the applicant
and provide an address for correspondence. The application must also
specify the request for information to which the requirement for review
relates, the matter which gave rise to the applicant’s dissatisfaction
with the original decision of the local authority and the matter which
gives rise to the applicant’s dissatisfaction with the decision on review
by the local authority or the failure of the local authority to issue such
a decision.  The Scottish Information Commissioner can be contacted as
follows:-

Scottish Information Commissioner

Kinburn Castle

Doubledykes Road

St. Andrews

KY16 9DS

email: [1][email address]

Appeals to the Scottish Information Commissioner can also be made online
via the following link: -

[2]www.itspublicknowledge.info/Appeal

I hope this information is sufficient for your purpose.  If, however, you
require further information – or I can assist in any other way – please
let me know.

Yours faithfully

Jacqueline Keachie

For Freedom of Information Co-ordinator

North Lanarkshire Council

Contact by email

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Dear North Lanarkshire Council,

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

I am writing to request an internal review of North Lanarkshire Council's handling of my FOI request 'Supporting gender reassignment recognition for pupils.'.

I do not accept the cost exemption and reason supplied for not disclosing the information requested as per the Scottish Government Supporting transgender young people in schools: guidance for Scottish schools, https://www.gov.scot/publications/suppor...

It states In 2019, there were 697,989 pupils in Scotland’s public schools, it is known that around 200 young people per year receive support from the Young Person’s Gender Service with their transition
These data sets must be given to SG to account the funding allocations that are awarded to ensure VfM.
Summary statistics for schools in Scotland no. 10: 2019 edition.
https://www.gov.scot/publications/summar...

Scottish Public Health Network
https://www.scotphn.net/wp-content/uploa...

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/s...

Yours faithfully,

[name removed]
[name removed]

Dear Jacqueline Keachie,

Please see another response for this request from South Ayrshire Council, just to ensure you don’t attempt a spurious exemption:

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/s...

Yours sincerely,

[name removed]

Jacqueline Keachie, North Lanarkshire Council

I am currently out of the office, your email will be forwarded to one of
my colleagues.

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References

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1. https://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/your...

Neil McKay, North Lanarkshire Council

Dear Sir / Madam

I acknowledge receipt of your email requesting a FOI Review.

You will be contacted again when the Council is in a position to respond more fully to your request for Review.

Yours sincerely

Neil McKay
Freedom of Information Co-ordinator
North Lanarkshire Council
Democratic and Legal Services
Please contact by email

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Dear Neil McKay,

In light your spurious exemptions applied regarding this request, please find the response from North Ayrshire Council who have upheld my Internal Review:

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/9...

Yours sincerely,
[name removed]
[name removed]

Alison Gallacher, North Lanarkshire Council

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Dear Sirs

Please find attached my FOI Review Decision.

Kind regards

Alison

Alison M Gallacher

Principal Solicitor

Regulation and Governance

Legal and Democratic Solutions

North Lanarkshire Council

Windmillhill Street

Motherwell

ML1 1AB

Email: [email address]

Please note I am currently working from home

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References

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1. https://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/your...