Dear Enquirer

Your message has been received by Hertfordshire County Council
and will be dealt with as soon as possible. Our customer service
standard is to reply to you within ten working days. When we
contact you we will give you a reference number so you can track
your enquiry in case any followup is required.

Please note that if your enquiry is urgent and relates to:
• safeguarding or concerns for an adult - please call us on 0300
123 4042
• child protection or social care concerns for a child - please
call us on 0300 123 4043

Regards

HertsDirect

****Disclaimer****

The information in this message should be regarded as confidential and is
intended for the addressee only unless explicitly stated. If you have
received this message in error it must be deleted and the sender notified.
The views expressed in this message are personal and not necessarily those
of Hertfordshire County Council unless explicitly stated. Please be aware
that emails sent to or received from Hertfordshire County Council may be
intercepted and read by the council. Interception will only occur to
ensure compliance with council policies or procedures or regulatory
obligations, to prevent or deter crime, or for the purposes of essential
maintenance or support of the email system.

Dear Mr Lauder ,

Thank you for your email. Your message has been sent to the relevant
department and will be dealt with as soon as possible. Should you need to
make contact with us again on this matter, it helps us if you quote
reference number: 32389
       
Kind Regards
Victoria at HertsDirect

show quoted sections

Dear Enquirer

Your message has been received by Hertfordshire County Council
and will be dealt with as soon as possible. Our customer service
standard is to reply to you within ten working days. When we
contact you we will give you a reference number so you can track
your enquiry in case any followup is required.

Please note that if your enquiry is urgent and relates to:
• safeguarding or concerns for an adult - please call us on 0300
123 4042
• child protection or social care concerns for a child - please
call us on 0300 123 4043

Regards

HertsDirect

****Disclaimer****

The information in this message should be regarded as confidential and is
intended for the addressee only unless explicitly stated. If you have
received this message in error it must be deleted and the sender notified.
The views expressed in this message are personal and not necessarily those
of Hertfordshire County Council unless explicitly stated. Please be aware
that emails sent to or received from Hertfordshire County Council may be
intercepted and read by the council. Interception will only occur to
ensure compliance with council policies or procedures or regulatory
obligations, to prevent or deter crime, or for the purposes of essential
maintenance or support of the email system.

Dear Mr Lauder,

Reference number: EIR/ENV/11/12/5055

Thank you for your correspondence of the 12th November 2012 requesting the
following information:

" Please could you provide the following information in regard to the
    provision of grit bins in Hertfordshire over the last 10 years,
    i.e. 2002 – present.
   
    What are the locations of any grit bins installed i.e. by street
    and by ward, and by postcode.
   
    Date of installation of grit bins - if this is not precisely known,
    then provide the best estimate, or for example state "not known”.
   
    Reason for installation at that location – e.g. officer request,
    councillor request, public request (with date of request), police
    or private/public organisations/companies requests.
   
    Dates of last 5 occasions on which the grit bins were filled - or
    closest available approximation if precise data is not held.
   
    Amount of salt / grit delivered on each complete delivery by a
    vehicle - presumably this figure will vary according to weather and
    use made of each grit bin. And I do wish to find out whether some
    grit bins are more used than others (and how this greater or lesser
    need is assessed), so please assist as far as possible.
   
    Please also include any grit bins which were located on the
    highway (including any Hertfordshire County Council or other local
    authority land) but have since been removed, and state in this case
    when they were removed and why.
   
    Include also but separately each location where a grit bin has been
    requested but not provided. In these cases, provide the date or
    dates that the request was made, and the reason it was not
    installed.
   
    If any grit bins had to be replaced, possibly because they were
    damaged or stolen, include the date of the report of grit bin
    damage or missing, the reason, and the date of replacement.
   
    What has been the council's budget for new grit bins in each of the
    last 10 years? How much was actually spent in those years? How many
    new grit bins were actually installed in each of those years?
    Also, how much does it cost to
    (a) purchase
    (b) install
    (c) maintain
    (d) fill a grit bin - (i) material + (ii) distribute to site?
    Please provide similar data for refilling the grit bins.
   
    What are the criteria for the installation of new grit bins? Any
    are there any plans to review the policies in regard to the better
    provision and maintenance of grit bins across Hertfordshire?
   
    I would also like to know whether any of the county councillors
    have used their locality budgets to purchase and maintain any grit
    bins in their wards.If so, I would like to know their names and the
    wards where the
    grit bin(s) are situated, and how much the councillors have
    allocated from their budgets.
   
    Finally, I would like to know whether there has been any litigation
    brought against Hertfordshire County Council, successful or
    unsuccessful, as a result of slippery
    pavements and residential roads."

Your request for information is being considered under the Freedom of
Information Act 2000.  We will respond to your request as quickly as
possible, and by 10th December 2012 at the latest. This replaces any
deadline previously given.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me, quoting
the reference number on this email.

Yours sincerely,

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Information Access Team

Hertfordshire County Council

Telephone: 01992 555848 (25848) 

Email: [1][email address]

The Information Access Team supports Hertfordshire County Council's
Freedom of Information and Environmental Information Regulations activity.

Hertfordshire - County of Opportunity

Follow us online:

[2]herts-county-council logo  [3]twitter icon  [4]facebook icon

show quoted sections

Dear Mr Lauder,

Apologies. Your request is actually being considered under the
Environmental Information Regulations 2004.

Yours sincerely

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Information Access Team

Hertfordshire County Council

Telephone: 01992 555848 (25848) 

Email: [1][email address]

The Information Access Team supports Hertfordshire County Council's
Freedom of Information and Environmental Information Regulations activity.

Hertfordshire - County of Opportunity

Follow us online:

[2]herts-county-council logo  [3]twitter icon  [4]facebook icon

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Ciceley Scarborough On Behalf Of Information Governance
Sent: 14 November 2012 09:55
To: [FOI #137993 email]
Subject: EIR/ENV/11/12/5055

Dear Mr Lauder,

Reference number: EIR/ENV/11/12/5055

Thank you for your correspondence of the 12th November 2012 requesting the
following information:

" Please could you provide the following information in regard to the
    provision of grit bins in Hertfordshire over the last 10 years,
    i.e. 2002 – present.
   
    What are the locations of any grit bins installed i.e. by street
    and by ward, and by postcode.
   
    Date of installation of grit bins - if this is not precisely known,
    then provide the best estimate, or for example state "not known”.
   
    Reason for installation at that location – e.g. officer request,
    councillor request, public request (with date of request), police
    or private/public organisations/companies requests.
   
    Dates of last 5 occasions on which the grit bins were filled - or
    closest available approximation if precise data is not held.
   
    Amount of salt / grit delivered on each complete delivery by a
    vehicle - presumably this figure will vary according to weather and
    use made of each grit bin. And I do wish to find out whether some
    grit bins are more used than others (and how this greater or lesser
    need is assessed), so please assist as far as possible.
   
    Please also include any grit bins which were located on the
    highway (including any Hertfordshire County Council or other local
    authority land) but have since been removed, and state in this case
    when they were removed and why.
   
    Include also but separately each location where a grit bin has been
    requested but not provided. In these cases, provide the date or
    dates that the request was made, and the reason it was not
    installed.
   
    If any grit bins had to be replaced, possibly because they were
    damaged or stolen, include the date of the report of grit bin
    damage or missing, the reason, and the date of replacement.
   
    What has been the council's budget for new grit bins in each of the
    last 10 years? How much was actually spent in those years? How many
    new grit bins were actually installed in each of those years?
    Also, how much does it cost to
    (a) purchase
    (b) install
    (c) maintain
    (d) fill a grit bin - (i) material + (ii) distribute to site?
    Please provide similar data for refilling the grit bins.
   
    What are the criteria for the installation of new grit bins? Any
    are there any plans to review the policies in regard to the better
    provision and maintenance of grit bins across Hertfordshire?
   
    I would also like to know whether any of the county councillors
    have used their locality budgets to purchase and maintain any grit
    bins in their wards.If so, I would like to know their names and the
    wards where the
    grit bin(s) are situated, and how much the councillors have
    allocated from their budgets.
   
    Finally, I would like to know whether there has been any litigation
    brought against Hertfordshire County Council, successful or
    unsuccessful, as a result of slippery
    pavements and residential roads."

Your request for information is being considered under the Freedom of
Information Act 2000.  We will respond to your request as quickly as
possible, and by 10th December 2012 at the latest. This replaces any
deadline previously given.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me, quoting
the reference number on this email.

Yours sincerely,

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Information Access Team

Hertfordshire County Council

Telephone: 01992 555848 (25848) 

Email: [5][email address]

The Information Access Team supports Hertfordshire County Council's
Freedom of Information and Environmental Information Regulations activity.

Hertfordshire - County of Opportunity

Follow us online:

[6]herts-county-council logo  [7]twitter icon  [8]facebook icon

show quoted sections

Dear Mr Lauder,

Reference number: EIR/ENV/11/12/5055

On 12th November 2012 we received the following request for information
from you:

    'Please could you provide the following information in regard to the
    provision of grit bins in Hertfordshire over the last 10 years,
    i.e. 2002 – present.
   
    What are the locations of any grit bins installed i.e. by street
    and by ward, and by postcode.
   
    Date of installation of grit bins - if this is not precisely known,
    then provide the best estimate, or for example state "not known”.
   
    Reason for installation at that location – e.g. officer request,
    councillor request, public request (with date of request), police
    or private/public organisations/companies requests.
   
    Dates of last 5 occasions on which the grit bins were filled - or
    closest available approximation if precise data is not held.
   
    Amount of salt / grit delivered on each complete delivery by a
    vehicle - presumably this figure will vary according to weather and
    use made of each grit bin. And I do wish to find out whether some
    grit bins are more used than others (and how this greater or lesser
    need is assessed), so please assist as far as possible.
   
    Please also include any grit bins which were located on the
    highway (including any Hertfordshire County Council or other local
    authority land) but have since been removed, and state in this case
    when they were removed and why.
   
    Include also but separately each location where a grit bin has been
    requested but not provided. In these cases, provide the date or
    dates that the request was made, and the reason it was not
    installed.
   
    If any grit bins had to be replaced, possibly because they were
    damaged or stolen, include the date of the report of grit bin
    damage or missing, the reason, and the date of replacement.
   
    What has been the council's budget for new grit bins in each of the
    last 10 years? How much was actually spent in those years? How many
    new grit bins were actually installed in each of those years?
    Also, how much does it cost to
    (a) purchase
    (b) install
    (c) maintain
    (d) fill a grit bin - (i) material + (ii) distribute to site?
    Please provide similar data for refilling the grit bins.
   
    What are the criteria for the installation of new grit bins? Any
    are there any plans to review the policies in regard to the better
    provision and maintenance of grit bins across Hertfordshire?
   
    I would also like to know whether any of the county councillors
    have used their locality budgets to purchase and maintain any grit
    bins in their wards.If so, I would like to know their names and the
    wards where the
    grit bin(s) are situated, and how much the councillors have
    allocated from their budgets.
   
    Finally, I would like to know whether there has been any litigation
    brought against Hertfordshire County Council, successful or
    unsuccessful, as a result of slippery
    pavements and residential roads.'

Your request for information has been considered under the Environmental
Information Regulations 2004. I can confirm that Hertfordshire County
Council does hold the information you have requested, and can respond as
follows:

Please see the following information in relation to Salt Bins and gritting
on our Hertsdirect website:

[1]http://www.hertsdirect.org/services/tran...

In particular the statement regarding salt bins:

'New salt bins

Following discussions at the Highways and Transport Cabinet Panels on 5th
July 2011 and 8th September 2011 and subsequent discussions with the
Executive Member for Highways and Transport, it was agreed the number of
salt bins on the publicly maintainable highway would not be increased
beyond their current level of approximately 1,000. As such, we can no
longer accept requests for new salt bins on the public highway. Should
people or communities wish to provide salt bins (and salt) on areas not on
the highway, they are free to do so, obviously provided that they have
permission from the landowner.

The council has launched a number self help initiatives more details of
which can be found [2]here.

Salt from salt bins can be used for salting and clearing snow from the
pavement outside your property or business but should not be used for
salting private driveways, footpaths, forecourts or other areas that are
not part of the public highway. Salt bins are placed for public use at
known trouble spots on the highway, and theft from these bins may
compromise the safety of others as well as being a criminal offence. The
average cost of refilling a salt bin is £45 and each bin can be refilled
as many as ten times during a typical winter. Refilling all the salt bins
on our roads takes between a week and two weeks to complete.'

Please could you provide the following information in regard to the
    provision of grit bins in Hertfordshire over the last 10 years,
    i.e. 2002 – present.
   
    What are the locations of any grit bins installed i.e. by street
    and by ward, and by postcode.

Information regarding the location of salt bins can be found on our
Hertsdirect website using our webmaps tool, please see the following link:

[3]http://www.hertsdirect.org/maps/Website/...

The location of salt bins can be shown on the map if you type in a town or
postcode, then go to the 'Highways folder' under 'display' and tick the
box for salt bins. 

Please also see the attached spreadsheet entitled 'HCC Location of salt
bins', which is the information that we hold regarding the location of
salt bins.

 
    Date of installation of grit bins - if this is not precisely known,
    then provide the best estimate, or for example state "not known”.

We do not hold this information for the last ten years, however, in order
to advise and assist we are sending you the 2 attached documents which
list locations of salt bins, and in the case of the spreadsheet entitled
'Cllr Grit Bins'  it gives the year the Grit Bin was installed. 
   
    Reason for installation at that location – e.g. officer request,
    councillor request, public request (with date of request), police
    or private/public organisations/companies requests.

We do not hold this information for the last 10 years, however, in order
to advise and assist, please see the information regarding locality budget
schemes held in the spreadsheet entitled 'Cllr Grit Bins' which shows
where County Councillors have spent some of their individual locality
budgets over the last 3 financial years.

Information regarding Locality Budgets can be found on our Hertsdirect
website:
[4]http://www.hertsdirect.org/your-council/...

Please also see the attached report entitled 'item4hightran050711'
concerning produced by Hertfordshire Highways for winter service and salt
bin provision from Highways and Transport Cabinet Panel Tuesday 5th July
2011.  

   
    Dates of last 5 occasions on which the grit bins were filled - or
    closest available approximation if precise data is not held.

There is an annual refill prior to high risk winter period for example of
1st December, we will refill bins as our resources become available during
severe conditions as part of our Winter service operational plan please
see the following link to our Hertsdirect website for a copy of the
current plan: [5]http://www.hertsdirect.org/docs/pdf/w/wi...

   
    Amount of salt / grit delivered on each complete delivery by a
    vehicle - presumably this figure will vary according to weather and
    use made of each grit bin. And I do wish to find out whether some
    grit bins are more used than others (and how this greater or lesser
    need is assessed), so please assist as far as possible.

We are able to tell you in response to this question that each bin holds
on average approximately 160kg of salt.
   
    Please also include any grit bins which were located on the
    highway (including any Hertfordshire County Council or other local
    authority land) but have since been removed, and state in this case
    when they were removed and why.

We  do not hold this information, but in order to advise and assist having
spoken to our Highways colleagues, they are not aware of an instance where
a Salt Bin has been removed by HCC (other than where they have been
stolen).
   
    Include also but separately each location where a grit bin has been
    requested but not provided. In these cases, provide the date or
    dates that the request was made, and the reason it was not
    installed.  

We do not hold this information, but in order to advise and assist please
see the information we hold into relation to the County Councillors
Locality Budget scheme,  in the attachment entitled 'Cllr Grit Bins'.

    If any grit bins had to be replaced, possibly because they were
    damaged or stolen, include the date of the report of grit bin
    damage or missing, the reason, and the date of replacement.

We are able to tell you that 70 bins were replaced last year, we do not
hold any other information in relation to this question.

    What has been the council's budget for new grit bins in each of the
    last 10 years? How much was actually spent in those years? How many
    new grit bins were actually installed in each of those years?
    Also, how much does it cost to
    (a) purchase
    (b) install
    (c) maintain
    (d) fill a grit bin - (i) material + (ii) distribute to site?

We do not hold the information that you have requested, however, in order
to advise and assist we can tell you that the budget for salt bins was not
separated out from the annual budget allocated for Highways Winter
operations. In previous years, the total cost for installing and
maintaining a salt bin was £240 which is what we charged under the
locality budget scheme.

    Please provide similar data for refilling the grit bins.

We are able to tell you that a tonne of salt costs approximately £38 and
that each bin takes 160kg.
   
    What are the criteria for the installation of new grit bins? Any
    are there any plans to review the policies in regard to the better
    provision and maintenance of grit bins across Hertfordshire?

We currently do not deploy any additional grit bins.
   
    I would also like to know whether any of the county councillors
    have used their locality budgets to purchase and maintain any grit
    bins in their wards. If so, I would like to know their names and the
    wards where the
    grit bin(s) are situated, and how much the councillors have
    allocated from their budgets.

Please see the attached spreadsheet, which lists requested information
concerning the Locality Budget Grants awarded by County Councillors for
salt/grit bins.

This information is also provided on each County Councillors webpage
detailing their Locality Budgets. Information about which can be found on
our Hertsdirect website, please see the following link:
[6]http://www.hertsdirect.org/your-council/...

    Finally, I would like to know whether there has been any litigation
    brought against Hertfordshire County Council, successful or
    unsuccessful, as a result of slippery
    pavements and residential roads.

There have been six litigated claims that relate to snow or ice on the
Highway in the last 10 years.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me, quoting
the reference above. To find out more about Freedom of Information or EIR,
please visit [7]www.hertsdirect.org/foi

If you are unhappy with the way the County Council has handled your
request for information you may request an internal review of the request.
This will be carried out by a member of the County Council Legal Services
Team, who has had no prior involvement with the request. Requests for an
internal review should be sent to the Information Governance Unit at the
address above.

If you are unhappy with the outcome of the internal review you are
entitled to ask the Information Commissioner to investigate your
complaint. You should write to: FOI/EIR Complaints Resolution, Information
Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9
5AF.

Yours sincerely,

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Information Access Team

Hertfordshire County Council

Telephone: 01992 555848 (25848) 

Email: [8][email address]

The Information Access Team supports Hertfordshire County Council's
Freedom of Information and Environmental Information Regulations activity.

Hertfordshire - County of Opportunity

Follow us online:

[9]herts-county-council logo  [10]twitter icon  [11]facebook icon

show quoted sections

Dear Enquirer

Your message has been received by Hertfordshire County Council
and will be dealt with as soon as possible. Our customer service
standard is to reply to you within ten working days. When we
contact you we will give you a reference number so you can track
your enquiry in case any followup is required.

Please note that if your enquiry is urgent and relates to:
• safeguarding or concerns for an adult - please call us on 0300
123 4042
• child protection or social care concerns for a child - please
call us on 0300 123 4043

Regards

HertsDirect

****Disclaimer****

The information in this message should be regarded as confidential and is
intended for the addressee only unless explicitly stated. If you have
received this message in error it must be deleted and the sender notified.
The views expressed in this message are personal and not necessarily those
of Hertfordshire County Council unless explicitly stated. Please be aware
that emails sent to or received from Hertfordshire County Council may be
intercepted and read by the council. Interception will only occur to
ensure compliance with council policies or procedures or regulatory
obligations, to prevent or deter crime, or for the purposes of essential
maintenance or support of the email system.

Dear Enquirer

Your message has been received by Hertfordshire County Council
and will be dealt with as soon as possible. Our customer service
standard is to reply to you within ten working days. When we
contact you we will give you a reference number so you can track
your enquiry in case any followup is required.

Please note that if your enquiry is urgent and relates to:
• safeguarding or concerns for an adult - please call us on 0300
123 4042
• child protection or social care concerns for a child - please
call us on 0300 123 4043

Regards

HertsDirect

****Disclaimer****

The information in this message should be regarded as confidential and is
intended for the addressee only unless explicitly stated. If you have
received this message in error it must be deleted and the sender notified.
The views expressed in this message are personal and not necessarily those
of Hertfordshire County Council unless explicitly stated. Please be aware
that emails sent to or received from Hertfordshire County Council may be
intercepted and read by the council. Interception will only occur to
ensure compliance with council policies or procedures or regulatory
obligations, to prevent or deter crime, or for the purposes of essential
maintenance or support of the email system.

Dear Mr Lauder,

Thank you for your email dated 13th December 2012 requesting an internal
review:

'Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of
    Information reviews.
   
    I am writing to request an internal review of Hertfordshire County
    Council's handling of my FOI request 'The provision of grit bins in
    Hertfordshire.'.
   
    I particularly requested to know the date(s) when any grit bins had
    been requested but not provided (in the Herts area over the last 10
    years) and the reason(s) they were not installed. This information
    is particularly required because a petition in 2011 (signed by the
    residents of Poundfield and Ashfields in Watford) was made to HCC
    and County Councillor Derek Scudder requesting a grit bin near the
    junction of the Poundfield/Ashfields cul-de-sac and the junction
    with the Ashfields main road. And as grit bins were still being
    provided in 2011 by Herts Highways (as I have been told via email
    by HCC Highways) the residents of Poundfield and Ashfields feel
    very disgruntled to be told in 2012 that no more grit bins were
    being allocated (as funds did not permit). But I underscore here,
    we requested and peitioned and argued for a grit bin in 2011. So I
    would like a review of the information held by Hertfordshire County
    Council and the records of the Councillor Derek Scudder so that I
    can ascertain whether inaction by the council/councillor has
    resulted in Poundfield/Ashfield not now having a desired grit bin.'

Your request has been passed to a solicitor, who will respond to your
request, however, because of the Christmas and New Year bank holidays and
staff taking annual leave at that time we would seek to extend the
suggested 20 working day deadline by 10 working days to the 29th January
2013.

We will respond to your request as quickly as possible, and by 29th
January 2013 at the latest. This replaces any deadline previously given.

Yours sincerely,

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Information Access Team

Hertfordshire County Council

Telephone: 01992 555848 (25848) 

Email: [1][email address]

The Information Access Team supports Hertfordshire County Council's
Freedom of Information and Environmental Information Regulations activity.

Hertfordshire - County of Opportunity

Follow us online:

[2]herts-county-council logo  [3]twitter icon  [4]facebook icon

show quoted sections

Dear Mr. Lauder,

Please find attached the internal review and the document referred to
within it.

Yours sincerely,

Elaine Dunnicliffe

Information Access Manager

Information Governance Unit

Hertfordshire County Council

Postal Point CHN 305

County Hall,

Hertford, SG13 8DQ

Telephone: 01992 555848

Email: [email address]

show quoted sections