To disclose all information held concerning Philip Batten
Dear Health and Care Professions Council,
On Tuesday 15 May 2016, Philip Ralph Batten was found guilty at Guilford Crown Court of 42 offences including gross indecency, child cruelty, serious sexual assault and indecent assault on a child. Batten had been a teacher at the Royal Alexandra and Albert School in Surrey where the offences occurred during the 1970s and 1980s.
He was sentenced to seventeen years imprisonment.
These offences went unreported at the time and Batten moved to other schools where the assaults continued. He was eventually dismissed and convicted of sexual abuse to children on 21 April 1989. A decade later, on 5 March 1999, Batten was found again guilty of nine charges of indecent assault and sentenced to three years imprisonment. He was placed on the Sex Offenders Register for life.
After release in 2001, Batten and his wife moved to the small village of Stogumber near Taunton in Somerset and despite being on the SOR, he commenced a visiting practice as a chiropodist/podiatrist from his home in Wood Lane.
Batten was not HPC registered but did not use an unprotected title during his 14 years in practice, he promoted himself in various online directories as a chiropodist/podiatrist specialising in Sports Injuries, which presumably brought him into contact with children and young adults.
As part of his SOR provisions, Batten reported to a liaison officer in Avon & Somerset Police based in Taunton. The Police have stated that all guidance and procedures were fully compiled with in the monitoring and safeguarding provisions. This includes referrals to external agencies.
Please provide:
1) the date of initial contact with Batten's liaison officer or any other person concerned with his SOR requirements.
2) all correspondence and guidance issued in respect of Police enquiries
3) all other notes, correspondence and memos in respect of Philip Batten
Yours faithfully,
Mark Russell
Dear Mr Russell
Thank you for your email dated 1 April 2018, in which you ask for
information held concerning Philip Batten.
We are treating this as a request under the Freedom of Information Act
2000 (FOIA).
We will deal with your request as promptly as possible and at the latest,
within 20 working days of receiving it, as required by the FOIA. If you
have any queries about your request please do contact us using this email
address, or the address below.
The reference number for your request is FR05594.
Yours sincerely
Freedom of Information
Health and Care Professions Council
Park House, 184 Kennington Park Road
London SE11 4BU
[1]www.hcpc-uk.org
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Our Ref. FR05594
Dear Mr Russell
Thank you for your email dated 1 April 2018, in which you ask for
information concerning Philip Batten
Your request has been handled under the Freedom of Information Act 2000
(FOIA).
The HCPC is unable to confirm or deny that we hold the information
requested. The exemption used for this response is section 40(5)(b)(i) of
the FOIA. This exemption states that the public authority is not obliged
to confirm or deny that it holds information if giving the confirmation or
denial to a member of the public would contravene any of the data
protection principles or Section 10 of the Data Protection Act 1998.
This response should not be taken as evidence that the information does or
does not exist.
Internal review
If you are unhappy with the way your request for information has been
handled, you can request a review by writing to:
Secretariat Department
Health and Care Professions Council
Park House
184 Kennington Park Road
London
SE11 4BU
Email: [1][email address]
If you remain dissatisfied with the handling of your request or complaint,
you have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner at:
The Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK0 5AF
Telephone: 0303 123 1113 Website: [2]www.ico.org.uk
There is no charge for making an appeal.
Yours sincerely
Freedom of Information
Health and Care Professions Council
Park House, 184 Kennington Park Road
London SE11 4BU
[3]www.hcpc-uk.org
To sign up to our e-newsletter, please email [4][email address]
Please consider the environment before printing this email
Correspondence is welcome in English or Welsh / Gallwch ohebu yn Gymraeg
neu Saesneg.
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