Traffic Management Orders - Statutory Consultees - Verification of Authenticity - Responses

Response to this request is long overdue. By law, under all circumstances, Hillingdon Borough Council should have responded by now (details). You can complain by requesting an internal review.

Dear Hillingdon Borough Council,

I am investigating the way local councils consult on their traffic management proposals.

Under the London Authorities Traffic Orders (Procedure) Regulations 1986, the Council is obliged to consult bodies that may have an interest in its proposed Traffic Management Orders.

Copies of Notices which will be published in the local press and the London Gazette detailing the proposals have to be sent to those bodies and the council invites them to send to the Council in writing within 21 days, any representations or objections they wish to make in respect of the draft Orders. All replies must specify the grounds of the objection.

Council Traffic Reports then use words such as "4.2 Official bodies such as the Fire Brigade, the Cycling Council for Great Britain, The Pedestrian Association, Age Concern, The Owner Drivers’ Society, The Confederation of Passenger Transport and bus operators are consulted separately at the same time as the public notice. Up to 27 bodies in total are consulted depending on the relevance of the proposals."

What are the criteria for inclusion on this list?

Please provide a list of the "bodies" that the council has listed as statutory consultees, and the designated representative person and their position to receive and respond to consultations, together with the date on which the organisation was added to the list of Statutory Consultees.

In each case, please confirm the nature of the information that the council required each person to provide to confirm their authenticity, and the date of the last two occasions on which provision of information to satisfy such a check was made.

Please also provide the date and subject of each of the last three occasions upon which each body has made a response following notification of such a consultation opportunity.

Yours faithfully,

Marlon Campbell

ECPFOI, Hillingdon Borough Council

Dear Mr Campbell

I am writing in response to your request for information under the Freedom
of Information Act 2000, dated 13th September 2010.

Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 we have 20 working days to
respond to your request. Therefore the deadline for our response is 11th
October 2010.

If we require further information or clarification from you in order to
assist us in responding to your request, or if we require a fee to be paid
before we can respond we will contact you shortly.

Yours sincerely

Michelle Smith

Members Liaison Officer

>>> Marlon Campbell <[1][FOI #46751 email]>
13/09/10 08:57 >>>
Dear Hillingdon Borough Council,

I am investigating the way local councils consult on their traffic
management proposals.

Under the London Authorities Traffic Orders (Procedure) Regulations
1986, the Council is obliged to consult bodies that may have an
interest in its proposed Traffic Management Orders.

Copies of Notices which will be published in the local press and
the London Gazette detailing the proposals have to be sent to those
bodies and the council invites them to send to the Council in
writing within 21 days, any representations or objections they wish
to make in respect of the draft Orders. All replies must specify
the grounds of the objection.

Council Traffic Reports then use words such as "4.2 Official bodies
such as the Fire Brigade, the Cycling Council for Great Britain,
The Pedestrian Association, Age Concern, The Owner Drivers
Society, The Confederation of Passenger Transport and bus operators
are consulted separately at the same time as the public notice. Up
to 27 bodies in total are consulted depending on the relevance of
the proposals."

What are the criteria for inclusion on this list?

Please provide a list of the "bodies" that the council has listed
as statutory consultees, and the designated representative person
and their position to receive and respond to consultations,
together with the date on which the organisation was added to the
list of Statutory Consultees.

In each case, please confirm the nature of the information that the
council required each person to provide to confirm their
authenticity, and the date of the last two occasions on which
provision of information to satisfy such a check was made.

Please also provide the date and subject of each of the last three
occasions upon which each body has made a response following
notification of such a consultation opportunity.

Yours faithfully,

Marlon Campbell

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foi, Hillingdon Borough Council

Dear Mr Campbell

Further to your Freedom of Information request concerning consultation
on traffic regulation orders, I confirm that Hillingdon Council uses the
procedures set out in The Local Authorities Traffic Orders (Procedure)
(England and Wales) Regulations 1996 (Statutory Instrument 1996 No.
2489).

Our extensive consultation for each proposal which is advertised in the
London Gazette and the local newspaper includes, as a minimum;
Police, Fire Brigade and Ambulance Service;
Bus service operators (principally London Buses);
Transport for London;
Freight Transport Association;
Road Haulage Association;
Licensed Taxi Drivers Association;
RAC;
CTC (Cyclists Touring Club);
DASH (Disablement Association for Hillingdon);
Unite the Union;
Hillingdon Motorists Forum;
London Travelwatch

In some cases, consultation may be called for with other statutory
bodies who may be affected by the proposals - for example, Transport for
London, the Highways Agency or an adjacent local authority. Precise
dates are not available for when each organisation was incorporated in
the list and whilst it is not considered appropriate to disclose the
names of individual contact officers, most of these bodies have a
website with appropriate contact details and from which their
entitlement to such consultations may be determined. Also, please note
that as these are public consultations anyone can respond.

In regards to the last three to last 3 responses from each consultee
this would involve a significant amount of work.

S12 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) states that a Public
Authority is not obliged to respond to a request for information under
S1 of the FOIA where it estimates that the cost of doing so would
'exceed the appropriate limit'. The 'appropriate limit', as laid down
in the Freedom of Information and Data Protection (Fees and Appropriate
Limit) Regulations 2004 (the 'Regulations'), is £450 which equates to 18
hours work.

We estimate that the cost of searching our records to ascertain whether
the information is held and to collate this information would be over
the 'appropriate limit' as laid down in the Regulations and as such is
exempt under S12 of the FOIA.

I would suggest that you consider either clarifying or narrowing down
your request, please do not hesitate to contact us if you require any
assistance with this.

I trust this provides you with the information you are seeking

If you wish to discuss this matter please do not hesitate to contact us
on the details below.

If you wish to request an internal review of our response you should
write, within 2 months, to:

Office Managing Partner, Legal Services, Civic Centre, High St,
Uxbridge, UB8 1UW (or via email to [Hillingdon Borough Council request email] marked for the
attention of the Office Managing Partner).

Please remember to quote the reference number above in any future
communications.

If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you
have the right to apply to the Information Commissioner for a decision.
The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: Information
Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire,
SK9 5AF

Richard Ingle
Data Protection &
Freedom of Information Officer

Data Protection &
Freedom of Information Officer
Legal Services (3E 04)
London Borough of Hillingdon
Civic Centre
High Street
Uxbridge
UB8 1UW
01895 55(6923)

Please note, all material provided by the London Borough of Hillingdon
in response to your request for information is for your personal,
non-commercial use. The London Borough of Hillingdon reserves all
rights in the copyright of the information provided. Any unauthorised
copying or adaptation of the information without express written
confirmation from The London Borough of Hillingdon will constitute an
infringement of copyright. Any intention to re-use this information
commercially will require consent. Please forward any requests for
re-use of information to the Freedom of Information officer.

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13/09/10 08:57 >>>
Dear Hillingdon Borough Council,

I am investigating the way local councils consult on their
traffic
management proposals.

Under the London Authorities Traffic Orders (Procedure)
Regulations
1986, the Council is obliged to consult bodies that may have an
interest in its proposed Traffic Management Orders.

Copies of Notices which will be published in the local press and
the London Gazette detailing the proposals have to be sent to
those
bodies and the council invites them to send to the Council in
writing within 21 days, any representations or objections they
wish
to make in respect of the draft Orders. All replies must specify
the grounds of the objection.

Council Traffic Reports then use words such as "4.2 Official
bodies
such as the Fire Brigade, the Cycling Council for Great Britain,
The Pedestrian Association, Age Concern, The Owner Drivers’
Society, The Confederation of Passenger Transport and bus
operators
are consulted separately at the same time as the public notice.
Up
to 27 bodies in total are consulted depending on the relevance of
the proposals."

What are the criteria for inclusion on this list?

Please provide a list of the "bodies" that the council has listed
as statutory consultees, and the designated representative person
and their position to receive and respond to consultations,
together with the date on which the organisation was added to the
list of Statutory Consultees.

In each case, please confirm the nature of the information that
the
council required each person to provide to confirm their
authenticity, and the date of the last two occasions on which
provision of information to satisfy such a check was made.

Please also provide the date and subject of each of the last
three
occasions upon which each body has made a response following
notification of such a consultation opportunity.

Yours faithfully,

Marlon Campbell

show quoted sections

Dear foi,

Thank you for your reply.

I note that the ABD - Association of British Drivers is not included on your list of Consultees.

The ABD is a well-established organisation representing the interests of drivers across the UK - http://www.abd.org.uk/

The Association of British Drivers is an accredited consultant for the Department for Transport and was requested to give evidence recently to the Government's Transport Select Committee.

The ABD is a member of the Road Users’ Committee for the Highways Agency and is an active member of the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety.

Would you be willing to add the local representative of the ABD to your list?

Their details may be found at the relevant webpage at http://www.abd.org.uk/local/

Would the council invite the ABD to submit contact details for your list?

If not, how should such a request be sent to the council?

Yours sincerely,

Marlon Campbell