Transactions over £500 from January 2021
Dear Bath and North East Somerset Council,
Thank you for publishing your spend data here: https://www.bathnes.gov.uk/services/your... . However, I notice that you haven't published any spending data since December 2020.
We understand that due to the COVID-19 pandemic it may not have been a priority to publish your spending data. However, we strongly believe that the spending data is critical to understanding how Government functions and this data is vital for our work. We would be extremely grateful if you could update this information as soon as reasonably possible.
We’ve decided to continue to use the FOI process to request data as this gives us both a formal structure for making and responding to requests. So, I'd like to make a request under the Freedom of Information Act for all transactions over £500 from January 2021 to at most a quarter in arrears from the date at which you publish in response to this request.
Please provide the data in a machine readable format (preferably csv). As a minimum, please make sure to include the date, value and recipient of each transaction. Please also provide details on the procurement category of each transaction if you have it.
Your team may also be interested in the guidance on producing spending data:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publicatio....
For the avoidance of doubt, I am making this request under the Freedom of Information Act. I await your response within 20 working days.
Yours Faithfully,
Anna Pongracz
Spend Network
Thank you for your request. We can confirm that your request will be
logged and dealt with under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
As you are aware we are experiencing a National Emergency situation and
the Council is now focused solely on minimising the impact of the Covid-19
pandemic on our local communities. Bath and North East Somerset Council
has indeed formally declared the current situation a major incident in
accordance with the 2004 Civil Contingencies Act and as a result, all
Council resources are now prioritised only on business-critical activity
to protect the most vulnerable.
Therefore in terms of responding to your request, please note that almost
all Council staff are no longer in the office and are working remotely,
either with limited access to information, or in some cases
self-isolating, with ongoing impacts on availability, capacity and officer
time, across all services.
We are therefore unable to always respond to requests made in accordance
with the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) or Environmental Information
Regulations (EIR), within the 20 working day time limit, at this time.
Instead it is likely that a response to your request will be subject to
significant delays due to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, we will respond
as soon as we can. Responses to requests made under the Data Protection
Act are also very likely to face similar delays.
We apologise for any delay that may occur in responding to these types of
requests but are sure you will understand the reasons why. We will keep
this position under constant review as the national position evolves.
Further information on council service changes resulting from the impacts
of the Covid-19 pandemic can be found on our website at the following
link:
[1]https://beta.bathnes.gov.uk/coronavirus
Yours sincerely,
Information Governance Team –
One West
Bath & North East Somerset Council
Telephone: 01225 396658
[2]www.bathnes.gov.uk
Bath & North East Somerset – The place to live, work and visit
Please consider the environment before printing this email.
From: Spend Network <[FOI #750369 email]>
Sent: 26 April 2021 11:29
To: Information Governance
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Transactions over
£500 from January 2021
Dear Bath and North East Somerset Council,
Thank you for publishing your spend data here:
https://www.bathnes.gov.uk/services/your...
democracy/data-protection-and-freedom-information/transparency/expenditure
. However, I notice
that you haven't published any spending data since December 2020.
We understand that due to the COVID-19 pandemic it may not have been a
priority to publish your
spending data. However, we strongly believe that the spending data is
critical to understanding how
Government functions and this data is vital for our work. We would be
extremely grateful if you could
update this information as soon as reasonably possible.
We’ve decided to continue to use the FOI process to request data as this
gives us both a formal
structure for making and responding to requests. So, I'd like to make a
request under the Freedom of
Information Act for all transactions over £500 from January 2021 to at
most a quarter in arrears from
the date at which you publish in response to this request.
Please provide the data in a machine readable format (preferably csv). As
a minimum, please make sure
to include the date, value and recipient of each transaction. Please also
provide details on the
procurement category of each transaction if you have it.
Your team may also be interested in the guidance on producing spending
data:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publicatio....
For the avoidance of doubt, I am making this request under the Freedom of
Information Act. I await
your response within 20 working days.
Yours Faithfully,
Anna Pongracz
Spend Network
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #750369 email]
Is [Bath and North East Somerset Council request email] the wrong address for Freedom of
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Bath and North East Somerset Council? If so, please contact us using this
form:
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Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will
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organisation's FOI page.
Dear Ms Pongracz,
Thank you for your recent request for information. Please find enclosed
the information you are entitled to receive under the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 / Environmental Information Regulations 2004.
We trust that we have answered your queries, however if you have any
further questions please do not hesitate to contact us.
If you are unhappy with the response to your request, you may ask for an
internal review within 40 working days of receipt of this request. Please
contact Mr Jeff Wring, Service Director – One West, at Lewis House,
Manvers St, Bath BA1 1JG, or by email to: [1][email address]
If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have
the right to appeal directly to the Information Commissioner for a
decision. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at Wycliffe House,
Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF. Or through their website:
[2]www.ico.org.uk
Please refer to the disclaimer regarding reuse which can be found on the
Council website at:
[3]http://www.bathnes.gov.uk/services/your-...
As you are aware we are experiencing a National Emergency situation and
the Council is now focused solely on minimising the impact of the Covid-19
pandemic on our local communities. Bath and North East Somerset Council
has indeed formally declared the current situation a major incident in
accordance with the 2004 Civil Contingencies Act and as a result, all
Council resources are now prioritised only on business-critical activity
to protect the most vulnerable.
Therefore in terms of responding to any further requests, please note that
almost all Council staff are no longer in the office and are working
remotely, either with limited access to information, or in some cases
self-isolating, with ongoing impacts on availability, capacity and officer
time, across all services.
In addition, please note that the Information Governance Team has delayed
access to hard copy letters. As a result, we recommend that any Subject
Access Requests, Freedom of Information Act Requests/Environmental
Information Requests or Data Breach Reports are only sent to us
electronically.
We are therefore unable to always respond to requests made in accordance
with the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) or Environmental Information
Regulations (EIR), within the 20 working day time limit, at this time.
Instead it is likely that a response to your request will be subject to
significant delays due to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, we will respond
as soon as we can. Responses to requests made under the Data Protection
Act are also very likely to face similar delays.
We apologise for any delay that may occur in responding to these types of
requests but are sure you will understand the reasons why. We will keep
this position under constant review as the national position evolves.
General queries can still be sent to
[4][Bath and North East Somerset Council request email] and we will respond as soon as we
are able.
Further information on council service changes resulting from the impacts
of the Covid-19 pandemic can be found on our website at the following
link:
[5]https://beta.bathnes.gov.uk/coronavirus
Yours sincerely
Information Governance Team
One West
Bath & North East Somerset Council
Telephone: 01225 477961
[6]www.bathnes.gov.uk
Bath & North East Somerset – The place to live, work and visit
Please consider the environment before printing this email
From: Spend Network <[FOI #750369 email]>
Sent: 26 April 2021 11:29
To: Information Governance
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Transactions over £500
from January 2021
Dear Bath and North East Somerset Council,
Thank you for publishing your spend data here:
https://www.bathnes.gov.uk/services/your...
democracy/data-protection-and-freedom-information/transparency/expenditure
. However, I notice
that you haven't published any spending data since December 2020.
We understand that due to the COVID-19 pandemic it may not have been a
priority to publish your
spending data. However, we strongly believe that the spending data is
critical to understanding how
Government functions and this data is vital for our work. We would be
extremely grateful if you could
update this information as soon as reasonably possible.
We’ve decided to continue to use the FOI process to request data as this
gives us both a formal
structure for making and responding to requests. So, I'd like to make a
request under the Freedom of
Information Act for all transactions over £500 from January 2021 to at
most a quarter in arrears from
the date at which you publish in response to this request.
Please provide the data in a machine readable format (preferably csv). As
a minimum, please make sure
to include the date, value and recipient of each transaction. Please also
provide details on the
procurement category of each transaction if you have it.
Your team may also be interested in the guidance on producing spending
data:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publicatio....
For the avoidance of doubt, I am making this request under the Freedom of
Information Act. I await
your response within 20 working days.
Yours Faithfully,
Anna Pongracz
Spend Network
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. http://www.ico.org.uk/
3. http://www.bathnes.gov.uk/services/your-...
4. mailto:[Bath and North East Somerset Council request email]
5. https://beta.bathnes.gov.uk/coronavirus
6. http://www.bathnes.gov.uk/
Dear Information Governance,
Thank you for your kind answer. I was wondering if you could let me know when will the spend data from April 2021 be available?
Yours sincerely,
Anna Pongracz
Spend Network
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