Trial period for City Centre Enforcement Officers

Peterborough City Council did not have the information requested.

Dear Peterborough City Council,

From an article in the Peterborough Telegraph it mentioned that their was a trial period for the contracted private security firm who were providing staff and it was for a period of 6 months.

The trial period is over and it may be that the contract has been extended.

1. Please provide documents concerning the result of the trial period and any extension of the trial period or contract.

Yours faithfully,

Susan Russell

Freedom of Information Mailbox, Peterborough City Council

​Re: FOI202305000362​​

Dear Sir / Madam

This is a courtesy email to let you know your request for information has
been received on 31/05/2023. 

The Council aims to respond to all requests within 20 working days, in
this instance by 28/06/2023

Your unique reference number is FOI202305000362. Please keep this number
safe and please use it in any correspondence with ourselves.

Kind regards

Information Governance
Law & Governance
Peterborough City Council
Sand Martin House
Bittern Way
Fletton Quays
Peterborough
PE2 8TY
Contact details:
Kevin Taylor, Access to Information Officer - 01733 452576
Tazeem Akhtar, Access to Information Officer - 01733 207138
Sadaf Abdullah, Access to Records Officer - 01733 864668

Tracey Wright, Information Manager - 01733 452533

Ben Stevenson, Head of Information Governance/Data Protection Officer on
01733 452387 (non-working day Wed)

Emma Doran, Business Support Officer - 01733 453571

Email: [Peterborough City Council request email]
To find out more about Peterborough City Council please go to
www.peterborough.gov.uk.
Please consider the environment before printing this email.

Conditions apply to the confidentiality, copyright, legal liability and
use of this email.For full information relating to the transmission and
use of this email please visit www.peterborough.gov.uk/emaildisclaimer

Freedom of Information Mailbox, Peterborough City Council

​​​​Freedom of Information Act response – ref FOI-202305000362

Dear Susan Russell,

 Your request for information, reference number FOI-202305000362,  has now
been considered and the information requested is given below.

Request and Response
 
From an article in the Peterborough Telegraph it mentioned that there was
a trial period for the contracted private security firm who were providing
staff and it was for a period of 6 months. The trial period is over and it
may be that the contract has been extended.
 
1. Please provide documents concerning the result of the trial period and
any extension of the trial period or contract. 

The local authority had a trial contract in place with a private security
firm, this has ended.  Internal discussions took place, and a decision was
made to establish an in-house city centre team.  

We do not hold any review documentation. This was a short term recruitment
via a 3rd party to improve safety and visibility in the city centre whilst
we developed a plan to build it as core business.

 

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Dear Peterborough City Council,

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

I am writing to request an internal review of Peterborough City Council's handling of my FOI request 'Trial period for City Centre Enforcement Officers'.

The response does not appear feasible and certainly not in accordance with the Nolan principles and the members code of conduct for the council..

The council already had an in house city enforcement team and a decision appears to have been made following complaints including from MP Paul Bristow resulting in a private security company being contracted to carry out the role.

From examination of other FOI requests it appears that the council's own city centre enforcement officers were ineffective, the contracted security company was also ineffective and you are now returning to using in house employees to carry out this role.

There will no doubt have been reviews and other reports created to evaluate a trial 6 month period of contracting a security company again where public funds are being used to pay for this service.

The casual response given to an important issue of community safety is of concern and gives the perception that there is either incompetence or some other reason that the council seeks to avoid providing the information requested.

Please review this request at the earliest opportunity.

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

Yours faithfully,

Susan Russell

Freedom of Information Mailbox, Peterborough City Council

​​​INT-202305000362 - Request for Internal Review

Dear Susan Russell,

Thank you for your email dated 30th June 2023, in which you have requested
an internal review of our response to your information request, our
reference INT-202305000362. You have specifically stated:
 
Dear Peterborough City Council,

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

I am writing to request an internal review of Peterborough City Council's
handling of my FOI request 'Trial period for City Centre Enforcement
Officers'.

The response does not appear feasible and certainly not in accordance with
the Nolan principles and the members code of conduct for the council..

The council already had an in house city enforcement team and a decision
appears to have been made following complaints including from MP Paul
Bristow resulting in a private security company being contracted to carry
out the role.

From examination of other FOI requests it appears that the council's own
city centre enforcement officers were ineffective, the contracted security
company was also ineffective and you are now returning to using in house
employees to carry out this role.

There will no doubt have been reviews and other reports created to
evaluate a trial 6 month period of contracting a security company again
where public funds are being used to pay for this service.

The casual response given to an important issue of  community safety is of
concern and gives the perception that there is either incompetence or some
other reason that the council seeks to avoid providing the information
requested.

Please review this request at the earliest opportunity.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on
the Internet at this
address: [1]https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/t...
 
A senior manager or legal advisor who was not involved in the original
request will now carry out an internal review. We aim to handle simple
internal reviews in 20 working days, in this case by 31st July 2023. We
aim to handle internal reviews that involve complex issues that require
further investigation and those that require consideration of the public
interest test, in 40 working days, which would be (30th August 2023).
 
If you are dissatisfied with the internal review of our decision, or an
internal review was not available, you can seek an appeal from the
Information Commissioner by writing to:

 

Information Commissioner’s Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

 

Telephone:  01625 545 700

 

[2]www.ico.org.uk

Kind regards

FOI Team

 

Information Governance
Law & Governance
 
Peterborough City Council
Sand Martin House
Bittern Way
Fletton Quays
Peterborough
PE2 8TY
 
Contact details:
 
Kevin Taylor, Access to Information Officer - 01733 452576
Tazeem Akhtar, Access to Information Officer - 01733 207138
Sadaf Abdullah, Access to Records Officer - 01733 864668

Tracey Wright, Information Manager - 01733 452533

Ben Stevenson, Head of Information Governance/Data Protection Officer on
01733 452387 (non-working day Wed)

Emma Doran, Business Support Officer - 01733 453571

Email: [Peterborough City Council request email]
 
To find out more about Peterborough City Council please go to
www.peterborough.gov.uk.
Please consider the environment before printing this email.

Conditions apply to the confidentiality, copyright, legal liability and
use of this email.For full information relating to the transmission and
use of this email please visit www.peterborough.gov.uk/emaildisclaimer

References

Visible links
1. https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/t...
2. http://www.ico.org.uk/

Dear Freedom of Information Mailbox,

Can you please provide an update with regards to my request for an internal review,

Yours sincerely,

Susan Russell

Freedom of Information Mailbox, Peterborough City Council

Dear Susan Russell,
Thank you for your email below. We are sorry to hear that you appear not
to have received our response to your Internal Review request. I have had
a look inside the case folder and can see that a response was sent out
on the 28^th July at 15:56 to a whatdotheyknow address of
'[email address]'.
I note from the above email address in use today that this is different
([FOI #985867 email]). Please find our response
again, in full, pasted below.
Kind regards
FOI Team
Information Governance
Law & Governance
Peterborough City Council
Sand Martin House
Bittern Way
Fletton Quays
Peterborough
PE2 8TY

Freedom of Information Act Request FOI 202305000362

Dear Susan Russell,

You have requested (your email of 30th June 2023) an internal review. 
Your concern was regarding our response which you state.. ‘does not appear
feasible and certainly not in accordance with the Nolan principles and the
members code of conduct for the council..……..’

Your concerns

I am writing to request an internal review of Peterborough City Council's
handling of my FOI request 'Trial period for City Centre Enforcement
Officers'.

The response does not appear feasible and certainly not in accordance with
the Nolan principles and the members code of conduct for the council..

The council already had an in house city enforcement team and a decision
appears to have been made following complaints including from MP Paul
Bristow resulting in a private security company being contracted to carry
out the role.

From examination of other FOI requests it appears that the council's own
city centre enforcement officers were ineffective, the contracted security
company was also ineffective and you are now returning to using in house
employees to carry out this role.

There will no doubt have been reviews and other reports created to
evaluate a trial 6 month period of contracting a security company again
where public funds are being used to pay for this service.

The casual response given to an important issue of community safety is of
concern and gives the perception that there is either incompetence or some
other reason that the council seeks to avoid providing the information
requested.

I can confirm that the council’s legal department has carried out an
internal review. As part of that review the legal department has seen all
the correspondence relating to your information request and considered the
applicable legislation before providing advice in this matter.

This letter forms the council’s formal response to your request for a
review.  For ease of reference, the details of the initial request for
information and the council’s response are set out below. I will then
confirm the findings of my review.

The initial request

In your email of 31^st May 2023, you asked for the following information:

Original Request and Response 

From an article in the Peterborough Telegraph it mentioned that there was
a trial period for the contracted private security firm who were providing
staff and it was for a period of 6 months. The trial period is over and it
may be that the contract has been extended. 

1. Please provide documents concerning the result of the trial period and
any extension of the trial period or contract. 

The local authority had a trial contract in place with a private security
firm, this has ended.  Internal discussions took place, and a decision was
made to establish an in-house city centre team. 

 

We do not hold any review documentation. This was a short-term recruitment
via a 3rd party to improve safety and visibility in the city centre whilst
we developed a plan to build it as core business.

Your request for an internal review

Your request for an internal review was as stated above        

Internal review response

I have conducted a full review of your request and the council’s response,
and I am able to confirm the council has processed this request within the
FOI provisions, in a professional, timely and reasonable manner. The focus
of the Council is to build and develop the in-house service.

I am satisfied that the Council has not acted in any way which is
contradictory to the principles set out in the Seven Principles of Public
Life, or in contravention of the members Code of Conduct.

In conclusion, my findings are that I agree with the response provided and
require no further action be taken by the Council.

What happens now

I trust that this adequately answers your queries, and I now consider this
matter to be concluded.  However, if you are dissatisfied with this
decision you may request the Information Commissioner to investigate.  The
contact details are:-

Information Commissioner’s Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

Telephone: 01625 545 700

[1]www.ico.org.uk

Kind regards

Michelle Abbott

Senior Lawyer

Contract & Procurement Team, Litigation Team

& Land Charges 

Legal & Democratic Services

Peterborough City Council

══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

From: Susan Russell <[FOI #985867 email]>
Sent: 25 October 2023 12:06
To: Freedom of Information Mailbox <[Peterborough City Council request email]>
Subject: Re: Trial period for City Centre Enforcement Officers -
Reference:#479-3196#
 
CAUTION: This email originates outside of Peterborough City Council's
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Dear Freedom of Information Mailbox,

Can you please provide an update with regards  to my request for an
internal review,

Yours sincerely,

Susan Russell

show quoted sections