Unlawfully Moored Boats Enforcement Group

The request was partially successful.

Dear Oxford City Council,

Please treat this request for information as a request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Please provide copies of all correspondence between Oxford City Council, the Environment Agency and British Waterways regarding the Unlawfully Moored Boats Enforcement Group.

Please provide a copy of the terms of reference, the work plan and the minutes of all past meetings of the Unlawfully Moored Boats Enforcement Group.

Please provide the contact details for the Unlawfully Moored Boats Enforcement Group.

Please provide a copy of any memoranda of understanding regarding the Unlawfully Moored Boats Enforcement Group between Oxford City Council and the Environment Agency, British Waterways and Thames Valley Police.

Please provide a list of the members of the Unlawfully Moored Boats Enforcement Group and the date and location of the next meeting.

Please provide all information the Unlawfully Moored Boats Enforcement Group holds on the law relating to the mooring of boats on the Oxford canal and the River Thames.

Please provide a breakdown of the budget of the Unlawfully Moored Boats Enforcement Group and the names of all the bodies contributing to that budget.

Thank you. I look forward to your reply.

Yours faithfully,

P Smith

P Smith left an annotation ()

If any boat dwellers in Oxford need help and advice on their legal rights or other aspects of dealing with the enforcement group they can contact the following:

National Bargee Travellers Association
secretariat@bargee-traveller.org.uk

Travellers Advice Team
Community Law Partnership
4th Floor, Ruskin Chambers
191 Corporation Street
Birmingham B4 6RP
Landline: 0121 685 8595 or 0845 120 2980
24 hour Emergency Phone Service: 07768 316755
Fax: 0121 236 5121
Email: office@communitylawpartnership.co.uk

Kennet and Avon Boating Community
info@boatingcommunity.org.uk 07928 078208

Residential Boat Owners Association and National Association of Boat Owners may also be able to help, these are both membership organisations:
www.rboa.org.uk and www.nabo.org.uk

fredrik banes left an annotation ()

Oxford city council has deciced to spend £44.000 on U.M.B.E.G set up to the control and eviction of all boaters within Oxford city boundary without 'official' moorings (there are no spare 'official' moorings and a waiting list of years, so why not spend the money on more 'official' moorings!?)there is plenty of room in oxford. This is going to make a great number 50+ peaceful, nice people that work and have family here and do no harm to anyone, being bullied from the town they love, there is plenty of room in oxford and we want to communicate and not be eradicated. https://www.facebook.com/Ox.b.a.p

Oxford City Council

Dear P Smith

Thank you for your email below. Your request was received on 3rd March
2012 and you will receive a response within 20 working days, as required
under the Freedom of Information Act.

Yours sincerely

Michael Newman
Corporate Secretariat Manager

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Adam Dawson left an annotation ()

Has a response been recieved?
With kind regards,
Adam

Dear Oxford City Council,

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

I am writing to request an internal review of Oxford City Council's handling of my FOI request 'Unlawfully Moored Boats Enforcement Group'.

According to the Freedom of Information Act, the Council should have responded to my request promptly and in any event by 30 March 2012. Please provide a reply to my request.

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

Yours faithfully,

P Smith

Oxford City Council

Dear P Smith

 

Further to the acknowledgement of 7^th March 2012, I can now respond to
your FOI request of 3^rd March 2012 as follows:

 

Please provide copies of all correspondence between Oxford City Council,
the Environment Agency and British Waterways regarding the Unlawfully
Moored Boats Enforcement Group.

 

As the group is involved with discussing and planning enforcement
operations, or analysing what has worked well or not so well in previous
operations, I believe that most of the correspondence is likely to be
exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act  (under s31). 
I am checking the files to see what information, redacted as appropriate,
can be disclosed.        

 

Please provide a copy of the terms of reference, the work plan and the
minutes of all past meetings of the Unlawfully Moored Boats Enforcement
Group.

 

The UMBEG group is the Unlawfully Moored Boats Enforcement Group and its
main purpose is to deal with unlawfully moored boats within the city
limits.  The core members are the enforcement authorities, comprising the
Environment Agency, British Waterways, Thames Valley Police and the City
Council.  Other relevant landowners are also encouraged to join the Group.
 A core aim is to work towards a consistent approach on enforcement,
irrespective of location. 

 

As most of the meetings involve dealing with enforcement issues (as
mentioned above), I consider that much of the information contained in the
minutes is likely to be exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of
Information (again under s31).  As with the correspondence, it may be
possible to send you redacted copies of the minutes.  

 

Please provide the contact details for the Unlawfully Moored Boats
Enforcement Group.

 

The group is chaired by John Copley, Head of Environmental Development,
Oxford City Council, email [email address],  telephone  01865
252386.

 

Please provide a copy of any memoranda of understanding regarding the
Unlawfully Moored Boats Enforcement Group between Oxford City Council and
the Environment Agency, British Waterways and Thames Valley Police.

 

There is no formal memorandum of understanding in existence.

 

Please provide a list of the members of the Unlawfully Moored Boats
Enforcement Group and the date and location of the next meeting.

 

The standing members of the group are the Environment Agency, British
Waterways, Thames Valley Police and the City Council.  Invitations are
extended to other interested parties on occasion.

 

Please provide all information the Unlawfully Moored Boats Enforcement
Group holds on the law relating to the mooring of boats on the Oxford
canal and the River Thames.

 

I do not understand this part of your request.  Can you clarify for me,
please?  I can only disclose information held by the City Council.   

 

Please provide a breakdown of the budget of the Unlawfully Moored Boats
Enforcement Group and the names of all the bodies contributing to that
budget.

 

The Environment Agency, British Waterways, Thames Valley Police and the
City Council all currently meet any expenditure from individually held
budgets.  I can only disclose information held by the City Council.  It
has an approved budget of £22,000 per annum for the next two years to
cover the cost of boat removal and storage, and the creation and erection
of signage.

 

I will reply to the outstanding points as soon as possible.

 

If you disagree with any part of this response, you are entitled to ask
the Council for an internal review of the decision(s) made.  You may do
this by writing to the Monitoring Officer, by either email -
[email address] - or by post to Monitoring Officer, Oxford City
Council, Town Hall, Oxford, OX1 1BX.  After the result of the internal
review, if you remain dissatisfied, you may ask the Information
Commissioner to intervene on your behalf.  You may do this by writing to
the Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire,
SK9 5AF.

 

Yours sincerely

 

Michael Newman

Corporate Secretariat Manager

 

 

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R.Over left an annotation ()

This request is seriously overdue. An internal review is needed to find out why OCC are withholding this information

Dear Oxford City Council,

You have asked me to clarify my request for "all information the Unlawfully Moored Boats Enforcement Group holds on the law relating to the mooring of boats".

Please send me copies of all briefings, reports, presentations or similar resources that cover the following:
1.The legal rights of boat owners, both those resident on their boats and those not, to moor their boats on British Waterways or the Environment Agency's waterways;
2.The legal rights and powers of riparian owners on these waterways regarding the mooring of their own boats and the right to prevent boats from mooring on their land or to remove boats which are not their own from their land and
3.The legal rights and powers of British Waterways and the Environment Agency on these waterways to prevent boats from mooring on their land or on the towpath or to remove boats which are moored from their land or the towpath.

Thank you. I look forward to your reply.

Yours faithfully,

P Smith

Oxford City Council

1 Attachment

Dear P Smith

 

Further to my email below, I attach copies of minutes and correspondence
in respect of UMBEG meetings.  Information that relates specifically to
enforcement action has been redacted.

 

Yours sincerely

 

Michael Newman

Corporate Secretariat Manager

 

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

From: NEWMAN Mike On Behalf Of [Oxford City Council request email]
Sent: 02 April 2012 08:04
To: 'P Smith'
Subject: RE: Freedom of Information request - Unlawfully Moored Boats
Enforcement Group (FOI 2440)

 

Dear P Smith

 

Further to the acknowledgement of 7^th March 2012, I can now respond to
your FOI request of 3^rd March 2012 as follows:

 

Please provide copies of all correspondence between Oxford City Council,
the Environment Agency and British Waterways regarding the Unlawfully
Moored Boats Enforcement Group.

 

As the group is involved with discussing and planning enforcement
operations, or analysing what has worked well or not so well in previous
operations, I believe that most of the correspondence is likely to be
exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act  (under s31). 
I am checking the files to see what information, redacted as appropriate,
can be disclosed.        

 

Please provide a copy of the terms of reference, the work plan and the
minutes of all past meetings of the Unlawfully Moored Boats Enforcement
Group.

 

The UMBEG group is the Unlawfully Moored Boats Enforcement Group and its
main purpose is to deal with unlawfully moored boats within the city
limits.  The core members are the enforcement authorities, comprising the
Environment Agency, British Waterways, Thames Valley Police and the City
Council.  Other relevant landowners are also encouraged to join the Group.
 A core aim is to work towards a consistent approach on enforcement,
irrespective of location. 

 

As most of the meetings involve dealing with enforcement issues (as
mentioned above), I consider that much of the information contained in the
minutes is likely to be exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of
Information (again under s31).  As with the correspondence, it may be
possible to send you redacted copies of the minutes.  

 

Please provide the contact details for the Unlawfully Moored Boats
Enforcement Group.

 

The group is chaired by John Copley, Head of Environmental Development,
Oxford City Council, email [email address],  telephone  01865
252386.

 

Please provide a copy of any memoranda of understanding regarding the
Unlawfully Moored Boats Enforcement Group between Oxford City Council and
the Environment Agency, British Waterways and Thames Valley Police.

 

There is no formal memorandum of understanding in existence.

 

Please provide a list of the members of the Unlawfully Moored Boats
Enforcement Group and the date and location of the next meeting.

 

The standing members of the group are the Environment Agency, British
Waterways, Thames Valley Police and the City Council.  Invitations are
extended to other interested parties on occasion.

 

Please provide all information the Unlawfully Moored Boats Enforcement
Group holds on the law relating to the mooring of boats on the Oxford
canal and the River Thames.

 

I do not understand this part of your request.  Can you clarify for me,
please?  I can only disclose information held by the City Council.   

 

Please provide a breakdown of the budget of the Unlawfully Moored Boats
Enforcement Group and the names of all the bodies contributing to that
budget.

 

The Environment Agency, British Waterways, Thames Valley Police and the
City Council all currently meet any expenditure from individually held
budgets.  I can only disclose information held by the City Council.  It
has an approved budget of £22,000 per annum for the next two years to
cover the cost of boat removal and storage, and the creation and erection
of signage.

 

I will reply to the outstanding points as soon as possible.

 

If you disagree with any part of this response, you are entitled to ask
the Council for an internal review of the decision(s) made.  You may do
this by writing to the Monitoring Officer, by either email -
[email address] - or by post to Monitoring Officer, Oxford City
Council, Town Hall, Oxford, OX1 1BX.  After the result of the internal
review, if you remain dissatisfied, you may ask the Information
Commissioner to intervene on your behalf.  You may do this by writing to
the Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire,
SK9 5AF.

 

Yours sincerely

 

Michael Newman

Corporate Secretariat Manager

 

 

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