Waterways Public Space Protection Order: consultee communications

The request was partially successful.

Dear Sir

Waterways Public Space Protection Order: consultee communications

In relation to the Draft Waterways Public Space Protection Order (Scrutiny Committee 7-3-2016 Agenda Item 5 and Executive Board Meeting 17-3-2016 Agenda Item 193) (the "Draft PSPO"), please provide the following information:

1 A schedule of the parties consulted, in relation to the development of the Draft PSPO, prior to the inception of and during development of the Draft PSPO

2 The specific correspondence between Oxford City Council and those contained in Item (1)

3 The numbers of (a) private land owners (b) private property owners and (c) commercial bodies that were consulted under Item (1); for the avoidance of doubt I do not seek any proscribed information

4 Any material that relates to those persons or organisations specifically excluded from consultation, in relation to the development of the Draft PSPO, prior to the inception of and during development of the Draft PSPO

5 The names of all officers and councillors involved in the development of the Draft PSPO, prior to the inception of and during development of the Draft PSPO

For the avoidance of doubt this is a requisition under the Freedom of Information Act

Yours faithfully
Nick Brown

freedomofinformation@oxford.gov.uk, Oxford City Council

Dear Nick,

Thank you for your email. You will receive a response within 20 working days from the date of your request, as required under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Yours sincerely

Merilyn

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Boatlass left an annotation ()

Ah, 20 working days have passed and no response...

Dear Sir

On 7th April 2016 I served a requisition under the Freedom of Information Act (the "Act") on Oxford City Council ("OCC"), accessible here: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/w...

I observe that 20 working days has passed yet you have not responded. I remind you that for OCC to be compliant with the Act it is required to respond promptly and in any event within 20 working days. I note that OCC has not requested further time to complete service on me of the requisitioned information. I observe that OCC is thus non-compliant with the Act.
Therefore:
1 I require a response to this requisition by the close of business on 27-4-2016;
2 If OCC is unable to provide the requisitioned information by this time I requisition an internal review;
3 I require an explanation for the non-compliance of OCC with the Act in this respect.

Yours faithfully
Nick Brown

DAVIES Merilyn, Oxford City Council

Hello Nick,

I'm sorry for the delay. We received an extremely high level of requests during March and this has meant I am struggling to meet the 20 day deadline in some cases. I am working hard to provide answers to all requests, as soon as is possible, and will reply to your FOI as soon as I am able.

Best wishes

Merilyn

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Dear Ms Davies

I note that your response to my requisition here:
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/3...
is now long overdue.

I therefore requisition an internal review of this requisition.

Yours Sincerely
Nick Brown

DAVIES Merilyn, Oxford City Council

Hello Nick,

I'm afraid, as I have not yet provided an answer, there would be nothing to review, therefore I ask that you contact my line manager - Mr Micheal Newman - if you wish to make a complaint about my handling of your FOI request. He can be contacted on [email address].

I will continue to deal with your FOI in the meantime.

Best wishes

Merilyn

Merilyn Davies | Freedom of Information and Complaints Officer| Chief Executive’s Office | Oxford City Council

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Dear Ms Davies

Thank you for your reply. However I do not accept that you have "nothing to review": I am seeking a review of the non-compliance of Oxford City Council in failing to respond in the statutory time. I would therefore be obliged if Oxford City Council will now conduct a review of this matter without further obfuscation.

Thank you
Yours sincerely,
Nick Brown

DAVIES Merilyn, Oxford City Council

Hello Nick,

I'm afraid it is Council policy that if a review is requested based on failure to meet the 20-day time limit, we deal with these via our complaints system. In this instance, you would email Mr Newman, via the email I sent in my original reply.

Reviews are only conducted on documentation provided - or not - to the requester and as no information has yet been provided, I'm afraid a review is not possible.

I have copied Mr Newman into this email for your information and for ease of issuing a complaint.

Best wishes

Merilyn

Merilyn Davies | Freedom of Information and Complaints Officer| Chief Executive’s Office | Oxford City Council

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Dear Ms Davies
With respect I do not accept your response. Please therefore provide the information that I have requested. If this information is not forthcoming within 40 days this matter will be referred to the Information Commissioner.
Yours sincerely,
Nick Brown

DAVIES Merilyn, Oxford City Council

Dear Nick,

Please find below, the information you requested. I apologise again for the delay in getting this to you.

1 A schedule of the parties consulted, in relation to the development of the Draft PSPO, prior to the inception of and during development of the Draft PSPO.
All information on the consultation process can be found on our website, here:

https://www.oxford.gov.uk/info/20101/com...

As such, I consider that the exemption under Section 21 of The Freedom of Information Act 2000 - which provides for material that is reasonably accessible by other means - applies in this instance.

2 The specific correspondence between Oxford City Council and those contained in Item (1). Information can be found in the afore mentioned document

3 The numbers of (a) private land owners (b) private property owners and (c) commercial bodies that were consulted under Item (1); for the avoidance of doubt I do not seek any proscribed information. Please see link in question one.

4 Any material that relates to those persons or organisations specifically excluded from consultation, in relation to the development of the Draft PSPO, prior to the inception of and during development of the Draft PSPO. All information is contained in the documented relating to question one.

5 The names of all officers and councillors involved in the development of the Draft PSPO, prior to the inception of and during development of the Draft PSPO. Oxford City Council: Richard Adams, Chris Bell, Jeremy Franklin, Daryl Edmunds, Simon Manton, Ben Smith, and Cllr Colin Cook, Cllr Dee Sinclair.

If you disagree with any part of the response to your request, 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, St Aldate’s Chambers, St Aldate’s, Oxford, OX1 1DS. 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.

If you wish to complain about the delay in my providing this response, please contact Mr Michael Newman [email address].

Best wishes

Merilyn

Merilyn Davies | Freedom of Information and Complaints Officer| Chief Executive’s Office | Oxford City Council

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Green Boat Services left an annotation ()

OCC are deliberately misinterpreting your request. They have sent you to the new consultation and are ignoring the pre-consultation that was referred to in previous council meetings.

Dear Ms Davies
In relation to my FoI requisition dated 25th March 2016 here:
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/w...
thank you for your mail dated 2nd June 2016 allegedly providing me with the information that I have requisitioned.
However the only material information that you appear to be providing is this link:
https://www.oxford.gov.uk/info/20101/com...
(the "Link").
The Link refers to the consultation process (which technically has not yet commenced, let alone listing who will be consulted.
I draw your attention to my requisition in which I required to know:
"1 A schedule of the parties consulted, in relation to the development of the Draft PSPO, prior to the inception of and during development of the Draft PSPO

2 The specific correspondence between Oxford City Council and those contained in Item (1)

3 The numbers of (a) private land owners (b) private property owners and (c) commercial bodies that were consulted under Item (1); for the avoidance of doubt I do not seek any proscribed information

4 Any material that relates to those persons or organisations specifically excluded from consultation, in relation to the development of the Draft PSPO, prior to the inception of and during development of the Draft PSPO

5 The names of all officers and councillors involved in the development of the Draft PSPO, prior to the inception of and during development of the Draft PSPO"

In the provision to me of the Link you have not provided any of the information I have requisitioned.

I also note that OCC has singularly failed to comply with its obligations in terms of compliance under the Act.

Taken together I therefore accuse Oxford City Council of obfuscation.

I am therefore seeking an internal review of this requisition.

If this is not undertaken within the statutory time I shall refer this matter to the ICO without further recourse to OCC.

Yours sincerely
Nick Brown

DAVIES Merilyn, Oxford City Council

Hello Nick,

Thank you for your email. I have forwarded your request to our monitoring officer and he will be in touch in due course.

Many thanks

Merilyn

Merilyn Davies | Freedom of Information and Complaints Officer| Chief Executive’s Office | Oxford City Council

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Green Boat Services left an annotation ()

OCC in ignoring their statutory duties shocker...
Information commissioner time. Again.

Nick Brown left an annotation ()

Referred to the ICO.

GRIFFITHS Emma, Oxford City Council

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Brown,

 

I am writing to acknowledge your request for an internal review in
relation to your Freedom Of Information Act request (5680) for information
on communications with consultees in connection with the Council’s Draft
Waterways PSPO. The Council’s Monitoring Officer has asked me to conduct
this review on his behalf and I will be in touch when I have reviewed the
papers.

 

Kind regards,

Emma

 

Emma Griffiths | Lawyer | Law & Governance | Oxford City Council | St
Aldate's Chambers | St Aldate’s | Oxford OX1 1DS | DX 4309 Oxford 1 |
01865 252208

 

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Dear Ms Griffiths
Thank you or your communication.
I have forwarded your communication to the ICO.
Yours sincerely,
Nick Brown

GRIFFITHS Emma, Oxford City Council

Dear Mr Brown,

I am writing further to your request for an internal review in relation to your request for information under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) - FOI 5680.

Your request concerned information concerning the Draft Waterways Public Space Protection Order (Scrutiny Committee 7-3-2016 Agenda Item 5 and Executive Board Meeting 17-03-2016 Agenda Item 193)(the "Draft PSPO").

I have considered your request under the Environmental Information Regulations (EIR) rather than the FOIA since the information that you have asked for meets the definition of “environmental” in Regulation 2 of the EIR.

In relation to numbers 1-4 of your request I consider that the information that you are seeking can be found on the Council’s website and it can accessed via the following link:
https://www.oxford.gov.uk/info/20101/com...

I understand that my colleague Ms Davies provided you with the information you asked for at number 5 in your request by email on 2nd June.

If you are not satisfied with this response 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.

I hope that this information is helpful.
Kind regards,
Emma Griffiths
(on behalf of Jeremy Thomas – Monitoring Officer)

Emma Griffiths | Lawyer | Law & Governance | Oxford City Council | St Aldate's Chambers | St Aldate’s | Oxford OX1 1DS | DX 4309 Oxford 1 | 01865 252208

Service of documents by email is accepted at [email address] only. The subject header must be marked ‘SERVICE’.  Service by fax is not accepted.
 
     

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Nick Brown left an annotation ()

Materially the same information as that provided 6-6-2016 (2 1/2 months ago, which was itself late, and did not answer the questions). ) Referred back to the ICO

Nick Brown left an annotation ()

The ICO completed its investigation on 6-2-2017, partially upholding the complaint made to it. The full report (FER0646094) should be available at ico.org.uk but has not yet been published. The list of participants in the PSPO pre-draft-release phase is:
List of individuals involved in meetings at which the development of the PSPO may have been discussed.

1. Cllr Colin Cook, Oxford City Council Councillor
2. John Copley, Head of Environmental Development, Oxford City Council (retired)
3. Chris Bell, Parks Supervisor & Mooring , Oxford City Council
4. Nick McKie-Smith, Waterways Enforcement Manager, Environment Agency South East, West Thames Area
5. Tom Hassall, Representative, Rewley Park Management Company
6. James Pownall, Lawyer, Oxford City Council (left)
7. Matthew Symonds, Boater Liaison Manager (South), Canal & River Trust
8. Alison Cassidy, Anti-social Behaviour Investigation Case Manager, Oxford City Council
9. Chris Wood, Planning, Oxford City Council
10. Nigel Fisher, Superintendent of Wytham Woods, University of Oxford
11. Paul Townsend, Planning Enforcement Officer, Oxford City Council (Retired)
12. Robert Fowler, Planning Enforcement Officer, Oxford City Council (left)
13. Abby Abrahams, Lawyer, Oxford City Council
14. Jeremy Franklin, Lawyer, Oxford City Council
15. Mark Heelis, Waterways Advisor, Environment Agency
16. Colin Hounslow, Waterways Team Leader, Environment Agency
17. Dyl Kurpil, Director, District Enforcement
18. Alex Wrigley, Anti-Social Behaviour Investigation Team Manager (left)
19. Edward Surridge, Resident, BOAT
20. Stephen Miles
21. Daniel Newton, Anti-social Behaviour Investigation Case Manager, Oxford City Council
22. Robert Parker, Neighbourhood Police Officer, Thames Valley Police
23. Simon Fisher, Waterways Officer, Environment Agency
24. Alan Joyce, resident
25. Neil Owen
26. Simon Bowden, Anti-behaviour Investigation Case Manager, Oxford City Council (left)
27. Russell Robson, Environment Agency
28. Dr Anthony Cheke, Resident, Friends of Aston Eyot
29. Simon Manton, Community Response Team Leader, Oxford City Council
30. Michael Crofton-Briggs, Head of Planning, Oxford City Council (retired)
31. Gary Lloyd, Head of Asset Management, Estates Services, University of Oxford
32. Dave Huddle, Direct Services, Oxford City Council
33. John Keyes, Resident, Castle Mill Stream
34. Nijland, Wouter, Senior Moorings Manager South, Canal & River Trust
35. Peter Palmer, Canal & River Trust
36. Matt Strange, Technical Officer, Environment Agency
37. Jan Warner, Police Officer, Thames Valley Police
38. Richard Wyatt, Planning Policy, Oxford City Council
39. Mike Hamblett, Resident
40. Nathan Vear, Interim Head of Planning, Oxford City Council (left)
41. James Lawrie, Christchurch College
42. Sara Malyon, Principle Environmental Health Officer, Oxford City Council
43. Richard Adams, Community Safety Service Manager, Oxford City Council

Nick Brown left an annotation ()

Adjudication by ICO of 6-2-2017 here:
http://search.ico.org.uk/ico/search/deci...