West Bromwich BID

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

Dear Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council,

Please can you respond to the following concerning the West Bromwich BID:

1. Who was the proposer for the BID?
2. What was the date of the proposal?
3. Are copies of any consultation documents including feedback available?
4. Are the BID proposal documents available to view together with timetable for ballot/vote?
5. On what date was the vote conducted and what was the result?
6. Can you please provide a list of all traders/businesses and authority bodies etc that were included in the ballot together with address details and a mark to show who voted?
7. Since the setting up of the BID how much has been raised by the levy imposed and how much has been passed on to the West Bromwich BID?
8. Are there any outstanding levy amounts owed to the council? If so how much?
9. Has any trader/business been referred to collection agencies for the collection of unpaid levy amounts?
10. Can you advise who are the officers of the West Bromwich BID and when were they elected?

I look forward to your timely response.

Yours faithfully,

Darryl Magher

Sandwell MBC, Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council

- Darryl Magher
 
 
Your request for information has been passed to an investigating officer.
 
Your reference is FS-Case-75532905
 
 
Thank you
 
Sandwell MBC

Dear Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council,

Please be advised that this FOI is now well overdue, can you provide a response without further delay.

Yours faithfully,

Darryl Magher

Sandwell MBC, Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council

Dear - Darryl Magher,
 
Information Request - FS-Case-75532905
 
Thank you for your Freedom of Information request. In response to your
request I can confirm the following:
 
 
1. Who was the proposer for the BID The Proposer was Sandwell Council.
2. What was the date of the proposal? It is unclear what date the request
refers. If the request relates to the date the Bid ballot process
initiated then please see the following list of dates: Statutory (Latest)
Date: Notification of Ballot - Monday 16 February 2015 Statutory (Latest)
Date: Dispatch of Ballot Papers - Monday 2 March 2015 Latest Date to
Appoint Proxy - Friday 20 March 2015 Latest Date to Cancel Proxy -
Wednesday 25 March 2015 Issue Of Replacements - Tuesday 24 March 2015
Close of Ballot - Monday 30 March 2015 3. Are copies of any consultation
documents including feedback available? Once the BID was constituted as a
Community Interest Company (CIC) and was independent of the Council any
consultation analysis and feasibility reports were passed to the CIC.
4. Are the BID proposal documents available to view together with
timetable for ballot/vote? Please see responses to points 2 and 3. 5. On
what date was the vote conducted and what was the result? Please see
response to point 2. The result was that the BID was approved. 6. Can you
please provide a list of all traders/businesses and authority bodies etc
that were included in the ballot together with address details and a mark
to show who voted? We do not have this information. All information
related to the BID ballot was either destroyed or passed to the CIC once
it was constituted. 7. Since the setting up of the BID how much has been
raised by the levy imposed and how much has been passed on to the West
Bromwich BID? The BID is constituted as a CIC and, as such, is not part of
the Council. As a CIC it is required to publish its annual accounts,
Companies House should be able to provide copies. 8. Are there any
outstanding levy amounts owed to the council? If so how much? £10,533.74
(Cumulative total for 2015, 2016 & 2017) 9. Has any trader/business been
referred to collection agencies for the collection of unpaid levy amounts?
Yes. 10. Can you advise who are the officers of the West Bromwich BID and
when were they elected? The BID is a CIC and, therefore, its officers are
as listed with Companies House.
 
 
If you are dissatisfied with the handling of your request, you have the
right to ask for an internal review. Internal review requests should be
submitted within two months of the date of receipt of the response to your
request, and should be addressed to:
 
Information Management Unit
Sandwell Council House
Freeth Street
Oldbury
West Midlands
B69 3DE
 
Email – [Sandwell Council request email]
 
If you are not content with the outcome of an internal review, you have
the right to apply directly 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
 
Please remember to quote the reference number above in any future
communications.
 
Yours sincerely
 
Sandwell MBC
For your information residents can now use their MySandwell account to log
many Sandwell Council requests online, including reporting missed
collections; fly tipping and pot holes. Residents can also check their
council tax balance on MyAccounts and find ‘MyNearest’ on their
personalised homepage. For information please go
to [1]www.sandwell.gov.uk/mysandwell.

References

Visible links
1. http://www.sandwell.gov.uk/mysandwell

Dear Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council,

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

I am writing to request an internal review of Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council's handling of my FOI request 'West Bromwich BID'.

I note you have confirmed that Sandwell Council was the proposer, would normally expect the business community to come forward to propose. I am astonished and frankly flabbergasted with the reponse and lack of record keeping. I ask specifically that you respond to the following:

Original point 3: You state that documents were passed to the CIC that the BID became. When did the BID become a CIC? Who managed this transition? Are you stating that as the proposer you are not holding any copy records, consultation analysis or feasibility studies or any other communications for the BID process you proposed? This I find incredible.

Original point 4: You state that the result was that the BID was approved. Now whether or nor not someone thinks that is a smart response I am not sure but the details of the result is required.
Please advise on the result in the following terms:
-Total number of ballot papers sent out
-Total number of votes cast in the ballot, excluding any given on ballot papers rejected
-Aggregate rateable value of each hereditament in respect of which a person voted in the ballot
-Total number of votes cast in favour of the proposal
-Aggregate rateable value of each hereditament in respect of which a person voting in the ballot has voted in favour

Original point 6: You state that you do not have the information of traders/businesses and authority bodies that received ballot papers and that it was either destroyed or passed on to the CIC. I ask you to confirm that you do not as the original proposer of the BID hold this information. I also ask what processes you have covering the handing over of council documents to a third party for their information or for destruction? I further ask why have copies not been made for your records?

Original point 7: With regards the collection of the levy are you saying you are not collecting the levy from businesses yourself? If you are then this information should be available. The fact that you have given a response to point 8 would suggest you have this information available.

Original point 8: You advise that there is a cumulative outstanding levy amount of £10,533.74 owed to the council for the yrs 2015, 2016, 2017. If you can offer this information you should be able to respond in full to point 7.

Original point 9: I note your response stating the traders/businesses have been referred to collection agencies for non payment of the BID levy. I will follow this up in a seperate communication.

Original point 10: Clearly the BID Board must have been formed prior to any development of the CIC. Can you confirm as proposer that you do not have details of who the officers of the BID Board were prior to it becoming a CIC?

I find the original response lacking considerably and I am concerned at the poor record keeping and document handling.

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

Yours faithfully,

Darryl Magher

Sandwell MBC, Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council

- Darryl Magher
 
 
Your request for information has been passed to an investigating officer.
 
Your reference is FS-Case-84418958
 
 
Thank you
 
Sandwell MBC
For your information residents can now use their MySandwell account to log
many Sandwell Council requests online, including reporting missed
collections; fly tipping and pot holes. Residents can also check their
council tax balance on MyAccounts and find ‘MyNearest’ on their
personalised homepage. For information please go
to [1]www.sandwell.gov.uk/mysandwell.

References

Visible links
1. http://www.sandwell.gov.uk/mysandwell