Funding for Aldgate Project

The request was successful.

Mr Andrew Brian Hickman

Dear City of London Corporation,

List and quantify any and all funds that were transferred from anywhere and applied to the Aldgate Project?

You may consider this a replacement for: The cost to the Housing Revenue Account of transferring HRA income to Aldgate Square Project? 10 March 2017.

Yours faithfully,

Mr Andrew Brian Hickman

COL - EB - Information Officer, City of London Corporation

Dear Mr Hickman,

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000 (FOIA) – REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

The City of London (CoL) acknowledges receipt of your request for information of 18 March 2017.

We also note that you are withdrawing your request of 10 March 2017.

Public authorities are required to respond to requests within the statutory timescale of 20 working days beginning from the first working day after they receive a request. The Act does not always require public authorities to disclose the information which they hold.

The FOIA applies to the CoL as a local authority, police authority and port health authority. The CoL is the local and police authority for the “Square Mile”, ie the historic City of London, and not for London as a whole. Please see the following page containing a link to a map (Explore the City), which shows the local authority area covered by the CoL:
https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/maps/Pag....
The CoL does have some functions, including Port Health Authority functions, which extend beyond the City boundary. For further information please see: www.cityoflondon.gov.uk<http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk>.

Yours sincerely,

Information Officer
Comptroller & City Solicitor’s Department
City of London
Tel: 020-7332 1209
www.cityoflondon.gov.uk<http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk>

show quoted sections

CHB - FOI, City of London Corporation

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Hickman,

 

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000 (FOIA) - INFORMATION REQUEST

 

Following your request for information of 18 March 2017 and our
acknowledgment of 20 March 2017 the City of London (CoL) responds as
follows.

 

“List and quantify any and all funds that were transferred from anywhere
and applied to the Aldgate Project?”  Please refer to the attached Excel
spreadsheet.

 

Please be aware that the information presented is a snapshot of a live
project and as such sources of funding and priorities of spending can and
do change over time.

 

If you have any queries or concerns, please contact me.

 

The City of London holds the copyright in all the documents containing
this information. The supply of these documents does not give you a right
to re-use the documents in a way that would infringe that copyright, for
example, by making copies, publishing and issuing copies to the public or
to any other person. Brief extracts of any of the material may be
reproduced under the fair dealing provisions of the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act 1988 (sections 29 and 30) for the purposes of research for
non-commercial purposes, private study, criticism, review and news
reporting, subject to an acknowledgement of the copyright owner.

 

If you wish to make a complaint about the way the CoL has managed your
enquiry, please make your complaint in writing to email address:

[1][email address]. For a link to the CoL’s FOI complaints
procedure, please visit the following page:        

[2]www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/Feedback, at the end of which is located the
FOI complaints procedure.

If, having used the CoL’s FOI Complaints Procedure, you are still
dissatisfied, you may request the Information Commissioner to investigate.
The Information Commissioner is a Crown appointment, responsible for
monitoring compliance with the FOIA. Please contact: Information
Commissioner, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF.
Telephone: (01625) 545700. Website: [3]www.ico.org.uk.

 

Please note that the Act applies to the CoL as a local authority, police
authority and port health authority. Subject to any other statutory
provisions requiring the CoL to disclose information, release of
information outside the scope of the Act is subject to the discretion of
the CoL .

Yours sincerely

 

Access to Information Network Representative

Chamberlain's Department

City of London

Tel: 020 7332 1384

Website: [4]www.cityoflondon.gov.uk

 

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/Feedback
3. http://www.ico.org.uk/
4. http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/

Mr Andrew Brian Hickman

Dear City of London Corporation,

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

I am writing to request an internal review of City of London Corporation's handling of my FOI request 'Funding for Aldgate Project'.

You should be are aware I am interested in the S106 funds transferred or marked for transfer to Aldgate Project from their original purpose. You have failed to answer that question. (Line 38 and others of your offered spreadsheet.)

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

Yours faithfully,

Mr Andrew Brian Hickman

COL - EB - Information Officer, City of London Corporation

Dear Mr Hickman,

The City of London (CoL) acknowledges receipt of your complaint of 28 March 2017.

In accordance with guidance published by the Information Commissioner’s Office, the CoL aims to respond to complaints within 20 working days beginning from the first working day following receipt of the complaint.

Yours sincerely,

Information Officer
Comptroller & City Solicitor’s Department
City of London
Tel: 020-7332 1209
www.cityoflondon.gov.uk<http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk>

show quoted sections

Mr Andrew Brian Hickman

Dear COL - EB - Information Officer,

You have properly not replied to my original request, nor to the comment that the reply was insufficient.

I request an internal review.

Yours sincerely,

Mr Andrew Brian Hickman

COL - EB - Information Officer, City of London Corporation

Dear Mr Hickman,

The CoL is managing your email of 28 March 2017 as a complaint. The deadline for the response, as indicated in our acknowledgement of 28 March, is 20 working days beginning from the first working day after receiving the complaint. The deadline is, therefore, 27 April 2017.

Yours sincerely,

Information Officer
Comptroller & City Solicitor’s Department
City of London
Tel: 020-7332 1209
www.cityoflondon.gov.uk<http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk>

show quoted sections

CHB - FOI, City of London Corporation

Dear Mr Hickman,

 

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000 (FOIA) - REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

 

The City of London (CoL) considered your complaint against our response of
28 March 2017 in relation to provision of information in accordance with
the FOIA.

 

Our decision is that your complaint is not upheld.

 

I have reviewed your emails of 20 March and 28 March 2017.

 

I note that you are interested in the s106 funds “that were transferred
from anywhere and applied to the Aldgate Project”. In this respect I would
draw your attention to the following points:

 

1.       The CoL considers that it has already answered your question. 
Lines 3 to 28 of the spreadsheet provide a breakdown of actual funds that
have been committed to the Aldgate Project.  Lines 32 to 35 of the
spreadsheet provide a breakdown of received funds that will be committed
to the project once building commences.  The aggregate total of these
lines represents all funds that have been committed and will be applied to
the Aldgate Project.  

 

2.       The spreadsheet also further discloses potential sources of
funding for the Aldgate Project in lines 38 to 41.  These potential
sources of funding may be drawn upon at some future date subject to
negotiations with the funding provider - however it is not a list of
committed funding.  There is no certainty that any of these potential
funds will be applied to the Aldgate project.

 

3.       The purpose of listing potential funds along with actual
committed funds is to demonstrate that the total resources available are
in excess of the estimated scheme cost.  In particular, it explicitly
shows that no HRA funds or Council Tax receipts will be used to finance
the project.  

 

4.       The "line 38" which has been specifically mentioned in your
complaint is a composite figure of several schemes' s106 monies currently
held by the CoL. The CoL has no legal right to use these monies for
anything other than for their original purpose.  These monies cannot be
applied to the Aldgate project unless and until negotiations with the
funding providers of these schemes have been opened and concluded.  As
there is no certainty that negotiations will proceed, or indeed be
successful, a detailed breakdown of these funds is outside the scope of
your FOI request.  None of the schemes comprising line 38 currently have
any connection to the HRA or the Aldgate Project.

 

5.       You have made reference to "other" lines but not explained why
these are unsatisfactory. 

 

If you are dissatisfied with the decision, you may request the Information
Commissioner to investigate. The Information Commissioner is a Crown
appointment, responsible for monitoring compliance with the FOIA. Please
contact: Information Commissioner, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow,
Cheshire, SK9 5AF. Telephone: (01625) 545700. Website: [1]www.ico.org.uk.

 

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Philip Hau

 

Group Accountant

 

Chamberlain's Department,

City of London

Tel: 020 7332 1384

Website: [2]www.cityoflondon.gov.uk

 

 

Dear City of London Corporation,

 

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

 

I am writing to request an internal review of City of London Corporation's
handling of my FOI request 'Funding for Aldgate Project'.

 

You should be are aware I am interested in the S106 funds transferred or
marked for transfer to Aldgate Project from their original purpose. You
have failed to answer that question. (Line 38 and others of your offered
spreadsheet.)

 

 

 

Dear City of London Corporation,

 

List and quantify any and all funds that were transferred from anywhere 
and applied to the Aldgate Project?

 

You may consider this a replacement for: The cost to the Housing Revenue
Account of transferring HRA income to Aldgate Square Project? 10 March
2017.

 

Yours faithfully,

 

References

Visible links
1. http://www.ico.org.uk/
2. http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/

CHB - FOI, City of London Corporation

Dear Mr Hickman,
 
Thank you for your email of 27 April 2017. The CoL replies as follows:
 
1. The original response to your FOI enquiry, and the review of your
subsequent complaint, were confined in their entirety to the subject
matter requested, namely the s106 funds actually or potentially allocated
for use in the Aldgate project. The CoL does not understand why this
factual list of resources constitutes a “recent rewriting of history”.
 
2. You have quoted an extract from point 4 of the CoL’s complaint review.
You appear to have assumed, incorrectly, that this sentence applies to the
whole of the CoL’s response, rather than to line 38 alone (as was clearly
specified). The subsequent three sentences of this point also appear to
have been disregarded, which is unfortunate as they explain the context of
this point.
 
3. Your email states: “You will of course be able to provide contemporary
paperwork detailing your actions as you now claim?" Please clarify this
very broad question. It is unclear if it is a new FOI request and to what
specifically it relates.
 
 
Yours sincerely
 
Access to Information Network Representative
Chamberlain's Department,
City of London
Tel: 020 7332 1384
Website: [1]www.cityoflondon.gov.uk
 
 
 
 
 
Dear City of London Corporation,
 
In Freedom of Information request 'Funding for Aldgate Project' you state
'4 ...The CoL has no legal right to use these monies for  anything other
than for their original purpose...'
 
I note the perceived recent rewriting of history, that the money was spent
on the first tranche of double glazing. There is paperwork from the time
saying it was carried forward.
 
I could also supply a dozen recent documents, stating the Section 106
money was still available, for 2nd round of double glazing, including one
from Jacquie Campbell stating the balance.
 
You will of course be able to provide contemporary paperwork detailing
your actions as you now claim?
 
Yours faithfully,
 
 
 
 

References

Visible links
1. http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/

Mr Andrew Brian Hickman

Dear CHB - FOI,

1. Recent rewriting of history!
a) http://e-voice.org.uk/mse/mail/view/mail...
Jacquie Campbell stating the balance carried forward as of 17th April 2015 was £280,025
b) http://e-voice.org.uk/mse/mail/view/mail...
'S106 subsequently put to another use and applied to the Aldgate Square Project'.
c) http://e-voice.org.uk/mse/mail/view/mail...
'All money correctly spent on window replacement'.
That is three different version of history.

2. Just a quote, do not recollect why I made it.

3. Whichever version of history you eventually claim to be correct, please supply documentation, contemporary with the event.

Yours sincerely,

Mr Andrew Brian Hickman

Mr Andrew Brian Hickman

Dear CHB - FOI,

Yes, it is a new request, with a bad title.
I am trying to find definite proof of destination of Section 106 for 2nd round of double glazing.

Yours sincerely,

Mr Andrew Brian Hickman

COL - EB - Information Officer, City of London Corporation

Dear Mr Hickman,
 
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000 (FOIA) - INFORMATION REQUEST
 
The City of London (CoL) acknowledges receipt of your request for
information, which you clarified on 28 April 2017.
 
As a result of your two emails on 28 April, the CoL understands your
request to be as follows:
 
“Definite proof of the destination of Section 106 funding, in relation to
the second round of double glazing at Middlesex Street Estate/ Petticoat
Tower, including any supporting documentation”.
 
Public authorities are required to respond to requests within the
statutory timescale of 20 working days beginning from the first working
day after they receive a request. The Act does not always require public
authorities to disclose the information which they hold.
 
The FOIA applies to the CoL as a local authority, police authority and
port health authority. The CoL is the local and police authority for the
“Square Mile”, ie the historic City of London, and not for London as a
whole. Please see the following link to a map on the CoL's website, which
shows the area covered:
[1]www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/maps/Pages/explore-the-city.aspx.
 
The CoL does have some functions, including Port Health Authority
functions, which extend beyond the City boundary. For further information
please see: [2]www.cityoflondon.gov.uk.
 
Yours sincerely,
 
Assistant Information Officer
Comptroller and City Solicitor’s Department
City of London
Tel: 020-7332 3244
[3]www.cityoflondon.gov.uk
 
 
 
 
 
 

References

Visible links
1. http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/maps/Page...
2. http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/
3. http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/

Mr Andrew Brian Hickman

Dear COL - EB - Information Officer,

A little early for an internal review, less than 20 days they have not answered this new (badly titled) question.

Yours sincerely,

Mr Andrew Brian Hickman

Mr Andrew Brian Hickman

Dear COL - EB - Information Officer,

The balance remaining is £280,025.16, this being the difference between the S106 total contribution of £1,377,842 and the estimated cost of installing double-glazing at £1,097,816.84.

Yours sincerely,

Mr Andrew Brian Hickman

DCS FOI, City of London Corporation

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    Response 310517 Middlesex Street Estate Petticoat Tower Replacement of Windows and Balcony Doors Hickman.pdf

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Dear Mr Hickman,

 

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000 (FOIA) - INFORMATION REQUEST

 

Following receipt of your request for information which you clarified on
28 April 2017 and our acknowledgement of 4 May 2017. Please accept our
apologies for the slight delay in our response. The City of London (CoL)
responds as follows:

 

Definite proof of the destination of Section 106 funding, in relation to 
the second round of double glazing at Middlesex Street Estate/ Petticoat 
Tower, including any supporting documentation

 

Use of the Minerva Section 106 funding on Middlesex Street

 

1.    In 2010, the City’s Housing Property Services Team carried out a
planned programme of replacement windows to all properties (HRA and
leasehold) on the Middlesex Street Estate. The programme was entirely
funded from S106 monies received from Minerva PLC in relation to the
development of Minerva Tower and no recharge was made to leaseholders for
this work.

 

2.    At the time a decision was taken not to replace the balcony doors
and screens to the flats in Petticoat Towers because of other plans for
those flats. When it became clear that those plans were not going to come
to fruition the Property Services Team looked to replace the balcony doors
and screens in 2015.

 

3.    The Team took legal advice to establish whether the balcony doors
and screens were deemed to be the landlord’s responsibility to repair and
maintain or the leaseholders. The advice came back that it was the
landlord’s responsibility and we could, if we chose to do so, recover the
costs from leaseholders. A decision not to recharge leaseholders was taken
by Housing and Almshouses Sub Committee in September 2016 as a result of
previous commitments made by the City that leaseholders would not have to
pay.

 

4.    Therefore as the HRA is a ring-fenced account the only options for
funding this work were any Minerva Section 106 funding that had been
allocated for the purpose of window replacement and the HRA itself. As
part of writing the report requesting authorisation to proceed the team
contacted Chamberlains to see if there was any remaining Minerva Section
106 money.

 

5.    Chamberlains informed the Team that any remaining Minerva Section
106 money had been transferred to the Aldgate Project but this referred to
funding from the total Minerva Section 106 pot. Within the total pot
funding  for ‘Church works’ and ‘new public square’  had been transferred
to the Aldgate Project but the window replacement funding had actually
been spent on window replacement.

 

6.    It is worth noting that there were specific conditions attached to
the windows monies that required any funds remaining unspent after 5 years
to be re-allocated to the new public square, which appears to have
resulted in some confusion about the application of the S106 funds.

 

7.    Assuming that Minerva Section 106 money for window replacement had
been transferred to the Aldgate project the Team then included this
statement in the reports to Housing and Almshouses Sub Committee on the
28^th November 2016 and Projects Sub Committee on the 17^th February 2017.
This was not actually the case and the position was clarified in March
2017.

 

8.    On the basis that Minerva Section 106 funding for window replacement
was not available (which was correct, but for a different reason than that
stated in the report) the sub committees were asked to approve the
expenditure of HRA funding on the replacement of balcony doors and screens
in Petticoat Towers as the only viable alternative to charging
leaseholders for the work.

 

9.    As far as future developments are concerned Section 106 funding is
now only allocated for new affordable housing and skills, all other
development funding is now paid through the Community Infrastructure Levy.

 

10. The financial position is as follows

·         Total expenditure incurred on the Middlesex Street windows
project was £1,584,048.44 relating to the works undertaken mainly during
the latter part of 2010.

·         Total S106 window receipts were £1,473,097.26 including
indexation and interest, all of which have been applied to fund the
windows expenditure.

·         The balance of the expenditure was funded from HRA resources.

 

I attach for your information a report on Middlesex Street Estate and
Petticoat Tower, Replacement of Windows and Balcony Doors to the Housing
Management and Almshouses Sub Committee meeting 26 September 2016.

 

Please note that the City (the "Square Mile") has a resident population of
about 8,760* which includes approximately 1200 children aged up to 19
years old.

 

*Office of National Statistics 2016

We hope this assists.

If you wish to make a complaint about the way the CoL has handled your
enquiry, please make your complaint in writing to email address:
[1][email address]

For a link to the CoL's FOI complaints procedure, please visit the
following page: [2]www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/Feedback, at the end of which
is located the FOI complaints procedure. If, having used the CoL's
Complaints Procedure, you are still dissatisfied,  you may request the
Information Commissioner to investigate. Please contact: Information
Commissioner, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF.
Telephone: (01625) 545 700. Website: [3]www.ico.org.uk.

Please note that the Act applies to the City of London only as a local
authority, police authority and port health authority.

The CoL holds the copyright in this communication. Its supply does not
give a right to re-use in a way that would infringe that copyright, for
example, by making copies, publishing and issuing copies to the public or
to any other person. Brief extracts of any of the material may be
reproduced under the fair dealing provisions of the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act 1988 (sections 29 and 30) for the purposes of research for
non-commercial purposes, private study, criticism,  review and news
reporting, subject to an acknowledgement of the copyright owner.

 

Yours sincerely

 

 

[4]http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/Corporati... Business Support Manager
|  Commissioning and
Partnerships Division 

City of London Corporation
|Telephone 020 7332 3498|
[5]www.cityoflondon.gov.uk

 

 

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/Feedback
3. http://www.ico.org.uk/
5. http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/