Freesteel Blog » The best FOI request I have made

The best FOI request I have made

Wednesday, April 25th, 2007 at 2:31 pm Written by:

Dear Sir,

You will not be surprised to learn that I find the response of 12 April 2007 to my FOI request of 20 March 2007 for the full contract between Bristol City Council and its Local Education Partnership with Skanska unsatisfactory.

I was, however, directed to the proposed standard form for this contract published on the Partnerships for Schools website. Its terms appear to have been drafted by solicitors with a correct understanding of the Freedom of Information Act, for it says in Clause 38.2:

“Duty of Confidentiality shall not apply to any disclosure which is required pursuant to any statutory… obligation placed upon the party making the disclosure… [including] compliance with the FOIA and/or the Environmental Information Regulations.”

You are reminded of the Information Tribunal Decision of 11 December 2006 regarding Derry City Council’s refusal to release the terms of its contract with Ryan Air which established the general principle that confidentiality exemptions don’t cover concluded contracts, and advised of the provisions given in clause 38.10 of the standard contract:

“The LEP acknowledges that… the Authority may, acting in accordance with… the “FOIA Code”, be obliged… to disclose Information concerning the LEP or the Project in certain circumstances without consulting with the LEP”

I can confirm that, had the response to my earlier 3 December 2006 request for all relevant details relating to the confidentiality requirements signed by the Council, contained a copy of Schedule 22 of this standard contract, it would have been helpful. As it happens, I was ultimately informed that five hours had be spent not properly responding to my requests. I cannot be held responsible for time wasted by Bristol City Council in its effort to avoid following straightforward written procedures for the disclosure of relevant information.

Since this is my second and more detailed claim for this information (the full contract between Bristol City Council and its LEP, including all Schedules), please consider this through the complaints procedure so that the matter can be raised elsewhere if appropriate.

Yours,
Julian Todd.

2 Comments

  • 1. Freesteel » Blog Ar&hellip replies at 22nd May 2007, 11:07 am :

    […] issue. As readers will know, I use this blog as my own personal archive of FOI requests such as this one, until a national one gets set up. Because the me […]

  • 2. Freesteel » Blog Ar&hellip replies at 28th May 2007, 3:25 pm :

    […] to the next level
    May 28th, 2007 by Julian

    What do you get for making your best FOI request ever? Dear Mr Todd, Your Freedom of Information […]

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