We don't know whether the most recent response to this request contains information or not – if you are Alex Parsons please sign in and let everyone know.

Dear Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council,

I would like to make an FOI request for the following pieces of information:

1. How many people are employed to deal with FOI?
2. What is the budget for administering FOI?
3. Do you use case management software for FOI? If so, which one?
4. Do you publish a disclosure log?

If not all information is available, please treat questions individually.

Yours faithfully,

Alex Parsons

Freedom Of Info,

Dear Alex Parsons

I acknowledge with thanks your request for information held by Bolton
Council received at this office on 26 June 2018.

This request will be considered under the Freedom of Information Act 2000
and may take up to 20 working days to be processed (although we will
endeavour to provide the information as quickly as possible).

Please be advised that if an exemption applies to the information that you
have requested, the statutory period may be exceeded in accordance with
the provisions of the act.

Please retain the reference number RFI 000916 for any future enquiries
regarding this matter.

Many thanks

The Information Governance Team

                                                     

This e-mail and any attached files are confidential and may also be
legally privileged. They are intended solely for the intended addressee.
If you are not the addressee please e-mail it back to the sender and then
immediately, permanently delete it. Do not read, print, re-transmit, store
or act in reliance on it. This e-mail may be monitored by Bolton Council
in accordance with current regulations.

This footnote also confirms that this e-mail message has been swept for
the presence of computer viruses currently known to Bolton Council.
However, the recipient is responsible for virus-checking before opening
this message and any attachment.

Unless expressly stated to the contrary, any views expressed in this
message are those of the individual sender and may not necessarily reflect
the views of Bolton Council.

http://www.bolton.gov.uk/

Freedom Of Info,

1 Attachment

Dear Alex Parsons

 

Request for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000

 

Thank you for your emails received in this office on 26^th June 2018
requesting information on the governance of Freedom of Information
requests at Bolton Council

 

Please note that according to Section 5 (2) of the Freedom of Information
and Data protection (Appropriate limit and Fees) Regulations 2004 (the
“Fees Regulations”) a public authority may aggregate requests for the
purpose of determining cost of compliance if it receives two or more
requests for the same or similar information.

 

The Fees Regulations state that two or more requests to one public
authority can be aggregated for the purposes of calculating costs if:

 

1. The requests are made by one person, or by different persons who appear
to the public authority to be acting in concert or in pursuance of a
campaign;

2. The requests are for the same or similar information; and

3. The subsequent requests are received by the public authority within 60
working days of the previous request.

 

The intention of this provision is to prevent individuals or organisations
evading the appropriate limit by dividing a request into smaller parts.
Therefore, in line with the Fees Regulations, Bolton Council has
aggregated your requests for the purpose of determining the cost of
compliance.

 

You requested

 

RFI 000915

I would like to make an FOI request about the following statistics in the
previous annual period. If figures are recorded in calendar year this
would be 2017, if financial year 2017-18. If available in both, I would
prefer calendar for comparison to central government FOI statistics.

 

1. What period do you record FOI statistics in? Financial Year/Calendar
Year/Other?

2. How many FOI requests have you received? (if this figure includes EIR
requests, please state)

1492 (For the 2017 calendar year and is inclusive of EIR)

 

3. The number of requests where the information was granted?

4. The number of requests where the information was entirely withheld (no
information provided)?

5. The number of requests where the information was partially withheld
(some, but not all information requested, provided)?

Bolton Council does not report on whether a Freedom of Information request
has been disclosed in full. For example we have a high number of requests
in which we disclose some of the information but on other parts do not
disclose. It would not be possible to provide the information requested
without further analysis and creation of new information. The Freedom of
Information Act does not require us to create documents, nor to manipulate
data to create new information; therefore the requested information is not
held.

 

6. How many requests were completed inside the statutory deadline?

1272 (For the 2017 calendar year and is inclusive of EIR)

 

7. How many requests were appealed to internal review?

8. How many decisions were upheld at internal review?

9. How many FOI decisions have been appealed to the ICO?

10. How many decisions were upheld by the ICO?

Unfortunately we are unable to identify the information you have requested
for the above part of your request and we require some further details
from you in order to progress your request, in particular can you please
state if the information is only required for requests which were received
and responded to in 2017 and which an internal review and appeal to the
ICO where both completed in this timescale?

 

If no clarification is received within three months of the date of this
letter, we will assume that you have decided not to pursue the aspects of
your request where we asked for clarification and we will close the
request.

 

11. How many vexatious requests were received?

Bolton Council does not report on exemptions used in responses for Freedom
of Information requests therefore it would not be possible to provide the
information requested without further analysis and creation of new
information. The Freedom of Information Act does not require us to create
documents, nor to manipulate data to create new information; therefore the
requested information is not held.

 

And

 

RFI 000916

1. How many people are employed to deal with FOI?

2. What is the budget for administering FOI?

This information is not held as Bolton Council does not employ specific
staff "to deal with FOI"

Responsibility for responding to Freedom of Information requests lies with
the Information Governance Team. However, these members of staff perform
other duties including work in the areas of Information Management,
Records Management, complaints handling. There are also other staff who
may contribute to the FOI process if and when required.

 

3. Do you use case management software for FOI? If so, which one?

Up until mid-December 2017 Bolton council used a bespoke in house case
management system using Microsoft Sharepoint. After this date Iken

 

4. Do you publish a disclosure log?

No, therefore this information is not held

 

Should you disagree with our decision, you may appeal to:

The Borough Solicitor, Bolton Council, Town Hall, Bolton, BL1 1RU

Email: [1][email address]

Should you further disagree with the decision following the appeal you may
wish to contact the Information Commissioner:

Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow,
Cheshire SK9 5AF

[2]www.ico.gov.uk

 

Tel: 01625 545700, Fax: 01625 524510

Should you have any queries, please contact [3][email address]

 

Yours sincerely

 

Mark Allen

Information Governance Officer

Information Governance Team

 

 

 

 

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We don't know whether the most recent response to this request contains information or not – if you are Alex Parsons please sign in and let everyone know.