West Berks Council breaks a record Options

[absolutebounder]

Is it not truly amazing the speed at which Gordon lundy and Nick Carter managed to get on their knees to bow scrape and grovel to our hopeless MP? Their reaction time in responding to their **** up must be a record. Its not like West Berks ever get anything right first time is it but when there is MP after your name it will get corrected very fast.

[Andy Capp]

Perhaps a part of the problem is how data and documents are stored and accessed? Also, while it might raise costs to 'manage' the FoI requests, I wonder of the 'fear' of it being actioned might be helping make less visible activities more readily accountable.

[Simon Kirby]

Perhaps a part of the problem is how data and documents are stored and accessed? Also, while it might raise costs to 'manage' the FoI requests, I wonder of the 'fear' of it being actioned might be helping make less visible activities more readily accountable.

I agree on all counts. If there is a costs in administering requests for information then the council needs to look at how to improve their efficiency.

Perhaps their web site is a bit rubbish - I know it's difficult to navigate and the search function is particularly quirky in the relevance of what it turns up. Perhaps they're simply not making enough information available pro-actively - there is no duty under FoI to provide anything if the information is already available somewhere.

The figure of four or five requests each day is also intriguing. I'd be surprised if the number of tricky requests was any more than a couple per year. I would bet that if you looked into it the figure of four or fives per day includes things like people phoning up and asking what day their bins are going to be collected - technically that's a request for information under the Environmental Information Regulations (generically part of FoI), but no one would expect that to be handled with any formality and it's the kind of request for information that any service organisation would expect to field every day of the week.

The real problem for local authorities is that they are required to be open, and that is an enormous challenge for some.

[Cognosco]

I agree on all counts. If there is a costs in administering requests for information then the council needs to look at how to improve their efficiency.

Perhaps their web site is a bit rubbish - I know it's difficult to navigate and the search function is particularly quirky in the relevance of what it turns up. Perhaps they're simply not making enough information available pro-actively - there is no duty under FoI to provide anything if the information is already available somewhere.

The figure of four or five requests each day is also intriguing. I'd be surprised if the number of tricky requests was any more than a couple per year. I would bet that if you looked into it the figure of four or fives per day includes things like people phoning up and asking what day their bins are going to be collected - technically that's a request for information under the Environmental Information Regulations (generically part of FoI), but no one would expect that to be handled with any formality and it's the kind of request for information that any service organisation would expect to field every day of the week.

The real problem for local authorities is that they are required to be open, and that is an enormous challenge for some.

It would appear that the young pretender thinks that some of the FOI requests were frivolous? As he hasn't got a clue what the information is required for how can he say that?
As we know if you need any information from our local authorities you have to word what you want with minute detail or you get a non answer although probably ten pages long.
They want to state they are open and transparent but you have to drag information from them whilst they are kicking and screaming if they don't want you to have that information, which is most of the time!