H&F Freedom of Information Act Responses
Hammersmith and Fulham
PACS has placed several Freedom of Information Act (FoIA) Requests to Hammersmith and Fulham Council via their Freedom of Information Act Service. H&F Council has a record of being quite slow to respond to requests.
These are requests to Hammersmith and Fulham only – for others you can read the pages on our Department for Education FoIA page.
Submission One -327477-Date: 14 February 2011
Requesting information on pupil places, pupil vacancies, parental demand for any school proposed for Milson Road Health Centre .
Due Date: 14 March 2011 Fulfilled 16 June 2011
Revised date provided due to staffing Issues: 24 March 2011
Revised date provided due to staffing issues: 30 March 2011
Revised date provided due to working a backlog: 15 April 2011
Revised date provided due to still waiting for a response from the department: 03 May 2011
Revised date due to backlog and staffing issues: 13 May 2011
Revised date due to backlog and staffing issues: 25 May 2011
Revised date due to waiting for response from dept: 08 Jun 2011
Revised date due to staffing issues/technical difficulties: 17 Jun 2011
1. A copy of all correspondence, inclusive of electronic mails, between
Hammersmith and Fulham Council,
the Department for Education,
any Hammersmith and Fulham Councillor or MP,
the community schools located in Hammersmith and Fulham,
Rivendale,
Mr James Woods,
Mr Richard Ewen,
or Mr Ken Pritchard
regarding pupil places, pupil vacancies, parental demand for a new school or the free school currently proposed to be located at Milson Road Health Centre Milson Road, W14.”
Please find attached .pdf documents of all correspondence held by H&F between the parties listed above regarding pupil places, pupil vacancies, parental demand for a new school or the free school currently proposed to be located at Milson Road Health Centre Milson Road, W14:
- 327447-Email exchange between H&F and Mr. Wood
- 327447- Email Exchange betwen H&F and DfE
- 327477-Letter from H&F to DfE
Please note that in the email exchange between H&F and the Department for Education (DfE) , uploaded as ‘327447-Email exchange between H&F and DfE’, the email on 18 January 2011 mentions two pieces of correspondence:
1. A letter of support on behalf of LBHF
2. An email from Ian Heggs on behalf of Andy Rennison.
The attachment ‘327447-Letter from H to DfE’ is the first piece of correspondence mentioned (a letter of support on behalf of LBHF). We have checked the H&F email archiving system and we do not hold a copy of the email from Ian Heggs on behalf of Andy Rennison therefore this is not included as part of our response.
“2. Minutes of any meetings where a proposed free school supported by Rivendale was discussed.”
Please find attached a .pdf document of all the meeting minutes held by H&F where a proposed free school supported by Rivendale was discussed:
- 327447-Notes of Meeting with Mr. Wood
“3. Minutes of any meetings where the impact of a proposed free school upon any existing Hammersmith and Fulham community schools was discussed and details of any action points or decisions taken as a result of that discussion.”
The relevant section of the agenda and minutes for the H&F Cabinet meeting held on 21 March 2011 has been attached as a .pdf document:
- 327447-School Organisation Strategy 2011-12. This information can be found with other details of this meeting on the H&F website at the following location:
Submission Two-328356-Date: 17 February 2011
Requesting information on primary pupil places in H&F and in Addison Ward.
Due Date: 17 March 2011
Revised date provided due to staffing issues: 30 March 2011
Revised date provided due to staffing issues: 06 April 2011
Revised date provided due to staffing issues: 03 May 2011
Revised date due to waiting for relevant department: 17 Jun 2011
Submission Three-331117-Date: 28 February 2011
Requesting information on any changes to the Fair Access Protocol.
Due Date: 28 March 2011
Revised date provided due to staffing issues: 04 April 2011
Revised date due to waiting for department: 03 May 2011
Revised date due to waiting for department: 17 June 2011
Date fulfilled: 22 June 2011
“A copy of all correspondence, inclusive of electronic mails, between and amidst members and departments of Hammersmith and Fulham Council and any other body in regard to local Fair Access Protocol arrangements as applicable to all primary schools admissions in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham.”
H&F hold the following correspondence on the Fair Access Protocol arrangements:
- Minutes of the Head’s forum Meeting of 21 September
- Notice of Consultation for the In Year Admissions Protocol For Primary Schools:
- DRAFT- In Year Admissions Protocol For Primary Schools:
- Legal advice regarding use of fair access protocol – application to primary schools (LBHF seems to have removed this page)
H&F also hold the Agenda for the Head’s forum Meeting of 21 September 2010. This is attached as a .pdf document:
- 331117-Head’s Forum Meeting Agenda 21 Sept 2010_Redacted
We are, however, withholding some of the information you requested as we consider that the exemption under s.40 of the Freedom of Information Act applies to it. This exempts information which can be considered personal data under the Data Protection Act 1998 and as such, we have redacted the names, contact details and job titles of Council staff below Assistant Director Level and the names, contact details and job titles of external contractor members of staff. This email therefore acts as a Refusal Notice.
The ICO’s guidance on applying the exemption at section 40 of the Freedom of Information Act on personal data, states that public authorities first need to consider whether the data is personal.
Section 1(1) of the Data Protection Act defines personal data as:
Data which relate to an individual who can be identified
(a) From those data, or
(b) From those data and other information which is in the possession of, or is likely to come into the possession of, the data controller
I have determined that some of the data requested constitutes personal data. As such, I now need to consider whether disclosure of the data requested would breach the first Data Protection principle which states that:
1. Personal data shall be processed fairly and lawfully and, in particular, shall not be processed unless -
(a) at least one of the conditions in Schedule 2 is met, and
(b) in case of sensitive personal data, at least one of the conditions in Schedule 3 is also met.
With regards to Schedule 2 there are only two relevant conditions. Condition 1 relates to consent and while we may have consent to process the information for the purpose of internal and external communications regarding schools in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, we (the Council) would not have sought consent for processing or disclosure in response to a Freedom of Information request therefore Condition 1 is not satisfied. In such circumstances I need to consider Condition 6 which requires that:
6.(1) The processing is necessary for the purposes of legitimate interests pursued by the data controller or by the third party or parties to whom the data are disclosed, except where processing is unwarranted in any particular case by reason of prejudice to the rights and freedoms or legitimate interests of the data subject.
The ICO’s advice, following the Tribunal decision in Corporate Officer of the House of Commons v Information Commissioner, Leapman, Brooke and Thomas (EA/2007/0060 etc; 26 February 2008) which was upheld at the High Court, is that we need to consider Condition 6 as a three-part test:
1. there must be legitimate public interest in disclosure;
2. the disclosure must be necessary to meet that public interest; and
3. the disclosure must not cause unwarranted harm to the interests of the individual.
I will now apply this three-part test to your original request.
1. Is there a legitimate public interest in disclosure?
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 was introduced in order to promote transparency in public life. The release of the data pertaining to individuals in documents relating to the Fair Access Protocol however, can not be seen to promote public transparency.
2. Is disclosure necessary to meet the public interest?
No.
3. Will disclosure cause unwarranted harm to the interests of the individual(s) concerned?
The individuals concerned would not have expected their data to be used in this way, and may not wish for their details to be made publicly available. This could then result in a complaint to H&F and to the ICO under the Data Protection Act 1998 which would then need to be investigated as a potential breach.
I therefore have to weigh the public interest in disclosing this data under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 with the council’s obligations and the potential of enforcement action under the Data Protection Act 1998.
In this case, I can confirm that the data is held, however in all circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information. Where I do not deem the information you have requested to be personal data, or where the information is already available in the public domain, it is provided in the enclosed documents.
“ Minutes of any meetings where any exemptions to this protocol were discussed.”
H&F does hold meetings in respect of children covered by the fair access protocol and decisions are noted. This information is therefore held by H&F however we consider that the exemption under s.40 of the Freedom of Information Act applies to it. Please refer to our response to question 1 for details of the section 40 exemption under the Freedom of Information Act.
In this instance H&F consider that all records of meetings where children covered by the protocol are discussed and decisions are made are exempt under section 40 as the information contained in the records is the personal information of the children concerned. This email therefore acts as a Refusal Notice.
Submission Four-331102-Date: 28 February 2011
Requesting information on any changes to any planning regulations related to primary schools.
Due Date: 05 May 2011
After several clarification exchanges, the request fell under the Environmental Information Act which provides an extra 20 working days to fulfill the request.
Date fulfilled: 20 April 2011
The LA has no information on the above request.
Submission Five-334671-Date: 11 March 2011
Request for copies of the Pupil Place Planning Paper and Sites Feasibility Document. Request for information on schools and governors consulted as part of the School Organisation Strategy.
Due Date: 11 April 2011
Revised date provided due to resolved staffing issues: 03 May 2011
Revised date : technical difficulties/ staffing issues 11 May 2011
Revised date : technical difficulties/ staffing issues 25 May 2011
Revised date: waiting for response from Department 08 Jun 2011
Revised date: waiting for respons from Department 11 Jun 2011
Date Fulfilled: 23 June 2011
“I note on the school organisation plan details page of the H/F website (http://www.lbhf.gov.uk//
Directory/Council_and_ ) two documents are referred to:Democracy/mgHomepage.asp? mgpage=mgIssueHistoryHome. aspx%26amp%3BIId%3D6452%26amp% 3BOpt%3D0
- Pupil Place Planning Paper
- Sites Feasibility Document
I would like copies of these documents.”
Please find the following .pdf documents attached:
- 334671-Appendix 15.1 – Pupil Place Planning
- 334671-Appendix B – Special Schools – 26012011
- 334671-Appendix C – Secondary schools – 26012011
Also, reference is made to consultees including headteachers and governors. I would like to know which schools were a part of the consultation meetings process”
There has been no recent consultation specifically for this School Organisation Strategy, but consultation was undertaken as part of the Building Schools for the Future programme (which ceased in July 2010).
The consultation took place in two parts, the first on transforming secondary education in the borough, undertaken from 21 April 2008 to 9 June 2008 and the second specifically on SEN from 24 November 2008 to 19 January 2009.
These are detailed in the Equality Impact Assessment, a copy of the Equality Impact Assessment can be downloaded from the H&F website at the following location: http://democracy.lbhf.gov.uk/
mgConvert2PDF.aspx?ID=8730
“and I would like to have copies of the minutes of those meetings.”
H&F do not have minutes of specific meetings, but the questionnaires which were completed as part of the consultation process formed reports that went to Cabinet on 14 July 2008 and 2 March 2009 respectively. Copies of the cabinet agenda are downloadable from the H&F website at the following locations:
Cabinet Agenda March 2009
The School Organisation Strategy took into account these previous consultations to form part of its strategy.
Submission Six-342464-Date: 09 April 2011
Request for information on the activities of the Council in relationship to linking free schools with the community and with potential sites, including person hours spent and financial expenditure.
Due Date: 21 May 2011
Revised date : waiting for response from the Department 25 May 2011
Date fulfilled: 19 May 2011
What activities the Council has undertaken to provide links between the community and potential free schools in the past year, and at what cost in terms of person-hours and financial outlay (contracts, providing printing etc – estimates are fine)
‘All Free Schools have completed their own consultations and literature and have worked directly with Partnerships for Schools. The Council have a responsibility to identify sites that it owns that are on the disposal list, however it is the responsibility of each Free School to identify sites within the Borough. No Council Officer has been assigned to Free Schools or a significant amount of their time spent to the respective Free Schools. However I can confirm that we have supplied commentary on each business plan proposal.’
What activities the Council has undertaken to assist parents in assessing demand, and what the results of those activities produced in the way of reports and data about existing and potential schools, broken down by Ward.
We previously provided our Primary Capital Programme plan that identified pressures within the Borough. (Site Mod Note: We have no PCP plan document)
I have provided two tables detailing Primary applications by ward and pupils by year group attached.
What activities the Council has undertaken to assist any and all potential free school providers (whether a proposal was approved by the DfE or not) in the location of potential sites in the last year, including up to and including April 09, 2011. This would include a breakdown naming all potential free school providers, when they were met with by Council members or council employees, what sites the Council was considering to assist with, and how.
As mentioned in point 1 above, it is the responsibility for each individual Free School provider to identify sites. The Local Authority is required to provide a list of all sites that are on its disposal list that the Council has deemed surplus to requirements.
The current Free School providers that are engaged by Partnerships for Schools are engaged with are:
As per previously advised the Council role is restricted only to comment on whether there is sufficient demand to justify each individual proposed business case.
Submission Seven-346072-Date: 26 April 2011
Request for a copy of the legal decision used to decline placement of an advertisement supporting local schools and requesting the council prioritise celebrating and supporting them instead of free schools.
Due Date: 26 May 2011 Fulfillment Date: 18 May 2011
Response: The decision was verbal so the Council holds no record.
Submission Eight -346630- Date: 26 April 2011
Request for a copy of any submissison to the DfE in support of Rivendale Free School’s business plan.
Due Date: 26 May 2011
I would like to request, please, a full copy of any submission or statement by the Council to the Department for Education in support of Rivendale Free School’s business plan. The documentation is likely to have been prepared in response to a request from the Department for Education seeking information on the community and educational context/impact of a potential school.
As we have previously advised, the only correspondence from the Council to the DfE regarding the above was in direct response to the question whether the borough has a shortage of primary places.
I believe a copy of the letter referred to above has been provided to you previously but, for ease of reference, a further copy is attached.
A copy of a letter was provided describing a shortage within the Borough of 150 places, and stating
We’ve had a presentation on Rivendale’s financial proposals and from my experience within school finance, I feel they are a realistic & robust starting point, to ensure that financial risks are effectively understood by all parties for this project.
James Wood and colleagues have presented themselves to the borough on a number of occasions during this process and should the DfE approve the requisite financial sums, the borough would be supportive of these proposals.
Submission Nine 353455 Date: 23 May 2011
Requesting a copy of the Primary Capital Programme document and requesting information on any free school group in addition to Rivendale Free School and Fulham School for Boys that has contacted the H&F Council with regard to locating a free school in H&F
Date fulfilled: 07 Jun 2011
Response: The document was attached and they informed us that no further schools had been in contact with H&F with regards to placing a free school in H&F.
Submission Ten 352317 – Date: 18 May 2011
Requesting information presented in another FoIA response about ‘proposals 1 and 4′
Due Date 16 June 2011
The Council holds no information on this. (Which is an odd response given that it was their earlier FoIA response that contained a letter which indicated support for proposals 1 and 4, whatever they were…
Submission Eleven 358050 Date 07 June 2011
Requesting copies of emails from H&F Planning Department to Capita in December through March 2011 about Milson Road Health Centre property
Date fulfilled: 01 Jul 2011
Fifteen documents were sent in response, mostly drawings and fees schedules. The more interesting are the copies of emails about the planning process. The Council appeared to be repeatedly requesting that Rivendale consult informally with the community surrounding the site before the formal consultation process began, including a mention in the initial site visit report. They appeared alarmed that they were receiving calls about a ‘rumour’ that there was going to be a school placed in that location without getting any response via Capita from Rivendale about the local community input. In our view this hilights the danger of having a free schools planning process that is not dependent in any way upon real consultation or accountability to local people or the Local Authority.
- Summary of Planning Position from Council after initial Site Visit 13 December 2010
- Rivendale supporting documents
- Emails set 1
- Emails set 2
- Email set 3 – withdrawal request