South Lanarkshire and FOI
South Lanarkshire Council refused a recent Freedom of Information (FOI) request - which asked about the different rates of pay that apply - to different groups of council workers.
The council's decision has now been appealed to the Scottish Information Commissioner in the following terms - see previous post dated 23 October 2009:
Scottish Information Commissioner
Kinburn Castle
Doubledykes Road
Fife
KY16 9DS
Dear Commissioner
South Lanarkshire Council (SLC) – FOISA request
I enclose an exchange of correspondence with South Lanarkshire Council (SLC) regarding a FOISA enquiry, which I initiated with the council on 22 May 2009.
I asked for a review of the council’s initial decision, but remain dissatisfied with their response. I am therefore registering an appeal with the Scottish Information Commissioner (SIC).
In my view, the council’s response is unsatisfactory for the following reasons:
1. The information requested is not confidential and does not in any way constitute the personal data of council employees.
2. The information requested is generic in nature and relates to the number of posts at specified points on the Spinal Pay Column.
3. The request is for anonymised information – such data is routinely gathered and published by many public bodies as part of their equality monitoring arrangements.
4. The council’s response to Request 1 perfectly adequate and, in my view, the remaining Requests (2-7) can clearly be answered in similar terms.
5. The council refers to the case of the Common Services Agency v Scottish Information Commissioner in support of its stance. However, while in that particular case the information request could potentially have been used to identify individuals through release of their postal codes, the same is not true of my request. In my view, the council has failed to explain how acceding to my request could amount to a breach of any of the data protection principles
I look forward to hearing from you and if you require any further details or clarification at this stage, please contact me by e-mail at markirvine@compuserve.com
Kind regards
Mark Irvine
The council's decision has now been appealed to the Scottish Information Commissioner in the following terms - see previous post dated 23 October 2009:
Scottish Information Commissioner
Kinburn Castle
Doubledykes Road
Fife
KY16 9DS
Dear Commissioner
South Lanarkshire Council (SLC) – FOISA request
I enclose an exchange of correspondence with South Lanarkshire Council (SLC) regarding a FOISA enquiry, which I initiated with the council on 22 May 2009.
I asked for a review of the council’s initial decision, but remain dissatisfied with their response. I am therefore registering an appeal with the Scottish Information Commissioner (SIC).
In my view, the council’s response is unsatisfactory for the following reasons:
1. The information requested is not confidential and does not in any way constitute the personal data of council employees.
2. The information requested is generic in nature and relates to the number of posts at specified points on the Spinal Pay Column.
3. The request is for anonymised information – such data is routinely gathered and published by many public bodies as part of their equality monitoring arrangements.
4. The council’s response to Request 1 perfectly adequate and, in my view, the remaining Requests (2-7) can clearly be answered in similar terms.
5. The council refers to the case of the Common Services Agency v Scottish Information Commissioner in support of its stance. However, while in that particular case the information request could potentially have been used to identify individuals through release of their postal codes, the same is not true of my request. In my view, the council has failed to explain how acceding to my request could amount to a breach of any of the data protection principles
I look forward to hearing from you and if you require any further details or clarification at this stage, please contact me by e-mail at markirvine@compuserve.com
Kind regards
Mark Irvine
