Letter to Mr R Morgan, Chief Executive, WBC, dated 4 th February 2008

Re:   Amended - Request for Information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000

Please note that I am submitting herewith an amendment to our original request for information dated 20 th December 2007 - I respectfully request the information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and ask that WBC fully comply with my request for access to detailed information over the period of the last 7 years or any document still available on record and request the information free of charge.

1.    The U.K. Community Issues Party expresses our right to - Freedom of expression . This right shall include freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers.

2.   The U.K. Community Issues Party expresses our right to - Freedom of thought .This right includes freedom of belief either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest belief, teaching, practice and observance.

3.    The U.K. Community Issues Party expresses our right to - Freedom of peaceful assembly and to freedom of association with others.

As a political party it is our legitimate right, we have stood in the Local Elections in 2004, 2006, 2007 and also the 2005 General Election we are also entitled to be involved in future Elections.

Our concerns are on the fundamental issues of freedom of speech and the determination of the obligations on the Council and limitation. The council must respect our rights as a legitimate political party, in particular the right to receive and impart information and ideas; if the Council do not provide the information it constitutes an interference with the rights. We have to rely upon the council to access the information and inevitably sometimes requests are repeated due to changes in council activities, decisions and spending to ensure we have the updated information including changes of figures and information the council has not previously complied to .

We request the information in the interest of the public and to share with our respected community . We belive that the Council must act with integrity when making decisions solely in terms of the public interest and in carrying out public business and make choices on merit of the public interest. The Council must submit themselves to whatever scrutiny is appropriate and should be as open about all the decisions and actions for the wider public interest clearly in relating to their public duties and to take steps to resolve any conflicts arising in a way that protects the public interest.

With r eference to the letter dated 22/01/08 we have already expressed our deep concerns to the government and Minister of Justice regarding the administration by the Local Authority, complaint bodies and investigating authorities. We have highlighted the deficiencies in organization and function which are conveniently structured without the mechanism in place to discover the truth in order to address the impropriety

It is common practice throughout public service to withhold records/information for protection, to maintain silence or respond in a way so it is difficult to check that a request has been fully complied to and it is impossible for an individual to prove that their request has not been fully complied to. It is also common for there to be a delay before responding.

We are most concerned when complaints are made by the poorest on lower incomes who are depending or relaying more on our public services, they are left to the mercy of the public body and overwhelmingly disadvantaged. It is common for these people to be labelled with false or misleading information generated against them which cannot be challenged. Making it appear that there is no or little validity in the complaint in order to avoid the request for records. This method is used to avoid revealing the truth with the original complaint merely seen as “arbitrary acts” resulting in those acts being treated as less serious offences.

Many cases never reach court due to the unjustified privilege and the excessive legal privilege of millions of tax payers' money and firms of solicitors available to those who work in our public services, whilst the deficiencies in the system leave the complainant without access to justice and legal assistance. The significance is that the complainants do not have knowledge or familiarity with complicated procedures and therefore unequal in arms.

Please find detailed below a list of information which we require and which we believe is of interest to the general public, we are requesting this information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 which gives people a general right of access to information held by Woking Borough Council as a public authority. It aims to promote a culture of openness to the community which WBC serves.

1•  THE FULL details regarding the Council homes and Woking Borough Council effectively selling off some of its home to itself.

a•  How will the tenants benefit?

b•  How the Homeless have have benefited?

c•  Updated number of applicants on the waiting list for council homes and transfer?

d•  How many properties doe the council currently have?

2.   Council Houses

a•  The cost of a refurbished property?

b•  Number of Council houses which have been refurbished?

3.    Sale of council houses and assets by Woking Borough Council and the Government policy of taking a percentage of the proceeds from the receipts of the sale of housing assets

a•  Please could you confirm full details of the remains of the proceeds?

4 •  The Canopy situation at the front of the train station?

a•  The full total cost of re-modernising the front of the train station?

b•  Did the Council consult the community?

c•  Number of complaints made by the community opposing the proposal?

d•  How have the community benefited?

e•  How the homeless have benefited?

f•  Information – advise how many times you have withheld information from the public or  Anyone.

5.   Total budget to re-modernise the car parks

a•  Full Details of the costs?

b•  Did the Council consult the community?

c•  Number of complaints made by the community against the proposals.

d•  How the homeless in Woking will benefit?

e•  Information – advise how many times you have withheld information from the public or Anyone

6.   THE FULL details regarding the expenditure of £496,350 paid out for publicity, Marking a hike in the council's publicity budget of 166% the highest rise in Surrey .

a.   Please give a brief explanation how the residents of Woking benefit from this expenditure?

7•  THE FULL cost of all trips taken both at home and abroad by the staff at WBC On business.

a•  The full cost of each trip?

b•  The purpose for the trip?

c•  How the trips have increased the number of users of activities or the services Provided by WBC?

d•  Please could you give a brief explanation of how the residents of Woking benefit from  each trip?

8•  Full details of all cut backs in public services provided by WBC or sub- Contracted by WBC? Woking Leisure Centre and Pool in the Park.

a.   Provide the Updated information as requested regarding the advertising and marketing spend for the Leisure Centre and Pool in the Park, please detail separately?

9•  Leisure Centre

a•  Full details of the updated losses made by Woking Leisure?

b•  Profit made by Woking Leisure

c•  Number of staff?

d•  Number of complaints made by customers?

e•  The total cost for the refurbishment of Woking Leisure?

10•  Pool in the Park

a•  Full details of the updated losses made by Pool in the Park?

b•  Profit made by Pool in the Park?

c•  Number of staff?

d•  Number of complaints made by customers?

e•  The total cost for the refurbishment of the Pool in the Park?

11.Who was responsible for the proposal for each proposed site for a waste plant in Maybury and at Heather Farm in Horsell

12•  The Waste Plant Proposal for Maybury. Who was responsible for proposing to build a Waste Plant at Monument Way East ;

a•  Did the Council consult the community?

b•  Full Details of costs?

c•  Number of staff involved?

d•  Number of complaints made by the community opposing the proposal?

e•  How have the community benefited?

f•  Information – advise how many times you have withheld information from the public or anyone?

13•  Proposal for a waste plant at Heather Farm in Horsell

a•  Did the Council consult the community?

b•  Full Details of costs?

c•  Number of staff involved?

d•  Information – advise how many times you have withheld information from the public or anyone?

14•  The attempt to move Surrey County Council to Woking .

a•  Did the Council consult the community?

b•  Full details of the costs involved in making the proposals?

c•  Number of staff involved?

d•  Number of complaints made by members of the community opposing the proposals?

e•  How the community have benefited?

f•  Information – advise how many times you have withheld information from the public or anyone?

15.   Please could you confirm details of any other proposals over the last 7 years, if any please provide the full details?

a•  Full details of costs?

b•  Number of staff involved?

c•  Number of complaints by the community opposing the proposal?

d•  How the community have benefited

e•  Information – advise how many times you have withheld information from the public or  any one.

f•  Did the Council consult the community?

16.   Home track

a•  Did the Council consult the community?

b•  Full details of the updated costs?

c•  Number of staff involved?

d•  Number of complaints by the community opposing Hometrak?

e   how will the community benefit?

17.   Micro chips in our wheelie bins and the wheelie bins

a•  Did the Council consult the community?

b•  Full details of all the updated costs?

c•  Number of staff involved?

d•  Number of complaints made by the community opposing?

e•  How the community will benefit?

f•  Did the Council seek legal advice?

g•  If yes please confirm the legal costs?

h•  Did the Council ask the permission of the residents?

i•  Information - advise how many times you have withheld information from the public or  anyone?

18.   The Planets - Full Details of costs to build the Planets

a•  Since being built has the Planets generated any profit?

19•  Solicitor/ Legal Costs - The Council employs three solicitors and still requires legal advice from outside firms.

a•  The actual in-house updated cost against the estimate of the same year?

b•  The cost on legal advice from outside firms, advice relating to specific complaints?

c•  Full Details of complaints made by the community against the Council, passed to the Legal Dept. for advice?

d•  Number of staff involved?

e•  Has the Council consulted the community regarding the cost of complaints being passed to the legal dept?

f•  Please confirm if any trips were involved and by whom?

g•  How the community will benefit?

20•  Woking Borough Council is leasing vehicles for staff, detail each type of vehicle  leased to a member of staff and the purpose.

a•  Updated figures on how many vehicles are leased by WBC for community based staff?

b•  Number of staff supplied with a leased vehicle?

c•  Full Details of the cost of the leased vehicles?

d•  Has the Council consulted the community?

e•  How does the community benefit?

21•  Investigation of Complaints

a•  Updated number of people employed to deal with complaints in WBC?

b•  Details of the full cost of the WBC complaints systems?

c•  Number of staff involved?

d•  Numbers of complaints by the community about the complaints system?

e•  How many complaints were referred to WBC Solicitors for advice?

f•  How have the community benefited?

g•  Information -advise how many times you have withheld information from the public or anyone?

22.   Confirm the number of senior management and what post and department

23.   Neighbourhood Team employed by Woking Borough Council

a.   The cost of the Neighbourhood Team ?

b.   How has the team improved all the areas?

c.   Has crime been cut?

d.   Has Anti-social behaviour been cut?

e.   Has vandalism been cut?

f.   How the community have benefited?

24.   Mayoral Costs for Woking -vehicle and chauffeur.

a•  The updated costs for the Mayor and Mayoral Chauffeur and the funds raised by the  Mayor?

25•  Woking Borough Council expenditure on improvements to the Civic Offices.

a•  Full Details of costs?

26•  Woking Borough Council expenditure on Security to the Civic Offices.

a•  The updated details of the full costs?

b•  Numbers of staff involved?

c•  How have the community benefited

27•  Elections

a.   All the details relating to the Elections in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and the General Election in 2005. The council confirmed we believe that 47 marked registers from theGeneral Election in 2005 are missing, which covered all the wards in the Woking Parliamentary constituency.

b.   Please give us a copy of the chain of people involved at all the election polling stations in?

c.   The cost of the Investigation for the 2004, 205, 2006 and 2007 of the allegations of treating?

d.   The cost of the meeting and The Memorandum of Understanding

28•  Medical Opinions - Would you please provide the following information regarding the doctor used by Woking Borough Council to form medical opinions:-

a.   Specific field of expertise which the Doctor is expert on the 5-10 housing need cases per week estimated with in 7 years of medical opinions formed by the Council's by WBC?

b.   How many physical medical examinations of formed an opinion on?

29•  Complaints against Woking Borough Council

a.   Updated number of complaints from the public that have been passed to the Legal Department for advice?

b.   What is the policy of WBC when a complaint is received?

c.   How many complaints have the Council received?

d.   How much complaints have the Council solved?

e.   How much does the Council spend on seeking advice on all general complaints and

f.   How many hours does the Legal Department spend on dealing with complaints?

g.   Over the last 5 years how many staff at Woking Borough Council has been disciplined following a complaint?

h.   What is the policy of Woking Borough Council regarding a complaint of racism?

i.   When dealing with complaints of racism or other issues why does WBC gather information from other boroughs against the complainant?

j.   Updated number of complaints made against WBC have been sent to the Ombudsman and

k.   how many have the Council been found accountable for any wrongdoing?

l.   How many complaints have the Ombudsman made a recommendation for WBC to take action on?

m.   How much does the Council spend on each individual complaint to find out the background of the complainant?

n.   Do the Council then use these details regarding a complainant's background as part of their defence when the matter is referred to the Ombudsman?

30•  Information that has been withheld from individuals

a•  Full Details of costs?

b•  Number of complaints by the community to Information Commission?

c•  How many legal claims have been taken against the Council?

d•  The cost to the Council of defending any court action?

e•  Can you confirm if any documents been withheld by Woking Borough Council from individuals or the general public

The requests have been directly made to you and I have not received all the documentation and a copy of all the documents from 2002