The Factual and the Fuzzy
An appeal to Exeter City Council to provide documentary evidence in support of the Council’s right of reply comments regarding the Summerway Video broadcast by Channel Five on 21st November 2007, made under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act, was effectively denied. As this seemed inappropriate, an amplified request for information was submitted by email on 5th December. (Shown below)
Consider ECC’s statement, “The club refused to discuss these terms”, which Jim and the Club regards as totally false. No documentary evidence supporting this statement is apparent, for which there might be three explanations. If there are others which have been overlooked, please email Jim.
(a) Documentary evidence exists, but Jim was unable to find it, either in the Club’s records or in documents previously released under the Freedom of Information Act by ECC.
(b) Documentary evidence exists, located in ECC’s records, but remains undisclosed to Jim and the Club.
(c) Documentary evidence does NOT exist, because there is no truth in the statement, as asserted by Jim and the Club.
If (a) is correct, this needs to be pointed out to Jim with detailed reference to the evidence. If (b) is correct, then ECC should release the information as has been requested. If (c) is correct, an extremely serious situation exists within the City Council, which must be suitably addressed.
Dear Lorraine Betts,
Request for Information Repeated with Further Details
Thank you for your email dated 4th December 2007. I am not surprised to receive a negative response, but am surprised at the reason given. Insofar as my request in May 2007 was specific, it concerned “Officers' reports and other documents relating to meetings”, whereas the current request relates to the documentary evidence for three specific ECC comments on the website of a National Television channel. With all due respect, this doesn’t strike me as “identical or substantially similar”. Even if it were, isn’t six months a “reasonable interval”?
The reason I was expecting little in the way of documents was not for any reason relating to the Freedom of Information Act, but because I know the first and second assertions to be totally untrue.
I have requested the specific, and the response I have received is nebulous. This will not do. I am fast coming to the conclusion that this is Exeter City Council’s modus operandi. I put specific points and queries to ECC’s Leisure Manager, and he refuses to deal with me. Exeter’s Member of Parliament puts my specific points and queries to ECC’s Director of Community and Environment, and she declines to comment. Now I request specific documentary evidence under the Freedom of Information Act, and do not receive it. Instead, I am told, “This information, along with the club's own papers, make up the whole picture from which Alan Caig's comments were derived”, which simply says to me that Alan has formed false impressions, of which he has wrongly accused the Club on National Television.
I am confident that the first assertion is a direct lie, and I can find no specific evidence for it in the papers you have previously released, nor in our own records. The Club and I have never refused to discuss terms. ECC has clear documentary evidence that Club and Council have been in discussion earlier, by both meeting and email. Also, I call your attention to the email dated 23rd July 2007 from Grant Boorer, writing on behalf of the Summerway Committee, to Ian Cowe regarding timing for the next meeting to discuss terms. As far as I am aware, the Leisure Manager never responded. If he did, he did not copy his reply to the Committee, or I would have known of it. Perhaps the reply was the Council’s demolition of the Clubhouse on 6th August. A general impression is no substitute for proof. I must again request specific documentary evidence for Alan’s accusation. If this doesn’t exist, please say so.
Similarly, the second assertion is also false, completely misrepresenting the Club’s position. As far as I am aware, we have never stated “that nothing other than the original terms was satisfactory”, as we don’t regard the original terms as satisfactory in the light of the Club’s subsequent history. If the Club or I have given this impression, please call our attention to the specific documentary evidence. Also, we can find nothing to justify the “constantly restating” to which Alan refers. Again, if this documentary evidence does not exist, please say so.
There is some truth in the third assertion, but I would appreciate specific reference to documentary evidence in order to determine what constitutes a “warning”, and how many instances are required to justify the word “several”.
I would point out that the Club and I do not have access to “all of the information the Service holds in relation to the Summerway Club” from 12th June onwards, but I am not requesting such at this point of time.
It seems to me that Exeter City Council started off on the wrong foot by making plans for the old school playing field and the Club premises without adequate assessment or consultation with the Club. In addition, the Council does not appear to appreciate the needs of the locality, area and community, nor the proven and possible consequences of its actions. In my view, the Council has demonstrated a sad lack of judgement, rigour and professionalism, which disappoints me as a citizen of this lovely City.
Please oblige me regarding my request for specific information, rather than prevaricate further.
Yours sincerely,
Jim Harle.
Other Relevant Earlier and Subsequent Freedom of Information Act Emails
This email has been posted on the website because it draws attention to big differences
between the Club and the Council. The Club has been seeking much broader terms for
discussion, and wishes to include family, community and City considerations. ECC,
on the other hand, wishes to severely limit the terms for renegotiation, and to impose
non-