Somerset Direct Reference: 2823159
Internal Reference: 140475
Date request received: 16/04/2014
Date response due: 19/05/2014
Date of response: 01/05/2014
Tony Morris
Dear Mr Morris,
I am writing in respect of your recent request for information from Somerset County Council, which has been dealt with under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
I can confirm that we do hold the information that you are seeking, however we will not be able to provide it with you at this stage.
Our response is detailed in bold format underneath your request as follows.
Your request
On this public webpage:
it clearly states the results of the most recent staff survey are in the possession of the authority, and slt have reviewed them.
I would like a full copy of the results of the survey and receipt of the briefing slt received in respect of it (unless it is the same document). Additionally, I would like a copy of the minutes from the slt meeting in question.
Our reply
We can confirm that we hold the information that you are seeking. However, we judge the information to be exempt under the Freedom of Information Act and we will not be providing it to you.
Section 22, Information intended for future publication states that
(1)Information is exempt information if—
(a)the information is held by the public authority with a view to its publication, by the authority or any other person, at some future date (whether determined or not),
(b)the information was already held with a view to such publication at the time when the request for information was made, and
(c)it is reasonable in all the circumstances that the information should be withheld from disclosure until the date referred to in paragraph (a).
(2)The duty to confirm or deny does not arise if, or to the extent that, compliance with section 1(1)(a) would involve the disclosure of any information (whether or not already recorded) which falls within subsection (1).
Section 22 is a qualified exemption, and accordingly we had to consider whether the public interest is in withholding the information or in disclosing it. The arguments for and against disclosure are detailed below.
Arguments for disclosure
There may be a public interest in knowing how well the council does from a staff perspective.
Arguments against disclosure
At this stage the information is being used in a series of consultation with staff. It would therefore be unreasonable to release this information into the public domain before the results shared with staff members. The information will however be available following the staff consultation.
Decision
Having considered the public interest, Somerset County Council’s decision is therefore to withhold the information.
If you feel your request has not been answered in sufficient detail or if you wish to clarify the information given, please contact me and I will be happy to address the issues you raise.
If you are not satisfied with the way in which your request has been dealt with, or the information you have received, you can ask for an internal review of our decision.
Please send your request to:
Peter Grogan, Information Governance Team, Client Services
Somerset County Council, County Hall, Taunton, Somerset, TA1 4DY or email
Please quote the reference number 2823159 in any future communications.
An internal review will then be carried out and we will write to you with the results of our investigation. If you are not content with the outcome of our review, you may then apply directly to the Information Commissioner’s Office ( for an appeal. The Information commissioner can be contacted at: Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF
Tel: 0303 123 1113
Finally, please be aware that your response will appear, without your contact details, on the Council’s website at:
Yours sincerely,
Information Request Administrator
Communications Team
Tel: 01823 355584,
Email:
Somerset County Council, Post Point: PP B3E 2, County Hall, Taunton, TA1 4DY
URL:
FOI Disclosure Log URL: