18th October 2012
I made the following FoI request on 20th June 2011, approximately two years ago. It went through the usual, tortuous procedure that’s become standard practice when dealing with the information governance team ensconced at Wirral Council. They have, shall we say, a particular “mode” of working that’s quite unique. They don’t do things quickly ~ and their repeated and flagrant disregard for service to the public indicates they’re not at all vexed or troubled by committing serial breaches of statutory law.
They also happen to be my local council and, as far as Freedom of Information is concerned, the people of Wirral are desperately unlucky in the lottery of life to be living within this jurisdiction. It really is that bad.
Here’s the request:
http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/senior_officers_requirement_to_d
They’ve made an absolute dog’s breakfast of it and here’s a link to the ICO Decision notice (reproduced below), received yesterday:
View PDF of Decision Notice FS50416628
So, all in all, they made a mess, and now have 35 calendar days i.e. until 3rd September to respond…
UPDATE 6th September 2012
True to form… time’s up and I’ve heard nothing from either Wirral Council or the ICO on this. Here’s an email sent on 4th September to hurry them up:
From: Paul C
Sent: 04 September 2012 21:15
To: ‘casework@ico.gsi.gov.uk’
Subject: Freedom of information request re: Wirral Council Register of Senior Officers’ interests FS50416628
FAO [Senior Case Officer’s name redacted]
Dear [Senior Case Officer’s name redacted],
Further to the Decision Notice you issued to Wirral Council dated 13th August 2012, 35 calendar days have now expired, but I have not received any contact from Wirral Council specifying to me whether it holds further information which falls within the scope of my request as required by Section 1(1)(a) of the Act.
Neither have I received any further information contingent upon the Council’s consideration of any further information it holds for disclosure to me, the complainant, as required by section 1(1)(b) of the Act.
Neither have I had any indication that the Council has considered any information which it does hold for disclosure bearing in mind the First Tier Tribunal’s decision in the case of Greenwood v ICO (EA/2011/0131 & 0137).
I therefore request that you take this case to the next stage and also update me with the details of any action that you are taking,
Best regards,
Paul Cardin
→
UPDATE 18th September 2012
15 months on, since I first lodged this FoI request, here’s the latest email from the Information Commissioner’s Office. Another week of grace has been granted to the council:
18th September 2012
Case Reference Number FS50416628
Dear Mr Cardin
Thank you for your email informing us that Wirral Council has not yet complied with decision notice FS50416628. I will write to the council and ask it explain why it has not complied within the specified time limit. I will also ask it to ensure that it complies with the notice within the next week.
Please write to me if you have not received a response by the end of next week.
Yours sincerely
[name redacted]
Senior Case Officer
19th September 2012
Wirral Council officers slammed over freebies
The above is a headline from today’s Liverpool Echo. The article refers to “senior officers from Wirral accepting thousands of pounds of freebies without properly declaring them”.
Given the previous abuses of power and the abuse of disabled and vulnerable people going right back to 1997, is it any wonder at all that some officers appear to have been taking full advantage of the serial dysfunction and shocking lack of probity?
Here is an email, sent this morning, to the senior case officer dealing with my Freedom of Information request regarding a “Register of Senior Officers’ Interests”:
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10:12 (5 minutes ago)
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Dear [Officer’s name redacted],
In direct relation to case FS50416628, “Register of Senior Officers’ Interests”, please read the following article from today’s Liverpool Echo:
It appears that Wirral Counci’s lax systems around probity, backed up by weak information management and in a climate of abysmal performance around Freedom of Information have permitted senior officers to indulge in what look like abusive practices.
I would now like you to take note of this and amend your recent decision notice to include reference to this very unfortunate situation,
best regards,
Paul Cardin
19th September 2012
Foi Request to Audit Commission
Placed today: http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/report_into_wirral_council_offic/new
Foi Request to Wirral Council
Placed today: http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/senior_officer_freebies
A public-spirited person has forwarded me a link to the Auditor’s report on Wirral Council’s website. Wirral are not the sort of organisation who will update the local public via their website when controversial matters are discussed; but luckily we have enough democratically engaged people who are prepared to do the work that becomes necessary in order to uncover and throw a spotlight onto the finer details:
27th September 2012
Case Reference Number FS50416628
Dear Mr Cardin
Thank you for your e-mails regarding our recent decision notice on your request for senior officers declarations of interests.
I note your comments and the article and report which you have provided to us. Unfortunately however we are not able to amend decision notices once they have been issued.
I am sorry we have not been able to help you further in this instance.
Yours sincerely
[Name redacted]
Senior Case Officer.
→
11th October 2012
At long last, after 16 months, Wirral Council has finally and reluctantly provided information listing the declared interests of 26 x Senior Officers. These are officers earning above £58,200 (a stipulation made at the Information Tribunal in the case of Greenwood v ICO (EA/2011/0131 & 0137). I haven’t had time yet to check whether the disclosure is complete, meets the requirements of the Decision Notice, and all the relevant officers have been included – but have asked the Council to confirm that it does. I’ll paste the info up here if and when any changes or additions are made. Please watch out for these changes. I’ve emailed the ICO to check whether they are satisfied with the information and asked whether it meets the requirements of the decision notice they issued.
But for now, here they are…… Wirral Council’s Senior Officers’ Interests:
Name Mrs Sue Talbot
Work title / Role Strategic Service Manager Early Years & Primary Education
Section Learning and Achievement Branch
Department Children & Young People’s Department
Name and Address of additional business or other employment NONE
Nature of additional business or other employment NONE
Name and Address of Company, Firm or other body or individual
of whom consultancy is undertaken NONE
Nature of the consultancy with an indication of frequency or
volume of such work NONE
Name and address and nature of business of each company, Firm
or other body of which you are a Director, with an indication of
whether it is in a paid or unpaid capacity NONE
Name and address and nature of business of each company in
which you hold shares NONE
Address or description of land or property in which you have
an interest, the nature of the interest and the use to which the
land is put NONE
Name and address of organisations to whom you are engaged on a
retainer basis and nature of the retainer NONE
List any organisations with which you have membership or
association, including clubs and societies NONE
List any voluntary bodies of which you have membership or association
West Kirby Grammar School Parents’ Association (secretary)
Please give any further information you may wish to record
about your business or financial interest. NONE
Name Stuart Bellerby
Work title / Role Strategic Service Manager (Secondary Education)
Section Learning and Achievement
Department CYPD
Name and Address of additional business or other employment NONE
Nature of additional business or other employment NONE
Name and Address of Company, Firm or other body or individual
of whom consultancy is undertaken NONE
Nature of the consultancy with an indication of frequency or
volume of such work NONE
Name and address and nature of business of each company, Firm
or other body of which you are a Director, with an indication of
whether it is in a paid or unpaid capacity NONE
Name and address and nature of business of each company in
which you hold shares NONE
Address or description of land or property in which you have
an interest, the nature of the interest and the use to which the
land is put NONE
Name and address of organisations to whom you are engaged on a
retainer basis and nature of the retainer NONE
List any organisations with which you have membership or
association, including clubs and societies National Union of Teachers
List any voluntary bodies of which you have membership or
association I am a governor at Birkdale Primary School in Sefton
Please give any further information you may wish to record
about your business or financial interests. The Council considers that this information is exempt from disclosure under Section 40(2) of the FOIA as it contains personal data. The council considers that it would be unfair on the individual concerned to disclose this personal data and therefore would be in breach of the 1st principle of the DPA 1998.
Name Andrew Roberts
Work title / Role Interim Head of Branch – Planning and Resources
Section Planning and Resources
Department Children and Young People
Name and Address of additional business or other employment None
Nature of additional business or other employment None
Name and Address of Company, Firm or other body or individual
of whom consultancy is undertaken None
Nature of the consultancy with an indication of frequency or
volume of such work None
Name and address and nature of business of each company, Firm
or other body of which you are a Director, with an indication of
whether it is in a paid or unpaid capacity None
Name and address and nature of business of each company in
which you hold shares None
Address or description of land or property in which you have
an interest, the nature of the interest and the use to which the
land is put – Home
Name and address of organisations to whom you are engaged on a
retainer basis and nature of the retainer None
List any organisations with which you have membership or
association, including clubs and societies Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy
List any voluntary bodies of which you have membership or
association None
Please give any further information you may wish to record
about your business or financial interests n/a
Name Tracey Coffey
Work title / Role Strategic Service Manager
Section Social Care
Department Children and Young Peoples Department
Name and Address of additional business or other employment NONE
Nature of additional business or other employment NONE
Name and Address of Company, Firm or other body or individual
of whom consultancy is undertaken NONE
Nature of the consultancy with an indication of frequency or
volume of such work NONE
Name and address and nature of business of each company, Firm
or other body of which you are a Director, with an indication of
whether it is in a paid or unpaid capacity NONE
Name and address and nature of business of each company in
which you hold shares NONE
Address or description of land or property in which you have
an interest, the nature of the interest and the use to which the
land is put NONE
Name and address of organisations to whom you are engaged on a
retainer basis and nature of the retainer NONE
List any organisations with which you have membership or
association, including clubs and societies Health Care Professionals Council. Unison
List any voluntary bodies of which you have membership or
association NONE
Please give any further information you may wish to record
about your business or financial interests NONE
Name Julia Hassall
Work title / Role Acting Director of Children’s Services
Section
Department Children & Young People’s Department
Name and Address of additional business or other employment none
Nature of additional business or other employment none
Name and Address of Company, Firm or other body or individual
of whom consultancy is undertaken none
Nature of the consultancy with an indication of frequency or
volume of such work none
Name and address and nature of business of each company, Firm
or other body of which you are a Director, with an indication of
whether it is in a paid or unpaid capacity none
Name and address and nature of business of each company in
which you hold shares none
Address or description of land or property in which you have
an interest, the nature of the interest and the use to which the
land is put none
Name and address of organisations to whom you are engaged on a
retainer basis and nature of the retainer none
List any organisations with which you have membership or
association, including clubs and societies – Thornton Hall Health Club, Wirral
List any voluntary bodies of which you have membership or
association – none
Please give any further information you may wish to record
about your business or financial interests
I provide coaching to a Local Authority Assistant Director in a North West Authority – I am committed to providing 8 sessions and the Council has received £2,000 from the Children’s Improvement Board for this work. I receive no personal remuneration.
I am a member of The College of Social Work Transitional Professional Assembly.
Name Simon Garner
Work title / Role Strategic Service Manager, currently Acting Head of Branch
Section Children’s Social care
Department Children and Young People’s department
Name and Address of additional business or other employment NONE
Nature of additional business or other employment N/A
Name and Address of Company, Firm or other body or individual
of whom consultancy is undertaken N/a
Nature of the consultancy with an indication of frequency or
volume of such work N/A
Name and address and nature of business of each company, Firm
or other body of which you are a Director, with an indication of
whether it is in a paid or unpaid capacity N/A
Name and address and nature of business of each company in
which you hold shares N/a
Address or description of land or property in which you have
an interest, the nature of the interest and the use to which the
land is put N/A
Name and address of organisations to whom you are engaged on a
retainer basis and nature of the retainer N/A
List any organisations with which you have membership or
association, including clubs and societies N/a
List any voluntary bodies of which you have membership or
association N/A
Please give any further information you may wish to record
about your business or financial interests N/A
Steve Pimblett
Work title / Role Strategic Service Manager
Section IYSS Social Care Branch [Integrated Youth Support Services]
Department CYPD [Children & Young People’s Department]
Name and Address of additional business or other employment NONE
Nature of additional business or other employment N/A
Name and Address of Company, Firm or other body or individual
of whom consultancy is undertaken N/a
Nature of the consultancy with an indication of frequency or
volume of such work N/A
Name and address and nature of business of each company, Firm
or other body of which you are a Director, with an indication of
whether it is in a paid or unpaid capacity N/A
Name and address and nature of business of each company in
which you hold shares N/a
Address or description of land or property in which you have
an interest, the nature of the interest and the use to which the
land is put N/A
Name and address of organisations to whom you are engaged on a
retainer basis and nature of the retainer N/A
List any organisations with which you have membership or
association, including clubs and societies N/a
List any voluntary bodies of which you have membership or
association N/A
Please give any further information you may wish to record
about your business or financial interest.
Name Fiona Johnstone
Work title / Role Director of Policy, Performance and Public Health
Section PPPH
Department PPPH
Name and Address of additional business or other employment NHS WIRRAL
Nature of additional business or other employment NHS Wirral
Name and Address of Company, Firm or other body or individual
of whom consultancy is undertaken NONE
Nature of the consultancy with an indication of frequency or
volume of such work NONE
Name and address and nature of business of each company, Firm
or other body of which you are a Director, with an indication of
whether it is in a paid or unpaid capacity NONE
name and address and nature of business of each company in
which you hold shares NONE
Address or description of land or property in which you have
an interest, the nature of the interest and the use to which the
land is put none other than permanent residence [no declaration]
Name and address of organisations to whom you are engaged on a
retainer basis and nature of the retainer none
List any organisations with which you have membership or
association, including clubs and societies FPH [Faculty of Public Health] ADsPH [Association of Directors of Public Health]
List any voluntary bodies of which you have membership or
association NONE
Please give any further information you may wish to record
about your business or financial interests NONE
Graham Hodkinson
Director of Adult Social Services DASS
Name and Address of additional business or other employment None
Nature of additional business or other employment None
Name and Address of Company, Firm or other body or individual
of whom consultancy is undertaken None
Nature of the consultancy with an indication of frequency or
volume of such work None
Name and address and nature of business of each company, Firm
or other body of which you are a Director, with an indication of
whether it is in a paid or unpaid capacity None
Name and address and nature of business of each company in
which you hold shares None
Address or description of land or property in which you have
an interest, the nature of the interest and the use to which the
land is put Home Address only
Name and address of organisations to whom you are engaged on a
retainer basis and nature of the retainer None
List any organisations with which you have membership or
association, including clubs and societies Association of Directors of Adult Social Services
List any voluntary bodies of which you have membership or
association None
Please give any further information you may wish to record
about your business or financial interests Nil
Ian Brand
Head of Asset Management
Asset Management
Law, HR & Asset Management
Name and Address of additional business or other employment NONE
Nature of additional business or other employment N/A
Name and Address of Company, Firm or other body or individual
of whom consultancy is undertaken N/a
Nature of the consultancy with an indication of frequency or
volume of such work N/A
Name and address and nature of business of each company, Firm
or other body of which you are a Director, with an indication of
whether it is in a paid or unpaid capacity N/A
Name and address and nature of business of each company in
which you hold shares N/a
Address or description of land or property in which you have
an interest, the nature of the interest and the use to which the
land is put N/A
Name and address of organisations to whom you are engaged on a
retainer basis and nature of the retainer N/A
List any organisations with which you have membership or
association, including clubs and societies Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors; ACES [local government surveyors’ association]; National Trust; British Canoe Union
List any voluntary bodies of which you have membership or
association N/A
Please give any further information you may wish to record
about your business or financial interest N/A
Name Chris McCarthy
Work title / Role Interim Director of TS [Technical Services]
Department TS [Technical Services]
Name and Address of additional business or other employment NONE
Nature of additional business or other employment N/A
Name and Address of Company, Firm or other body or individual
of whom consultancy is undertaken N/a
Nature of the consultancy with an indication of frequency or
volume of such work N/A
Name and address and nature of business of each company, Firm
or other body of which you are a Director, with an indication of
whether it is in a paid or unpaid capacity N/A
Name and address and nature of business of each company in
which you hold shares N/a
Address or description of land or property in which you have
an interest, the nature of the interest and the use to which the
land is put N/A
Name and address of organisations to whom you are engaged on a
retainer basis and nature of the retainer N/A
List any organisations with which you have membership or
association, including clubs and societies N/a
List any voluntary bodies of which you have membership or
association N/A
Please give any further information you may wish to record
about your business or financial interests N/A
Name Mark Smith
Work title / Role Head of Service, Streetscene & Waste
Section Streetscene & Waste
Department TS [Technical Services]
Name and Address of additional business or other employment NONE
Nature of additional business or other employment N/A
Name and Address of Company, Firm or other body or individual
of whom consultancy is undertaken N/a
Nature of the consultancy with an indication of frequency or
volume of such work N/A
Name and address and nature of business of each company, Firm
or other body of which you are a Director, with an indication of
whether it is in a paid or unpaid capacity N/A
Name and address and nature of business of each company in
which you hold shares N/a
Address or description of land or property in which you have
an interest, the nature of the interest and the use to which the
land is put N/A
Name and address of organisations to whom you are engaged on a
retainer basis and nature of the retainer N/A
List any organisations with which you have membership or
association, including clubs and societies N/a
List any voluntary bodies of which you have membership or
association N/A
Please give any further information you may wish to record
about your business or financial interests N/A
Jim Lester
Work title / Role Head of Cultural Services
Section Cultural Services
Department TS [Technical Services]
Name and Address of additional business or other employment NONE
Nature of additional business or other employment N/A
Name and Address of Company, Firm or other body or individual
of whom consultancy is undertaken N/a
Nature of the consultancy with an indication of frequency or
volume of such work N/A
Name and address and nature of business of each company, Firm
or other body of which you are a Director, with an indication of
whether it is in a paid or unpaid capacity N/A
Name and address and nature of business of each company in
which you hold shares N/a
Address or description of land or property in which you have
an interest, the nature of the interest and the use to which the
land is put N/A
Name and address of organisations to whom you are engaged on a
retainer basis and nature of the retainer N/A
List any organisations with which you have membership or
association, including clubs and societies N/a
List any voluntary bodies of which you have membership or
association N/A
Please give any further information you may wish to record
about your business or financial interests N/A
Name Rob Clifford
Work title / Role SERVICE MANAGER
Section Highway maintenance division
Department TS [Technical Services]
Name and Address of additional business or other employment NONE
Nature of additional business or other employment N/A
Name and Address of Company, Firm or other body or individual
of whom consultancy is undertaken N/a
Nature of the consultancy with an indication of frequency or
volume of such work N/A
Name and address and nature of business of each company, Firm
or other body of which you are a Director, with an indication of
whether it is in a paid or unpaid capacity N/A
Name and address and nature of business of each company in
which you hold shares N/a
Address or description of land or property in which you have
an interest, the nature of the interest and the use to which the
land is put N/A
Name and address of organisations to whom you are engaged on a
retainer basis and nature of the retainer N/A
List any organisations with which you have membership or
association, including clubs and societies N/a
List any voluntary bodies of which you have membership or
association N/A
Please give any further information you may wish to record
about your business or financial interest [No declaration given]
Name Mary Bagley
Work title / Role Service Manager
Section Cultural Services – Parks & Countryside – Support
Department TS [Technical Services]
Name and Address of additional business or other employment NONE
Nature of additional business or other employment N/A
Name and Address of Company, Firm or other body or individual
of whom consultancy is undertaken N/a
Nature of the consultancy with an indication of frequency or
volume of such work N/A
Name and address and nature of business of each company, Firm
or other body of which you are a Director, with an indication of
whether it is in a paid or unpaid capacity N/A
Name and address and nature of business of each company in
which you hold shares N/a
Address or description of land or property in which you have
an interest, the nature of the interest and the use to which the
land is put N/A
Name and address of organisations to whom you are engaged on a
retainer basis and nature of the retainer N/A
List any organisations with which you have membership or
association, including clubs and societies N/a
List any voluntary bodies of which you have membership or
association N/A
Please give any further information you may wish to record
about your business or financial interests N/A
Name Caroline McKenna
Work title / Head of Safeguarding-Children and Adults
Department CYPD [Children & Young People’s Department]
Name and Address of additional business or other employment NONE
Nature of additional business or other employment N/A
Name and Address of Company, Firm or other body or individual
of whom consultancy is undertaken N/a
Nature of the consultancy with an indication of frequency or
volume of such work N/A
Name and address and nature of business of each company, Firm
or other body of which you are a Director, with an indication of
whether it is in a paid or unpaid capacity N/A
Name and address and nature of business of each company in
which you hold shares N/a
Address or description of land or property in which you have
an interest, the nature of the interest and the use to which the
land is put N/A
Name and address of organisations to whom you are engaged on a
retainer basis and nature of the retainer N/A
List any organisations with which you have membership or
association, including clubs and societies N/a
List any voluntary bodies of which you have membership or
association N/A
Please give any further information you may wish to record
about your business or financial interests N/A
Name David Armstrong
Work title / Role Deputy Director CYPD / Acting Deputy Chief Executive
Name and Address of additional business or other employment Nil
Nature of additional business or other employment Nil
Name and Address of Company, Firm or other body or individual
of whom consultancy is undertaken None
Nature of the consultancy with an indication of frequency or
volume of such work None
Name and address and nature of business of each company, Firm
other body of which you are a Director, with an indication of
whether it is in a paid or unpaid capacity None
Name and address and nature of business of each company in
which you hold shares None
Address or description of land or property in which you have
an interest, the nature of the interest and the use to which the
land is put Nil other than Home Address
Name and address of organisations to whom you are engaged on a
retainer basis and nature of the retainer None
List any organisations with which you have membership or
association, including clubs and societies – West Highland Line Friends Group – Workington Heritage Society
List any voluntary bodies of which you have membership or
association Nil
Please give any further information you may wish to record
about your business or financial interests Nil
Name Chris Beyga
Work title Head of Personal Support
Section Adult Social Care
Department DASS [Department of Adult Social Services]
Name and Address of additional business or other employment NONE
Nature of additional business or other employment N/A
Name and Address of Company, Firm or other body or individual
of whom consultancy is undertaken N/a
Nature of the consultancy with an indication of frequency or
volume of such work N/A
Name and address and nature of business of each company, Firm
or other body of which you are a Director, with an indication of
whether it is in a paid or unpaid capacity N/A
Name and address and nature of business of each company in
which you hold shares N/a
Address or description of land or property in which you have
an interest, the nature of the interest and the use to which the
land is put N/A
Name and address of organisations to whom you are engaged on a
retainer basis and nature of the retainer N/A
List any organisations with which you have membership or
association, including clubs and societies N/a
List any voluntary bodies of which you have membership or
association N/A
Please give any further information you may wish to record
about your business or financial interests N/A
Name : Graham Burgess
Work title / Chief Executive
Name and Address of additional business or other employment NONE
Nature of additional business or other employment N/A
Name and Address of Company, Firm or other body or individual
of whom consultancy is undertaken N/a
Nature of the consultancy with an indication of frequency or
volume of such work N/A
Name and address and nature of business of each company, Firm
or other body of which you are a Director, with an indication of
whether it is in a paid or unpaid capacity N/A
Name and address and nature of business of each company in
which you hold shares N/a
Address or description of land or property in which you have
an interest, the nature of the interest and the use to which the
land is put N/A
Name and address of organisations to whom you are engaged on a
retainer basis and nature of the retainer N/A
List any organisations with which you have membership or
association, including clubs and societies N/a
List any voluntary bodies of which you have membership or
association N/A
Please give any further information you may wish to record
about your business or financial interests N/A
Name Kevin Adderley
Work title / Role Director of Regeneration, Housing and Planning
Section Strategic Development
Department rhp [Regeneration, Housing & Planning]
Name and Address of additional business or other employment NONE
Nature of additional business or other employment nil
Name and Address of Company, Firm or other body or individual
of whom consultancy is undertaken N/a
Nature of the consultancy with an indication of frequency or
volume of such work N/A
Name and address and nature of business of each company, Firm
or other body of which you are a Director, with an indication of
whether it is in a paid or unpaid capacity N/A
Name and address and nature of business of each company in
which you hold shares N/a
Address or description of land or property in which you have
an interest, the nature of the interest and the use to which the
land is put N/A
Name and address of organisations to whom you are engaged on a
retainer basis and nature of the N/A
List any organisations with which you have membership or
association, including clubs and societies N/a
List any voluntary bodies of which you have membership or
association N/A
Please give any further information you may wish to record
about your business or financial interests N/A
Malcolm Flanagan
Work title / Role Head of service Finanace [Finance]
Name and Address of additional business or other employment NONE
Nature of additional business or other employment N/A
Name and Address of Company, Firm or other body or individual
of whom consultancy is undertaken N/a
Nature of the consultancy with an indication of frequency or
volume of such work N/A
Name and address and nature of business of each company, Firm
or other body of which you are a Director, with an indication of
whether it is in a paid or unpaid capacity N/A
Name and address and nature of business of each company in
which you hold shares N/a
Address or description of land or property in which you have
an interest, the nature of the interest and the use to which the
land is put N/A
Name and address of organisations to whom you are engaged on a
retainer basis and nature of the retainer N/A
List any organisations with which you have membership or
association, including clubs and societies N/a
List any voluntary bodies of which you have membership or
association N/A
Please give any further information you may wish to record
about your business or financial interests N/A
Name Peter Timmins
Work title / Role Interim Director of Finance
Section
Department
Name and Address of additional business or other employment NONE
Nature of additional business or other employment nil
Name and Address of Company, Firm or other body or individual
of whom consultancy is undertaken N/a
Nature of the consultancy with an indication of frequency or
volume of such work N/A
Name and address and nature of business of each company, Firm
or other body of which you are a Director, with an indication of
whether it is in a paid or unpaid capacity N/A
Name and address and nature of business of each company in
which you hold shares N/a
Address or description of land or property in which you have
an interest, the nature of the interest and the use to which the
land is put N/A
Name and address of organisations to whom you are engaged on a
retainer basis and nature of the retainer N/A
List any organisations with which you have membership or
association, including clubs and societies N/a
List any voluntary bodies of which you have membership or
association N/A
Please give any further information you may wish to record
about your business or financial interests N/A
Name Peter Wallach
Work title / Role Head of Merseyside Pension Fund
Section
Department Finance
Name and Address of additional business or other employment NONE
Nature of additional business or other employment nil
Name and Address of Company, Firm or other body or individual
of whom consultancy is undertaken N/a
Nature of the consultancy with an indication of frequency or
volume of such work N/A
Name and address and nature of business of each company, Firm
or other body of which you are a Director, with an indication of
whether it is in a paid or unpaid capacity N/A
Name and address and nature of business of each company in
which you hold shares N/a
Address or description of land or property in which you have
an interest, the nature of the interest and the use to which the
land is put N/A
Name and address of organisations to whom you are engaged on a
retainer basis and nature of the retainer N/A
List any organisations with which you have membership or
association, including clubs and societies N/a
List any voluntary bodies of which you have membership or
association N/A
Please give any further information you may wish to record
about your business or financial interests N/A
Name Geoff Paterson
Work title / Role Head of Merseyside Pension Fund
Section Wirral IT Services Infrastructure Section
Department Finance
Name and Address of additional business or other employment NONE
Nature of additional business or other employment nil
Name and Address of Company, Firm or other body or individual
of whom consultancy is undertaken N/a
Nature of the consultancy with an indication of frequency or
volume of such work N/A
Name and address and nature of business of each company, Firm
or other body of which you are a Director, with an indication of
whether it is in a paid or unpaid capacity N/A
Name and address and nature of business of each company in
which you hold shares N/a
Address or description of land or property in which you have
an interest, the nature of the interest and the use to which the
land is put N/A
Name and address of organisations to whom you are engaged on a
retainer basis and nature of the retainer N/A
List any organisations with which you have membership or
association, including clubs and societies N/a
List any voluntary bodies of which you have membership or
association N/A
Please give any further information you may wish to record
about your business or financial interests N/A
Name Emma Degg
Work title / Role Head of Communications and Community Engagement
Department Corporate Planning Engagement and Communication
Name and Address of additional business or other employment NONE
Nature of additional business or other employment nil
Name and Address of Company, Firm or other body or individual
of whom consultancy is undertaken N/a
Nature of the consultancy with an indication of frequency or
volume of such work N/A
Name and address and nature of business of each company, Firm
or other body of which you are a Director, with an indication of
whether it is in a paid or unpaid capacity N/A
Name and address and nature of business of each company in
which you hold shares N/a
Address or description of land or property in which you have
an interest, the nature of the interest and the use to which the
land is put N/A
Name and address of organisations to whom you are engaged on a
retainer basis and nature of the retainer N/A
List any organisations with which you have membership or
association, including clubs and societies N/a
List any voluntary bodies of which you have membership or
association N/A
Please give any further information you may wish to record
about your business or financial interests [no declaration]
Name Tom Sault
Work title / Role Head of Financial Services
Department Finance
Name and Address of additional business or other employment NONE
Nature of additional business or other employment nil
Name and Address of Company, Firm or other body or individual
of whom consultancy is undertaken N/a
Nature of the consultancy with an indication of frequency or
volume of such work N/A
Name and address and nature of business of each company, Firm
or other body of which you are a Director, with an indication of
whether it is in a paid or unpaid capacity N/A
Name and address and nature of business of each company in
which you hold shares N/a
Address or description of land or property in which you have
an interest, the nature of the interest and the use to which the
land is put N/A
Name and address of organisations to whom you are engaged on a
retainer basis and nature of the retainer N/A
List any organisations with which you have membership or
association, including clubs and societies N/a
List any voluntary bodies of which you have membership or
association N/A
Please give any further information you may wish to record
about your business or financial interests The Council considers that this information is exempt from disclosure under Section 40(2) of the FOIA as it contains personal data. The council considers that it would be unfair on the individual concerned to disclose this personal data and therefore would be in breach of the 1st principle of the DPA 1998
→ (note: any typos / inconsistencies in the above information are the work of salaried staff, still retained at the Council)
14th October 2012
Today, I sent the following email to Jane Corrin, Information Governance Manager at Wirral Council:
Dear Corrin, Jane,
You have provided information for 26 officers.
Before I consider this information more fully, please confirm that
ALL Wirral (Chief and Senior) officers working for and / or
employed by the council and on a pay level above £58,200, whether
suspended or not, are included in the information you have
supplied, as stipulated by:
http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct…
As this request relates directly to the original one, and will
assist with understanding the content, please do not treat it as a
new request,
Yours sincerely,
Paul Cardin
….in other words, I suspected the information provided was incomplete, and possibly not fitting the requirements of the Information Tribunal’s case in the John Greenwood versus Bolton Council case – which gave the public greater access in this area.
→
17th October 2012
I also emailed the ICO to let them know the situation. Emailed response in from Senior Case Officer at the Information Commissioner’s Office:
Case Reference Number FS50416628
Dear Mr Cardin,
Thank you for your email. As I understand it, your view is that the council has not complied with the requirements of the decision notice and has not provided you with all of the information which it holds which should have been disclosed to you.
You are not able to appeal this issue to the first-tier tribunal as it is the Commissioner’s role to consider and enforce against non-compliance with a decision notice rather than the tribunals.
If you are concerned that the council has not complied with the decision notice please can you write to me providing your reasons for believing this to be the case, together with any evidence you have that that is the case. We can then investigate this to ensure that the council has fully complied with the notice.
If there is evidence that further information is held which should have been disclosed to you and the council refuses to do that then the Commissioner has the discretion to issue an enforcement notice requiring the council to disclose the information in order to ensure that it complies with the notice.
The power to take action against non-compliance with a decision notice is discretionary and although we will look into the matter, formal action may not be appropriate in all cases. You should therefore write to us providing your arguments that the council has not fully complied in order that we can ensure that any evidence or arguments are fully considered.
I hope that this is helpful to you.
Yours sincerely
[name redacted]
Senior Case Officer
→
18th October 2012
Ms Corrin tells me of a ‘discrepancy’…
Good Afternoon,
I have spoken to each department of the Council regarding your email below.
It has now become clear that some Officers returns have not been supplied to me and this is being rectified. I have asked for the details to be supplied to me as a matter of urgency. I will send the additional information to you tomorrow and apologise for this discrepancy and delay to your enquiry.
Kind Regards
Jane Corrin
Information Manager
Wirral Council
The next thing for me to do, once I think I have all the information is to run it through a quality check. Already, I can see gaps… and areas that don’t come up to scratch e.g. liberal use of the term N/A (not applicable) in place of the required, more definite “No” or “None”.
I do have better things to do, but I will encourage these public servants, working for an abusive council, to do their jobs properly.
The irony of apologising for a few days’ delay following a 16 month one is evidently lost on some of the guardians of our information.
19th October 2012
Message in from Jane Corrin. Not sure what she’s up to, but six more officers added and still lots of gaps… the message itself is laid out in columns and not readable in WhatDoTheyKnow or when I attempt to download it.
There’s enough clarity to see that suspended Wirral Director David Green has declared a “contractual conflict” of interest with an employee of COLAS:
http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/76622/response/322799/attach/html/2/coif2.doc.html …
UPDATE 24th October 2012
Further message from the Council:
Good Afternoon,
Thank you for your further email below. Details with regard Ian Coleman are below.
Ian Coleman
Director of Finance (ex employee)
A conflict of interest exists as declared by Ian Coleman, when he was Director of Finance. The Council considers that this information is exempt from disclosure under Section 40(2) of the FOIA as it contains Personal Data. The council considers that it would be unfair on the individual concerned to disclose this personal data and therefore would be in breach of the 1st principle of the DPA 1998.
You have the right under Section 17 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to ask for an internal review of the refusal to some of the information requested. Please would you direct any request for an internal review to Mr Michael Rowan, Legal and Member Services, Department of Law, HR and Asset Management, Town Hall, Brighton Street, Wallasey, CH44 8ED
You do also have the right to complain to the information Commissioner, if you are dissatisfied with the outcome of any internal review, whose office is situated at: Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire SK9 5AF
Tel: 08456 30 60 60 or 01625 54 57 45
Fax: 01625 524510 www.ico.gov.uk <http://www.ico.gov.uk/>
In response to your question, the details which have been disclosed to you do not include:-
1. Some individuals who are employed through an agency and are not directly employed by the Council.
2. School/Teaching staff.
I hope this answers your enquiry.
Kind Regards
Jane Corrin
Information Manager
Wirral Council
I’ve responded, and in accordance with the Council’s advice, have asked for an internal review – although this was originally requested many months ago, during a period when the Council were not acknowledging or responding to my messages. They don’t appear to be prepared to acknowledge that this request has already run much of its course and gone to appeal with the ICO, who issued the Decision Notice reproduced at the top of this blog post – back in August 2012.
Here’s the review request, sent on 25th October 2012:
From: Paul Cardin
25 October 2012
Dear Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council,
Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of
Information reviews.
16 months since I first lodged this request, I am writing (for the
second time) to request an internal review of Wirral Metropolitan
Borough Council’s handling of my FOI request ‘Senior Officers’ –
Requirement to Declare and Register Personal Interests’.
I have asked you twice to confirm that all the officer details
provided thus far comprise ALL public servants working for the
council (which incidentally includes those working for agencies) on
a salary scale of greater than £58,200, in accordance with the
Bolton V John Greenwood Tribunal judgment. You have failed to give
a direct YES or NO answer to this. This is the first reason I give
for requesting an internal review. Please provide a yes or no
answer.
The second reason I give is as follows.
The piecemeal nature of your response is not just broken up across
a period of time, but also inconsistent with regard to the rigour
and quality of the information. Some of the officers have correctly
made clear, detailed, line by line declarations, but the
overwhelming majority have NOT.
The third reason I give is as follows.
Stating “N/A” is loose and ill-defined and not an adequate
declaration – because it leaves room for uncertainty. The
declaration should state clearly “NO” or “NONE” or “YES” as
applicable and go on to give the necessary details, if required.
The fourth reason I give is as follows.
Filing a “Nil return” is not acceptable. Presumably, many of these
officers will have a property interest, this being the home they
live in. Some have declared this. The overwhelming majority have
not. This scattergun approach is not good enough.
The fifth reason I give is as follows.
I believe you are wrong to class these “conflicts of interest”,
held by very senior officers (including a man serving as interim
Chief Executive) as personal information. By definition, any
conflict of interest declared by a public servant requires
immediate publication in the legitimate and compelling public
interest, which is of greater importance than the desire for
“personal” privacy.
The sixth reason I give is as follows.
The mode of delivery of this information has been slapdash in the
extreme. I have not been able to download the information in a
legible condition and much of it has gone “off the screen” due to
it being served up in columns of data. For this reason, despite my
best efforts, I may have missed important details.
I am currently corresponding with the Information Commissioner’s
Office regarding the quality of your response to this request. I
believe you have fallen short of the standards required at every
stage of this request. Moreover, a Decision Notice, which is a
legal document, has already been issued containing the ICO’s
conclusions. For this reason, I’m not sure that jumping back in
time to do an “internal review” at your behest will achieve
anything. However, I will comply with your advice regardless.
A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is
available on the Internet at this address:
http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/se…
Yours faithfully,
Paul Cardin
Separate email to ICO sent today:
From: Paul C
Sent: 26 October 2012 10:24
To: ‘casework@ico.gsi.gov.uk’
Subject: FW: re your freedom of information complaint against Wirral Council. [Ref. FS50416628]
Dear [Senior Officer – name redacted],
I now have details for what the Council have described as the final missing officer. This appears to conclude the information that they are prepared to provide.
However, they haven’t included school or agency staff, an unknown number of whom will be Headteachers and consultants / managers on salaries above £58,200. Furthermore, there are several inconsistencies and failings within the information provided, as follows:
Incomplete declarations (a vicarious reference to “nil returns” – where the officers concerned, unlike their colleagues, have not actually submitted any personal details or evidence that can be checked)
- An unknown number of missing declarations. See Council reference to Agency and school staff
- Inadequate declarations. Uncertainty introduced in the minds of the public by stating “N/A” in place of “No”; “None”
- A failure by the information governance officer dealing with the request to give a positive or negative response to my question [asked twice] as to whether ALL officers working for the council had been included
- The piecemeal response, coupled with the poor methods used to supply the data, have caused omissions and problems with correctly interpreting, understanding and realising the extent of the information
- An unrealistic and unlikely number of officers appear to have no interest in any property. Only a very small number have admitted to living in a house / home and therefore holding such an interest
Further to this, I am challenging the council’s engagement of section 40(2) of the FOIA. These are senior officers, one of whom was Acting Chief Executive Officer of the council during the time the information was being supplied. This adds greater importance to the need for openness and transparency in the public interest. These are declared as “conflicts of interest” and are therefore of a compelling nature and within this background of ongoing scandal, failed probity regarding council contracts and the suspension of four senior officers, including Directors and an Acting Chief Executive, I believe the legitimate public interest is of greater importance than the need to protect what the Council classes as “personal privacy”.
The sloppy and incomplete response keys in with the very poor reaction to this request initially, which included only sparse details for 3 senior officers at the time. I cannot see much evidence of a desire to be open and accountable to the local public or to comply with your instructions on my behalf, and would appreciate it very much if you could now investigate the above issues and consider issuing an enforcement notice in order to achieve full compliance,
Best regards,
Paul Cardin
UPDATE 15th November 2012
From: Paul C
Sent: 15 November 2012 18:17
To: ‘casework@ico.gsi.gov.uk’
Subject: FW: re your freedom of information complaint against Wirral Council. [Ref. FS50416628]
Dear [Senior Officer name redacted],
Time moves on and I’d appreciate a response to the email below,
Best regards,
Paul Cardin
UPDATE 11th December 2012
From: Paul C
Sent: 11 December 2012 21:56
To: ‘casework@ico.gsi.gov.uk’
Subject: FW: re your freedom of information complaint against Wirral Council. [Ref. FS50416628]
Dear [Senior Officer name redacted],
I wrote to you back on 26th October further to the subject matter of this FoI request, but didn’t receive a response. I then sent a follow up to you on 15th November, but this also failed to elicit a response.
We are now 18 months on from the original request, and a decision notice has been issued on this as you will be fully aware. The council in my opinion have failed quite conclusively, as detailed in the email below, sent to you over 6 weeks ago.
You may have spotted that Wirral Council are not prone to timely, open and transparent engagement, and tend to breach Statutory Law on a regular basis. I would now kindly ask that you act upon the situation and issue an enforcement notice in order to achieve full compliance.
Please acknowledge receipt of this second follow up email at the earliest opportunity,
Best regards,
Paul Cardin
UPDATE 20th December 2012
Dear [Senior officer name redacted],
Please respond.
The council (assuming an internal review was called for in the first place) have now had 40 working days (the time allowed in exceptional circumstances) but haven’t responded.
http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/senior_officers_requirement_to_d
Please now acknowledge these messages and enforce the Decision Notice that was issued earlier this year. Please DO NOT allow this council to ride roughshod again over the Act and the council tax payers of Wirral. Currently, they are succeeding in making not just themselves but the ICO look rather foolish. The public interest demands some action.
Today is an important day because there is every chance that suspended director David Green – mentioned as having a conflict of interest (withheld under a section 40(2) claim to ‘personal data’) within this request – may receive a Christmas bonus in the form of a gag and a large pay off at a ‘special’ meeting:
http://democracy.wirral.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=197&MId=4259&Ver=4
Rewards for abuse of disabled people and failure are now approaching £1 million on Wirral, whilst “regulatory bodies” sit stranded on the sidelines,
Best regards and have a good Christmas,
Paul Cardin
UPDATE 21st December 2012
From: casework@ico.gsi.gov.uk
To: <paul.cardin@ntlworld.com>
Subject: re your complaint about Wirral Council's compliance with Decision Notice FS50416628 [Ref. FS50416628]
Date: Fri, Dec 21, 2012 15:42
PROTECT
21st December 2012
Case Reference Number FS50416628
Dear Mr Cardin
I am writing concerning your further complaint about Wirral Councils response to your FOI request. You have argued that the council has failed to comply with decision notice FS50416628.
The first thing to say is that the Commissioner can take action for non- compliance with a decision notice at his own discretion. The Commissioner does not act on behalf of complainants. He is an independent regulator of the Freedom of Information Act. Therefore if he notes that non-compliance with a notice has occurred it will not always be the case that he will consider that further regulatory action is necessary for that particular case. Although a complainant may disagree with the Commissioner’s decision on enforcement, enforcing against non-compliance with a decision notice is a power of the Commissioner rather than a duty.
Following on from this, the Commissioner’s enforcement action is not taken directly ‘on behalf’ of complainants. Enforcement notices are issued as a result of the Commissioner, in his role as the regulator of the Act finding that a particular authority has not complied with the requirements of the Act and he considers that his best recourse to achieve compliance is via the formal enforcement action. Alternatively he may approach an authority and resolve a compliance issue with it on an informal basis.
If formal enforcement action is taken the Commissioner publicises the fact that he has taken action against an authority. This may not always be through the issue of an enforcement notice.
The above being said, I can inform you that the Commissioner has today named Wirral Council as an authority which is to be monitored over aspects of its compliance with the Act. Further details of this are available at http://www.ico.gov.uk/news/latest_news/2012/ico-announces-latest-list-of-authorities-for-foi-monitoring-21122012.aspx.
I understand your concerns regarding Wirral Councils response to decision notice FS50416628. In summary, although your individual complaint does not warrant enforcement action being taken individually, factors such as lateness in complying with a notice have been noted, and this may be referred to as evidence should it become necessary to take further formal action at some point in the future.
Turning now to your specific concerns regarding the decision notice, I will address these in turn.
- An unknown number of missing declarations. See Council reference to Agency and school staff
The council has confirmed that it does not hold information relating to school staff. It states that this information would be maintained by the schools themselves. Schools are separate authorities for the purposes of the Act.
As regards agency staff, you asked for information relating to the registered interests of ‘senior council officersl’. Agency staff are not council employees and will therefore fall outside the scope of your request.
The Commissioner therefore considers that there are no grounds for questioning this aspect of your complaint further.
- Inadequate declarations. Uncertainty introduced in the minds of the public by stating “N/A” in place of “No”; “None”
The council has confirmed that the information it has provided to you is an accurate reflection of the recorded information which it holds. If an individual officer has made a declaration stating ‘N/A’ then this is the response which the council should provide to you under the Act. The Commissioner cannot require the council to check with individual officers what the officer meant by stating N/A on their form as the Act does not require it to do so. Although you may consider that this leaves the council in a position where its records are unclear this is not a matter which the Commissioner has the powers to investigate. This is also applicable to information where the council has confirmed ‘nil’ or ‘no return’.
The Commissioner therefore considers that there are no grounds for questioning this aspect of your complaint further.
- A failure by the information governance officer dealing with the request to give a positive or negative response to my question [asked twice] as to whether ALL officers working for the council had been included
I assume that in this question you are referring to senior officers only as the request which you made was limited to senior officers. The Council has confirmed to the Commissioner that all information which it holds which falls within the scope of your request and which the decision notice required to be disclosed has now been provided to you.
In complying with the notice the council simply needs to provide you with the forms of officers if they are held at the time that it received your request. If it does not hold forms of particular officers there is no duty on the council to obtain that information purely in response to your request.
The Commissioner therefore finds no grounds to issue an enforcement notice as the council has complied with the requirements of the decision notice in this respect.
- The piecemeal response, coupled with the poor methods used to supply the data, have caused omissions and problems with correctly interpreting, understanding and realising the extent of the information
I appreciate that this may have caused you concerns. The decision notice stipulates that a disclosure of relevant information should be made to you within 35 days. The council did not provide all of the information to you within this timescale. It has however subsequently disclosed the information it holds to you and so an enforcement notice at this point, requiring a disclosure of information which has already been provided to you would seem to serve no purpose. You already have the information which an enforcement notice would require the council to disclose to you.
We have written to the council and passed on your concern in respect of the delay however, and do appreciate that the council should have provided the information to you in a more timely manner. The fact that it delayed its response beyond the timescales required by the decision notice has been noted and could be used in enforcement action against the council if it becomes apparent that this is a regular occurrence.
- An unrealistic and unlikely number of officers appear to have no interest in any property. Only a very small number have admitted to living in a house / home and therefore holding such an interest
I understand your concerns over this however the Commissioner has no powers to require the authority to re-approach its officers and confirm that they have filled their forms in accurately. The Commissioner has questioned whether the information which was disclosed to you is an accurate reflection of the information it actually holds and it has confirmed that that is the case. Under the Act he does not have the legal powers to require the council to provide you with information which it does not already hold in recorded form. The council has not specified to the Commissioner that any information has been exempted regarding the property holdings of individual officers.
The Commissioner therefore considers that there are no grounds for questioning this aspect of your complaint further. In this respect I would add however that a home addresses would be likely to be excluded under section 40(2) of the Act in any event. There would therefore be no reason for the council to deny the existence of this information given that it would be likely to be exempt information.
Again you may question whether the council should be collecting information of this sort in order to assure itself that there conflicts of interest are known about. That is not however a question which the Commissioner has the powers to consider.
Finally, you also questioned the general application of section 40(2) to the information. I can confirm that the withheld information is personal data and that following the guidance provided in the Bolton tribunal the redactions are appropriate. The information relates to family relationships with individuals who do not work for the council. There is 1 other redaction relating to a contractual conflict of interest however I understand that the fact that this exists and the company which it relates to has already been disclosed to you.
The Commissioner has considered the withheld information and is satisfied that the council would breach the provisions of the first data protection principle if it disclosed this information. The individuals concerned are not council employees, and may have no knowledge that information about them was held by the council on conflict of interest forms. A disclosure of this personal information to the whole world due to its inclusion on a conflict of interest form would not lie within their expectations and would therefore be unfair. It would also be an unwarranted intrusion into their private lives for the purposes of schedule 2 of the first data protection principle. Section 40(2) is therefore applicable to the information.
In conclusion therefore the Commissioner considers that there are no grounds for him to take formal enforcement action against the council as a result of your complaint regarding non-compliance with this decision notice. Whilst this is the case, individual factors may be taken into account should it become necessary to take formal action against the council in the future. Again I would highlight that Wirral Council is currently on a list of authorities which is currently being monitored by the Commissioner.
I hope that this has satisfied your concerns as regards the council’s response to the decision notice.
Yours sincerely
[Senior officer name redacted]
Senior Case Officer
→
So that…. is the end of that….
OR IS IT?
Hidden in the mountains of information above is this item:
“These are senior officers, one of whom was Acting Chief Executive Officer of the council during the time the information was being supplied.”
And this…. (my emphasis)
From: Corrin, Jane
Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council
24 October 2012
Good Afternoon,
Thank you for your further email below. Details with regard Ian Coleman are below.
Ian ColemanDirector of Finance (ex employee)
A conflict of interest exists as declared by Ian Coleman, when he was Director of Finance. The Council considers that this information is exempt from disclosure under Section 40(2) of the FOIA as it contains Personal Data.
The council considers that it would be unfair on the individual concerned to disclose this personal data and therefore would be in breach of the 1st principle of the DPA 1998.
→
Whilst remarking on suspended David Green’s declared conflict of interest with COLAS (his brother used to work for them), the Senior Officer at the ICO now appears to have glossed over another one. He is happy for Acting Chief Executive Officer Ian Coleman’s undeclared conflict of interest to be described as ‘exempt from disclosure‘, and as ‘personal data‘.
This sidelining of the public interest by the ICO cannot be allowed to happen.
This could be the right time to ring Christopher Graham.
Watch this space…
Wirral In It Together 
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