Council response:

Dear Paul Waller,

Re: Freedom of Information Act 2000
Environmental Information Regulations 2004
Reference No: 9160933- Appeal response

We have now considered your appeal of our original response to you. Your request was for information regarding ‘Fraud Cases and Fraud Response Plan – Regenter RB3’ In summary, we wish to uphold our original response of applying S14(1) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, ‘Vexatious or repeated requests’, to your request.

With regard to the lengthy delay in responding to this request, we acknowledged this in the response sent to you and sincerely apologized. We are sorry that you do not accept this apology.

We uphold our application of S14 of the Freedom of Information Act on the basis that we have reason to believe that you are part of a campaign of other similar and repeated requests. We have evidence of receiving approximately 120 requests since April 2020, 64 made in 2021 and 22 since March 2022. All these requests have been made through the ‘What do they know’ platform, all around the subject of our contract with RegenterB3 using similar language with many making unfound accusations of wrong doing against the Council and individuals without any cogent basis for doing so. Many of the responses sent are challenged, some repeatedly with points argued rather than requesting new information.

Collectively these requests appear obsessive and have imposed a significant burden on staff time to process. This has placed and continues to place a disproportionate and unjustified level of irritation and distress on staff which in turn disrupts the delivery of mainstream services.

We hope you find this response to your review satisfactory. However, you have a further right of appeal against this decision, which you can do so in writing, stating your reasons to the regulating body, the Information Commissioner’s Office.
Contact details: http://www.ico.org.uk/ or 0303 123 1113 or Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF.

Yours sincerely

Senior Customer Resolutions Officer
FOI/EIR Team
Corporate Complaints and Casework Team
Corporate Resources Directorate
Lewisham Council