Conwy Council answering just 54% of FOI requests on time!

 

If people check the Requests they will find that in quite a few cases where the council just refuse to answer them!

They also state on some, that the research will take too long unless the person requesting the information pays a large fee!

When one person submitted a request to the council regarding Bryn Williams at the skip rent/lease the council refused telling them to go to the land registry, which you have to pay for! but the council held the lease, and sending them to the Land Registry was the wrong thing to do as the council was the Primary holder of the information not the Secondary holder!

The person paid the Land Registry and the info was not on there, they went back to the council and the council just refused to reply! Not good practice at all, but nothing new from Conwy Council.

They know exactly what they are doing.

CONWY County Council is answering just over half of its Freedom of Information requests on time, raising questions about the authority’s efficiency.

The Freedom of Information (FOI) Act 2000 gives the press and public the right to request information from publicly funded bodies in the UK.

Organisations such as governments, police, and councils are expected to respond to written requests within 20 working days, promoting public transparency.

But Conwy County Council is failing to meet targets.

Audit Wales carried out a national review, making recommendations to organisations that are falling short.

Whilst the review found that the council had a “well-defined strategic framework for information governance”, which included management of FOI requests, the authority scored well below the Information Commissioner’s Office benchmark.

That benchmark is set at 90% of FOIs answered within the 20 working days period advised.

Instead the report said Conwy County Council had answered “only 54% of requests” within the 20-day deadline in 2024–25.

The report also said the council “does not publish a disclosure log and lacks benchmarking, which limit its ability to improve performance”.

The review also blamed the authority’s performance on “inconsistent reviews of other policies, limited staff training, and the use of two separate logging systems” that were reducing efficiency.

Colwyn Bay town councillor Phil Ashe criticised the authority after hearing about the results of the review.

“At a time when Conwy County Borough Council are having a load of meetings behind closed doors, not responding to 46% of FOI requests (in the timeframe) is really poor,” he said.

“And at a time when people’s council tax is going up through the roof, no wonder the public is getting annoyed with the local authority. It is a lack of transparency.”

The council has now been advised to assess the value of its digital information system, in terms of “identified limitations and duplication of effort”.

It should also “establish formal FOI training for staff who handle requests” and “provide awareness-raising materials and a simple flowchart explaining the FOI process to all other employees”.

The report added: “The council should expand its FOI process by adding internal and external benchmarking. Comparing performance across services and with other public bodies will help identify areas for improvement, highlight good practice, and support better decision making.”

The report is up for debate at Conwy County Council’s finance and resources overview and scrutiny committee at Coed Pella on Monday, 1 December.

The committee will be asked to scrutinise the report and provide assurance that proactive steps have been taken to address the recommendations.

From....https://www.northwalespioneer.co.uk/news/25658314.conwy-council-answering-just-54-foi-requests-time/