‘Should’ve gone to Specsavers’

The Local Government Transparency Code sets out the minimum data that Folkestone & Hythe District Council should be publishing, the frequency it should be published and how it should be published.

Alas, the Council cannot get this right.

At page fifteen and sixteen of the Local Government Transparency Code (which was first published in Feb 2015) it speaks about Local Authority Land

At Point 37 on page sixteen it states:

• map reference – local authorities may use either Ordnance Survey or ISO 6709 systems to identify the location of an asset, but must make clear which is being used. Where an Ordnance Survey mapping system is used (the grid system) then assets will be identified using Eastings before Northings. Where geocoding in accordance with ISO 6709 is being used to identify the centre point of the asset location then that reference must indicate its ISO coordinates

Alas the Council give no map references for any of the land they own. This has been the case for the last six years. So we have to ask, has anyone who might be responsible for the Local Authority Land data bothered to read the Local Government Transparency Code which has been in the public domain for six years?

Dover District Council appear to understand how Local Authority Land should be set out and it’s clear they have read the Local Government Transparency Code because they provide the map references (Easting & Northing highlighted).

After six years one would have hoped the Council would have got this right. Are we surprised? No, especially as the Cabinet portfolio holder for this is Cllr Ray Field (Ind).

Now as you may or may not know, Cllr Field falsely alleged our public face has cost the Council “millions” through making legitimate FoI’s requests which helped uncover a £1.5m fraud. The Council’s own website states: “There is no charge for an FOI request“. So, Cllr Field, how could it have cost “millions”?

The Council’s website states:

• “All EIR requests are charged at £25 per officer hour spent locating or extracting data for your request.”

This is NOT correct as the Information Commissioner’s Officer ruled against Folkestone & Hythe District Council charging fees for Environmental Information Requests back in Sept 2019.

Also the Council’s Fees and Charges for 2020/21 makes it clear the cost for an EIR is £0.00. So, it’s clear there is no sanity checking by Council Officers or the portfolio holder, Cllr Ray Field.

It is clear, neither Cllr Field or the Council Officers responsible for data transparency and FoI and EiRs bother to read their own website, or the rulings handed down by the ICO.

It’s clear to us, they “should’ve gone to specsavers”.

The Shepway Vox Team

Dissent does NOT mean Disloyalty