FOI Request
Under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act I request the following information –
The amount spent on media services in the following complete financial years –
- 2016/17
- 2015/16
- 2014/15
I will accept the figures broken down by calendar year if this is easier for you.
To be clear, this is a request for the amount spent on media seadvices, including – but not limited to – money spend on employing the services of (redacted information).
FOI Response
I write following my letter to you on 9th June 2017 in which I suggested I may be able to provide you with further supplementary information regarding your freedom of information request. Having reviewed this matter may I offer the following as a further response.
Having now had a further opportunity to look at the response provided to you on 3rd May 2017, I find that the figures previously disclosed did not represent as helpful and comprehensive a response as should have been offered in response to your request. With that in mind I am writing to withdraw the original response and I apologise to you for any inconvenience.
The media and communication support available to the Police & Crime Commissioner can be summarised as follows:
- In most instances there is no need for the Police & Crime Commissioner to incur additional cost in respect of media services. Cleveland Police have a dedicated Corporate Communications Unit which also provides media services to the Commissioner.
- In certain limited circumstances, the staff structure of the Office of the Police & Crime Commissioner has a role which operates on a ‘call off’ contract basis, so that media support can be made available to the PCC as required. This might be necessary where it is professionally appropriate for the PCC to provide messages to the public separately from Cleveland Police – on matters relating to HMIC inspections, for example.
- The Commissioner has a member of support staff whose role involves the supporting the delivery of PCC services and communications; the duties of the role include proactive day-to-day local media advice and output, this could include social media, web management or the creation and production of any materials to ensure that the public are fully informed about the priorities and objectives set by the Commissioner and the progress being made in the delivery of the programme for policing and crime which he was elected to deliver.
An exemption applies to the specific element of your request for the earnings of a particular member of staff of the OPCC, under s40(2) of the FOI Act as this is personal data. The OPCC of course meets its transparency obligations in respect of the earnings of its senior officers, as set out on the PCC website.
May I respectfully request that you treat this letter as an amplified response intended as a substitute for the earlier response. My previous response was of course sent in good faith and gave an explanation figuratively which conflated estimated costs in respect of the arrangements described in this letter. However having reviewed your FOI request, I felt it was beneficial to provide you with a more in-depth response to more accurately reflect the broader all-round picture of the communication services available to the Commissioner.
Date responded: 3 May 2017