FI17292

Request

This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. I have tried to keep it as light as possible to answer, and I have set out below what would make it lighter still. 

Please provide the following for the most recently completed financial year only. 

Four things before the questions, each intended to reduce the work involved. 

First, we do not require a departmental breakdown. A single whole-organisation total is sufficient for every figure below. These figures are typically held against nominal codes in the finance ledger, and a total taken from there is exactly what we are asking for. 

Second, if a figure is not separately recorded, please simply say so. That is a useful answer to us and we would much prefer it to an estimate. A number of authorities have already told us that certain figures are not held, and we have recorded that as a finding rather than a failure. 

Third, the questions are grouped so that each group can be answered by one team: questions 1 to 3 by finance, questions 4 to 6 by the elections team, and questions 7 and 8 by whoever holds the staffing information. 

Fourth, if any single question would take the request over the appropriate cost limit under section 12, please tell me which one and I will withdraw it, rather than the request being refused as a whole. I would be glad to agree a narrower wording by email before any work is done on it, in the spirit of the duty to advise and assist under section 16. 

PART A — CORRESPONDENCE WITH RESIDENTS 

1. The total amount spent by the council on printing and posting correspondence to residents during the most recently completed financial year. A whole-organisation total is sufficient. 

2. The number of items posted to residents during the same period, if this is recorded. 

3. The total amount spent on SMS or text messaging to residents during the same period, and the number of messages sent, if these are recorded. 

PART B — THE ANNUAL CANVASS 

4. The total cost to the council of the most recently completed annual canvass, including printing, postage, staffing and any personal canvasser visits. If the canvass cost is not recorded separately from the council's general print and postage budget, please say so.

5. For that same canvass: the number of residential properties to which a canvass communication was sent; the number that did not respond to the first communication; the number of reminder communications sent; and the number of household visits carried out. 

6. For that same canvass, the number of responses received by each route — paper, online, telephone and SMS — if this breakdown is recorded. 

PART C — WHO HOLDS THIS WORK 

7. The job title and, if the council is willing to share it, the direct contact details of the officer responsible for resident communications, customer contact strategy or digital transformation. 

8. The job title and, if the council is willing to share it, the direct contact details of the Electoral Registration Officer and of the officer who manages the annual canvass day to day.

Response

PART A — CORRESPONDENCE WITH RESIDENTS 

1. The Council does not record printing and postage correspondence costs to residents separately for all other printing and postage costs and therefore I can confirm that we do not hold this information.

2. The Council does not hold this information.

3. Only our Housing Options Team record this information, and I can confirm that 22,566 texts were sent at a cost of £67.57.

PART B — THE ANNUAL CANVASS  

In respect of the questions at Part B (the Annual Canvass), under the Representation of the People Act 1983 as amended, the Council must appoint an officer of the Council to be the Returning Officer for any constituency or part of a constituency coterminous with or situated in the Council’s area. Louise May is the appointed officer for the registration area of Dover District.  Her appointment as Returning Officer (RO) and as Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) is separate to her appointment as Deputy Chief Executive/Director of Corporate Resources and, although appointed by the Council, both the Electoral Registration Officer and the Returning Officer’s responsibilities and duties are personal. An example of this is that the register of electors is deemed to be the property of the Electoral Registration Officer, not the local authority. 

The Electoral Registration Officer and the Returning Officer do not carry out the duties on behalf of the local authority but in their own personal capacity. Details of what constitutes a public body that is subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act is available at the following website: https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/foi/freedom-of-information-and-environmental-information-regulations/public-authorities-under-foia/.  As you will see, the Freedom of Information Act does not list any person appointed under the Representation of the People Act 1983. It follows that the Electoral Registration Officer, Returning Officer or any other person appointed under the Act are not subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act. 

Notwithstanding that there is no statutory obligation to provide this information under FOI regulations, the information you have requested can be found below.

4. £61, 661.80.

5. (a) 55,903, (b) 5,574, (c) 5,380 and (d) 4,154

6. As follows:

PART C — WHO HOLDS THIS WORK 

The Council does not have an officer who is responsible for resident communications, customer contact strategy or digital transformation.  The Electoral Registration Officer and the officer responsible for managing the annual canvass can be contacted at vote@dover.gov.uk. 

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