Bristol City Council Withholds Information To Stop Parent Contact

Council does not wish upset parents to contact them over Send information

Bristol City Council is withholding minutes from a meeting which provides oversight to Bristol Children’s Service in a bid to stop upset families contacting them.

We made a Freedom of Information Request (FOI) asking for the agenda and minutes for all of the meetings of The Children’s Quality, Improvement and Performance (QuIP) Board.

Even as recently as Children and Young People Policy Committee last night, the board was mentioned on agenda papers. The outcome of the board’s meetings formed an update in a report from the Executive Director for Childrens and Education Hannah Woodhouse. The paper disclosed performance matters relating to Special Educational Needs (Send), school performance, exclusions and managed moves, Send, inclusion, Early Help and children in care – which fall under the board’s remit.

Bristol City Council Withholds Information because it would cause a ‘chilling effect’

Bristol City Council writes in its response: ‘We can confirm that Bristol City Council holds the information you requested. However we are withholding that information since we consider that the following exemptions apply to it.

‘The information is exempt from disclosure under Section 36(2)(b)(ii) of the Freedom of Information Act (FoIA). Disclosure of the information would be likely to prejudice the ability to have free and frank exchange of views for the purposes of deliberation. This is for the following reasons:

‘These meetings need to include direct challenge and sharing of worries and concerns so that improvements can be identified. This requires a safe space for the free and frank exchange of views for the purposes of deliberation, which would not be possible if unredacted copies of the agendas and/or minutes were to be disclosed.

‘The information is exempt from disclosure under Section 36(2)(c) of the Freedom of Information Act (FoIA). Disclosure of this information would be likely to prejudice the effective conduct of public affairs. This is for the following reasons:

‘This is a highly emotive issue and disclosure of sensitive information in relation to this will undoubtedly lead to high volumes of enquiries from potentially affected families, which will impact upon the ability of officers in the service area to perform their roles, which will in turn be counter-productive in terms of service provision.’

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