Alan Dransfield's Blog

Please also see previous posting re this subject.

Case 2. GIA/3037/2011.
This case started in May 2009 and has since proceeded through the Information Commissioner’s Office, then the First Tier Tribunal and then the Upper Tribunal and now currently awaits the confirmation of acceptance by the Court of Appeal.

1. My FOIA to the Devon County Council for technical data on the Exeter Chiefs Rugby Bridge was refused as vexatious by the DCC

2. I appealed the DCC decision to the ICO, who upheld the Vexatious decision by the DCC.

3. I appealed the ICO vexatious decision to the FTT, who overturned the ICO decision claiming my FOI was straightforward and benign and instructed the DCC to release the sought after data.

4. The ICO and DCC appealed the FTT to Upper Tribunal, who overturned the FTT and agreed my FOI request was indeed vexatious. The UT decision is dated Jan 2013.

5. A triple Consolidated Hearing was held on Nov 14th 2012 as a test case before the Upper Tribunal.

It should be noted that the Upper Tribunal Judge made a Court Order for the ICO & DCC to produce 13 Ghost Documents, but they failed to meet this court order. Hence, the decision was based on hearsay and Ghost Documents.

I have also made another FOIA request to the HSE related to the two above cases and the HSE have refused my FOIA requests based on Section 14 , VEXATIOUS and this decision has been upheld by the ICO.

I have also made a similar FOIA request to the Met office HQ, which has been refused under National Security, and is currently before the ICO on appeal.

The two main FOIA Cases have cost the taxpayers thousands of pounds to date and the DCC have, in my view apparently conspired with the ICO and Upper Tribunal to Pervert the Course of Justice.

The two cases continue.

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION (FOI) CAMPAIGNER IN EXETER

My name is Alan M Dransfield. I am 62 years of age and an unemployed construction site engineer, who for the last 5/6 years has been involved in a David v Goliath battle with my local public authority (PA) – Devon County County Council (DCC).

At this juncture (Mar 2013) I have two live FOI cases passing through HM Courts, and I think it would be easier for the future readers if I break my FOI Cases into separate events.

Case 1.ref EA2010/0152
This case started back in May 2009, when I submitted a FOI request into the DCC FOI department for technical details of the 6 public finance initiative schools, which I claimed were not fit for purpose owing to a number of technical issues, including the failure to provide minimum lightning protection system safety.

The DCC initially refused my FOIA request based on Section 12 costs; they then changed their pleas to DO NOT HOLD and belatedly they have changed their plea again to Section 14 VEXATIOUS.

This particular case is due to be heard again in London in July and this will be the 3rd retrial by the FOI First Tier Tribunal(FTT). The last FTT was adjourned by the FTT Judge owing to the “EVIDENTIAL GAPS “from the DCC key witness, who held the Position of FOI Manager for the DCC.