I AM replying to Geoff Cooper’s latest letter (Daily Echo, July 7) and would like to clarify the situation on behalf of Bournemouth council.

Requests for information can be deemed “vexatious” under Section 14(1) of the Freedom of Information Act.

The council has only applied this definition to requests submitted by two applicants since the right of access to information took effect on 1 January 2005.

In making such a decision, the council takes into account the most recent guidance published by the Information Commissioner’s Office in May 2013 and available on its website.

Like most councils and public bodies, Bournemouth council has a policy regarding vexatious complainants and examples of actions and behaviours of unreasonable and unreasonably persistent complainants are:

  • Refusing to specify the grounds of a complaint, despite offers of assistance from council officers
  • Repeatedly demanding that the council reconsider a decision which has been reached in accordance with the council complaints procedure
  • Behaving in an abusive or threatening way towards any member of staff
  • Refusing to co-operate with the complaints investigation process while still wishing their complaint to be resolved
  • Changing the basis of the complaint as the investigation proceeds and/or denying statements he or she made at an earlier stage
  • Making unnecessarily excessive demands on the time and resources of staff whilst a complaint is being looked into, by, for example, excessive telephoning or sending emails to numerous council staff, writing lengthy complex letters every few days and expecting immediate responses.

As outlined previously to Mr Cooper, since 2011, only 11 people have been classed as vexatious complainants by Bournemouth council and so it can be seen that the council only uses this policy in extreme circumstances.

I do hope that this clarifies the issues for Mr Cooper.

TONY WILLIAMS, chief executive, Bournemouth Borough Council