Governance and Law

Director: Terry Osborne

Waltham Forest Town Hall, Forest Road, Walthamstow, E17 4JF

DX: 124540 Waltham Forest

Marlon Campbell
/ ask for / Mandy Byfield
direct Line: / 0208 496 4225
e-mail add: /
direct fax no / 0208 496 4255
our Ref: / 64304
your Ref:
date: / 6October, 2010

DearMr Campbell

Re: Request for Information

I am writing in response to your request for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (‘FOIA’) which we received on 13 September, 2010.

The wording of your request was as follows:

I am investigating the way local councils consult on their traffic management proposals.

Under the London Authorities Traffic Orders (Procedure) Regulations 1986, the Council is obliged to consult bodies that may have an interest in its proposed Traffic Management Orders.

Copies of Notices which will be published in the local press and the London Gazette detailing the proposals have to be sent to those bodies and the council invites them to send to the Council in writing within 21 days, any representations or objections they wish to make in respect of the draft Orders. All replies must specify the grounds of the objection.

Council Traffic Reports then use words such as "4.2 Official bodies such as the Fire Brigade, the Cycling Council for Great Britain,

The Pedestrian Association, Age Concern, The Owner Drivers’ Society, The Confederation of Passenger Transport and bus operators are consulted separately at the same time as the public notice. Up to 27 bodies in total are consulted depending on the relevance of the proposals."

What are the criteria for inclusion on this list?

The criteria are stated in The Local Authorities' Traffic Orders (Procedure) (England and Wales) Regulations 1996. These require the authority to consult certain specified organisations and also unspecified organisations "representing persons likely to be affected by any provision in the order as the order making authority thinks it appropriate to consult".

Please provide a list of the "bodies" that the council has listedas statutory consultees, and the designated representative personand their position to receive and respond to consultations,together with the date on which the organisation was added to thelist of Statutory Consultees.

In each case, please confirm the nature of the information that thecouncil required each person to provide to confirm theirauthenticity, and the date of the last two occasions on whichprovision of information to satisfy such a check was made.

I attach a list of the groups that the Council regularly consults regarding Traffic Orders, and their contact addresses. The names and postal addresses of individuals representing two local organisations are not given, since we do not have their permission, but alternative contact details are provided.

The Council has consulted all of these groups for many years and there are no records available as to when they were added to the list or when changes were made. The list will be updated whenever a group’s details change, verified by contact with the organisation concerned.

Please also provide the date and subject of each of the last threeoccasions upon which each body has made a response following notification of such a consultation opportunity.

This information is not held. Responses to consultations are considered, and records held, on a scheme-by-scheme basis.

I trust that this satisfies your request sufficiently, however, if you require further information, please do not hesitate to contact me. Under FOIA, you have the right to request a review of the Council’s response to your request for information. If you have such a review request, you may contact the:

Corporate Information Officer

Room 1

WalthamForestTown Hall

E17 4JF

Tel- 020 84964334

within 28 days of the date of this letter. If you remain unsatisfied with the outcome of that review, you may seek further recourse by lodging an appeal with the Information Commissioner.

Yours sincerely

Mandy Byfield

for Director of Governance & Law