We may have won, but tenants want to know exactly how much the Council spent on their campaign, and what they spent it on. I have put in the following Freedom of Information request.

Freedom of Information Request

1) I would like to know from the Council the overall cost of the Housing ballot process and its various components. This would include:

  • The cost of the contract with DWA (did this include the “independent tenant newsletters”?);
  • The cost of using ERS for the ballot;
  • The cost of all the associated documentation (Housing Matters, letters and postage, the ‘offer document’, Housing Vote posters);
  • The cost of the DVD;
  • The amount of staff hours spent on overtime, and the cost of it;
  • The staff hours utilised for house visits and phone calls, both for the Housing staff and those from other departments, and the number of staff involved in this work;
  • Officers time at sheltered accommodation meetings;
  • Senior Officers time spent on the Housing Vote;
  • The cost of Sector’s work for the Council;
  • The cost of drop-ins, including staff-time;
  • The cost of Bridge consultants;
  • The cost of the work of the company which carried out the phone survey.

2) In addition I would like to know what information ERS provided to the Council during the ballot process. For instance, did they provide a list of tenants who had not voted?

Regards

Martin Wicks