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Council chief’s anger at TaxPayers’ Alliance protest (From York Press)
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James Alexander’s anger at TaxPayers’ Alliance protest
8:18am Wednesday 28th November 2012 in News
YORK’S council leader has hit back at a right-wing lobby group that demonstrated against the city’s proposed council tax rise.
James Alexander says the TaxPayers’ Alliance protest last Friday was poorly supported and says the group has actually cost City of York Council thousands of pounds through its repeated use of the Freedom of Information Act.
He said the group had submitted 49 requests to the council in the past year, costing about £5,200 in administration, which he said equated to four years' council tax for a Band C property.
Coun Alexander said: “What the TaxPayers’ Alliance doesn't tell the public is the overall cost to the taxpayer of their continued FOI requests, to local councils up and down the country. The public supports scrutiny of public spending but not in the scattergun way that the TaxPayers’ Alliance submits FOI requests, which wastes money that could be spent on essential services.”
He said the campaign group failed to grasp the challenges facing councils, said Government cuts had reduced funding to York by £42.58 per resident and said more councils would become unviable because of Government cuts not in the public interest.
Comments(22)
Overproof
says...
10:17am Wed 28 Nov 12
Or, do they get a salary - costing the council the same regardless of if they process 100 or 110 requests ?
roskoboskovic
says...
10:20am Wed 28 Nov 12
ing and pandering to the cycling nazis.
powerwatt
says...
10:21am Wed 28 Nov 12
capt spaulding
says...
10:22am Wed 28 Nov 12
again
says...
10:30am Wed 28 Nov 12
Their members have no difficulty paying for private health care, private homes for their elderly and they do not fear unemployment.
We are in the state we find ourselves due largely to members of the wealthy elite whose greed made them careless.
There is nothing wrong in wanting lower taxes provided it doesn't scrap services for the less wealthy. This agenda is a populist one fronting more extreme measures for reducing standards of living for the majority of us.
Theendoftheworld
says...
10:43am Wed 28 Nov 12
Capt. Dobie
says...
11:48am Wed 28 Nov 12
Theendoftheworld wrote:Anyway...back to the article in question...Calamity is a buffoon, FOI requests however burdensome are now in our 'rights', and what 'Overproof' says is probably the truth; you don't put in a claim for handling an FOI request as an FOI Officer in an organisation.
'again' is right. Has anyone seen these right-wing activists protesting about Dave and Gideon giving millionaires £40,000 tax breaks?
And 'atorycouncil2014' has a decent point too, were Labours request allowed/ approved??
YCC is in a hole and looks to be in a bit of a quandry...but council tax payers can't afford a 10- 15% increase either.
Call in an independant accounts team to check the books, vfm, and ridiculous charging by contractors.
The Great Buda
says...
12:51pm Wed 28 Nov 12
M.Lucas
says...
12:55pm Wed 28 Nov 12
FOI requests are legal and quite often the only means of getting information public. By the very fact that the body you're requesting them from doesn't want the information out and the fact that many bodies have become excellent at denying the information due to the request not asking 'the right question' means that not all FOI requests result in anything useful/meaningful.
I would love to know how many FOI requests Labour made in opposition and the cost!
Cllr Alexander seems to have a real problem with having an 'open' administration judging from the various reports over the last few months. His dislike of the FOI system is probably another aspect of that.
That said, Taxpayers Alliance are a bunch of numptys and I really wish the Press wouldn't call 5 or 6 misfits holding up placards a "protest". Call it what it is: "A photo-op".
Gary Gilmores Eyes
says...
1:30pm Wed 28 Nov 12
Is James Alexander as ’present’ leader of the council stating that the council will not follow the law in respect to FOI requests due to his instructions/opinion
s?
If this is the case I look forward to seeing you in court after action from the Information Commissioner!
Perhaps there is a reason behind the demonstration James! Ever thought of that?
To dismiss the demonstrators as right wing or indeed any other wing that you do not agree with and attempt to polarise and deride the public’s support is typical and predictable tactics from an insecure and desperate man in a vain attempt to keep him in so called power.
If he had said nothing it would have all been forgotten about, but now the inevitable storm in a teacup in backwater politics will occur due to him opening his mouth again without the puppeteer telling him to.
‘The public supports scrutiny of public spending but not in the scattergun way that the TaxPayers’ Alliance submits FOI requests, which wastes money that could be spent on essential services.’
Would these public services be the ones that YOU have cut and spent money that the council does not have prior to these FOI requests? Yes I think so!
Just bear in mind James, you are a very minor cog in a very big wheel, do not have delusions of grandeur you seem to be gaining!
He does keep giving me and others the ammunition doesn’t he!
I think James Alexander should resign over this!
I suggest that at the next protest irrespective of the subject the chant should be:
James Alexander OUT, OUT, OUT!
York1900
says...
5:07pm Wed 28 Nov 12
yorkshirelad
says...
7:15pm Wed 28 Nov 12
It's quite clear that FOI requests are being misused in political interest and James Alexander is absolutely right on this one.
nearlyman
says...
8:09pm Wed 28 Nov 12
Look what happened to David Scott when he dared to disagree............
..Methinks the lunatics have taken over the asylum.
When it is revealed which Parliamentry seat Cllr. Alexander takes a punt at, as part of his escape strategy from the disaster zone that York is becoming, the citizens of York must all write to the constituency big wigs waxing lyrical about his achievements in York. Its the only way.
oi oi savaloy
says...
11:42pm Wed 28 Nov 12
again wrote:er, wrong!! i am a signed up member, i have never paid a penny to tpa(they rely on contributions) i earn less than 23k ... i am just massively P'd off with politicians 'tory and labour' taking the **** out of me!
Taxpayers Alliance is an organisation of the wealthy elite.
Their members have no difficulty paying for private health care, private homes for their elderly and they do not fear unemployment.
We are in the state we find ourselves due largely to members of the wealthy elite whose greed made them careless.
There is nothing wrong in wanting lower taxes provided it doesn't scrap services for the less wealthy. This agenda is a populist one fronting more extreme measures for reducing standards of living for the majority of us.
oi oi savaloy
says...
10:35am Thu 29 Nov 12
how much did the cllr crisp/hissing sidley tweet incident cost the council tax payer?
these FOI's will no doubt be about the amount of people the CofYC as on over £100,000 p.a. , that equates to about 10 people (maybe more) the information is available , councillor expenses are well on the way to half a million...
so to sum up 49 requests totalling 5k, sounds like the admin want sacking for tossing it off...
oh yeah, if james alexander put is ipad down and shut twitter down and got on with his job, maybe he might be a bit more valuable to the council taxpayer? but then again i doubt it!
Jeff_li
says...
11:31am Thu 29 Nov 12
oi oi savaloy
says...
11:42am Thu 29 Nov 12
Jeff_li wrote:so he can protest for what he believes in but others cant protest in their beliefs!
^ *!! Homophobic Troll Klaxon !!*
no doubt you are a 'new labour' bigot..
there isnt one homophobic thing written above what you have posted...
R'Marcus
says...
5:18pm Thu 29 Nov 12
JC42 wrote:Quite right.
Why should people not protest??? we are sick and tired of everything going up.
The council are cutting services but they want us to pay more for them.
Cutting just about everything in the council should mean a cut in council tax, too.
Little James: look at your sums!¬
rat scabies
says...
10:18am Fri 30 Nov 12
R'Marcus wrote:all sounds a bit strange this.. is James Alexander against 'freedom of information' ?
JC42 wrote: Why should people not protest??? we are sick and tired of everything going up. The council are cutting services but they want us to pay more for them.Quite right. Cutting just about everything in the council should mean a cut in council tax, too. Little James: look at your sums!¬
Is he also against the right to protest?
His statement againsT the TPA alone is a protest of sort!
meme
says...
12:33pm Fri 30 Nov 12
Anyone is entitled to FOI requests whether you like it or not and to suggest this is wrong is an infingement of our civil rights
Anyone can protest lawfully.
You may not like why or where but so long as they behave properly its legal and to suggest people cannot do either is downright wrong
Perhaps an apology is in order or an explanation of what you really meant
oi oi savaloy
says...
2:54pm Sat 1 Dec 12
meme wrote:seems j.a. Is not only against freedom of information but also against freedom of speech! Wasn't that the nazi policy?
Well JA you really have shot yourself in the foot
Anyone is entitled to FOI requests whether you like it or not and to suggest this is wrong is an infingement of our civil rights
Anyone can protest lawfully.
You may not like why or where but so long as they behave properly its legal and to suggest people cannot do either is downright wrong
Perhaps an apology is in order or an explanation of what you really meant
Seems he had one of mine deleted but also a full thread of comments deleted according to his tweets! What did I miss?
seems a bit hypocritical to tweet sometime back "great comment @yorkpress" then post a picture of it when somebody is calling the Tories a shower of s**te! .... This maybe true, but when people diss him he goes running off to complain...
JC42 says...
9:26am Wed 28 Nov 12
The council are cutting services but they want us to pay more for them.