That's not my name

At last a summers evening and the chance to crank the walkman up to 11 for the train journey home . Oh and what a treat tonight as I packed a C90 with some the Ting Tings on. This got me tapping my foot and jigging slightly as the train headed out of Waterloo East.

Four letter word just to get me along

It's a difficulty and I'm biting on my tongue and uh

I keep stalling, and keeping me together

People around gotta find something to say now..

They call me Nicky

They call me Nicholas

They call me her

They call me Nick

That's not my name

It is as if it was written for our pal Nick Sheridan-Westlake. Such a nice name.

Funny thing names - It seems some people want to be known by one name whilst others call them something else entirely. For example I have heard Uncle Eric Pickles being called all sorts of things by his staff.

Now it seems DCLG are keen to block requests for information from the growing army of armchair auditors, especially one relating to their infamously costly (and hardly visited) barrier busting website – I am not including the link any longer as it just doubles their traffic.

DCLG have decided to block what appear to be legitimate requests from Amy Fisher and Mr Jones. Strangely they seem to have responded to Ms Fisher on various requests but decided to block her and question her identity when she started sniffing around the Barrier Busting website  (see: http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/user/amy_fisher)…. I wonder why? I am sure if you are a budding Armchair Auditor there may be things that you want to know how your hard earned taxes were spent on this website. If so get a request in, you never know what you may find out!

All a bit fishy that DCLG have so far just asked requestors to confirm their identity when they started asking questions are the Barrier Busting website but seem to be happy to respond to anything else unless it from me ;(

Also good news. It is reassuring to see this has been picked up the hard working indefatigable investigate journalist Ruth Keeling, at the Local Government Chronicle (see http://www.lgcplus.com/topics/transparency/dclg-resorts-to-identity-checks-to-stall-vexatious-foi-requests/5034172.article)

Alliance and Pester

I feel I may have to call upon the might of the Tax Payers of Alliance to help hold Uncle Eric Pickles and Department for Communities and Local Government to account - not sure they will have to stomach for a fight with the the great man though.

Below is my latest request.

Dear Chums,

I have always enjoyed reading the considered ramblings from the Tax Payers Alliance. The TPA appears to me to be akin to a paramilitary-drunken- arm of The Daily Mail. A lot of what they say has some truth to it but is often voiced in a slurring, slightly menacing way. I guess they are a extreme example of Armchair Auditors in action but one can’t but feel they are not seated comfortably in an armchair but are standing up brandishing a bar stool above their head. Also they differ from some other Armchair Auditors in that they have wealthy backers and have attracted some controversy about not paying tax in the UK but let’s not go there today.

I stumbled across a gem the other day on the TPA website. The TPA wrote a blog attacking Nottingham Council’s handling of Freedom of Information requests. As you may know Nottingham have for many months been attracting the wrath of Uncle Eric about their reluctance to publish expenditure data. Uncle Eric has been so angry with them I almost fear for his health as this spate cannot be good for his blood pressure.  Nottingham’s stance has led to the TPA exposing their inability to respond to FoI requests correctly.

See: http://www.taxpayersalliance.com/grassroots/2011/07/nottingham-city-council-fails-transparency.html

One paragraph in the blog particularly caught my beady eye:

“One instance of the latter tactic is the council’s attempt to silence a local blogger, Andy Platt, who uses FOI to scrutinise the council’s leadership and spending. When Platt asked for copies of internal reports on the housing allocations scandal in the council, the council invoked Section 14 of the Act, accusing Platt of making ‘vexatious’ requests. The basis for the ‘vexatious’ claim was that Platt had made twenty FOI requests in a year (which it classed as ‘obsessive’, despite the fact that they were on unrelated subjects), and that he often publishes findings from his requests on his satirical blog mocking NCC’s leadership (by some mysterious tenuous link his requests are thereby said to be ‘harassing the Authority and distressing its  colleagues’).

This contradicts FOI guidance, which clearly states that it must be the requests themselves which are vexatious, not the requester and not any use to which the information may be put. Unfortunately for the council, no sooner had it brushed off Platt than another – presumably less vexatious – requester asked for copies of the same internal reports. The council reverted to its default tactic for dealing with FOIs. It simply ignored the request.”

This seemed awfully familiar. As you may recall recently that Uncle Eric’s own department have declared me and others as vexatious. They described me as ‘obsessive’ even though I had submitted less than 2 requests a month. They decided to declare me as vexatious rather than my requests and they also claimed (but provided no evidence) that my requests causes distress to staff.

The cause of action that Nottingham are taking is uncannily similar to DCLG’s approach. I can only assume collusion.  So can you please provide the following:

1.       Any advice, guidance or endorsement that DCLG have provided to Nottingham in handling Freedom of Information requests.

2.       Any plans (including drafts) that DCLG have to encourage other local authorities to block FoI requests as they have done and now is being replicated by Nottingham?

3.       Any correspondence between DCLG and the Tax Payers Allowance relating to Nottingham Councils FoI request or expenditure data.

I fear I may have to write to the TPA and request they do a balanced piece on DCLGs handling of FoI requests like they have done on Nottingham. Now that would be fun.

Yours faeciously 

Derek

Fight The Power

As you probably are aware DCLG have tried to gag me from asking pertinent questions by declaring me as vexatious. For some reason they think I poke fun at Uncle Eric, well he is a big, slow moving target and does say some blooming stupid things, how could one resist having a pop at him. It could have been worse, instead of being called vexatious they could have sent the heavies round to have a word in my shell like. Just imagine how you would feel if Uncle Eric turned up at your gaff late one evening, on a Boris Bike wearing a fetching pair of rubber knickers with his two trusted SpAds on their BMXs?  I think that would put the fear of God into any hard working Christian family. I am sure Eric would see himself in his pin-strip suit as modern day Don Vito Corleone but to be frank he would more like Uncle Monty from Withnail and I.

But all is not lost. I am pleased to see that there is a growing army of armchair auditors out there holding Uncle Eric and company to account via http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/body/dclg  . On a daily basis wonderful and insightful freedom of information requests are put to DCLG. It is interesting to see that DCLG have at times taken a bizarre and often combative approach in dealing with requestors legal right for information. This has led to an increase in requests for costly internal reviews as well as last week a referral to the Information Commissioners Office. I suspect the ICO are busy with another big media story at the moment but I am sure will get round to slapping Uncle Eric across his large backside at some point in the future.

It is worth taking a few moments to read the request from Steve Elibank that led to a referral to the ICO (see: http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/foi_requests_from_derek_tickles#incoming-195415)

DCLG turned down his request and even had the cheek to accuse him of being a fan of yours truly and this they said was part of the reason for turning down his request. You have all been warned – I will have become your guilty pleasure.

There are numerous excellent requests that have been submitted to DCLG over the last couple of weeks. Here are a selection that caught my eye. Some of these people have been active a while and really getting stuck into the armchair and enjoying their auditing work:

Mr Smith - http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/specific_transaction_details#comment-19761

Amy Fisher - http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/responding_to_foi_requests_perfo#incoming-195937

A Gilbert - http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/rationale_for_policy_of_encourag#incoming-195454

Edward Rudolf - http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/analysis_of_procurement#incoming-194196

Arjo Auditor - http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/methodology_used_in_research_pub#incoming-194192

Travis Pickles - http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/barrier_busting_website_new_name#comment-19745

Tony Maycock - http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/foreign_trips_by_dclg_ministers#incoming-193978

Uncle Eric has been keen to preach to local councils and talk down to them.  He has insulted hard working staff. He has made decisions without evidence and in some instances relied on the most crass research. He has shown considerable ignorance and the ‘reasoning of a 10 year old’  - see Ben Goldacre’s recent piece  http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/jun/24/bad-science-local-goverment-savings-ben-goldacre.

Dr Goldacre’s wonderful demolition of a poorly piece of research by Opera Solutions was subsequently used in a DCLG press release. This shows either a wilful disregard of facts or the brain power of a very stupid rat with hangover – you decide which. Whilst I am sure Opera Solutions had their reasons for writing up their ’research’, it is Uncle Eric who should be vilified for his using it.

I am sure this is not the last we will hear of this. After all, as they say it is not over until the fat lady sings although in this case there is fat gent that should be singing an apology.

Finally, if there are Uncle Eric and co related issues you want raised feel free to contact me via twitter @DerekTickles or email derek.tickles.help [@] gmail.com. I am here to help.

Some people think I’m bonkers

How big a fan is poor Grant Shapps of Dizzee Rascal? Not sure we will find out through the latest freedom of information request but hopefully we will unearth some evidence to support his 'bonkers' statements.

Here is the latest request:

Dear Chums

I write firstly applaud Uncle Eric and all at DCLG in allowing me to take part in a truly wonderful street party to celebrate the Royal Wedding last week -  wow what a day we had! There were about 6 of us for most of the day, though Mrs T did have take the twins to a birthday party at 11am for a few hours. So it was left to me, Bob with the dodgy knee from number 3 and his collie called Shep to get the party started.

We sat about in the street drinking Stella and munching on a KFC family feast bucket (one each natch). We were having so much fun we forgot to put the tv on to watch the wedding, but we had a blinder of a day. Really magic and the the only downer was we had to deal with a few irate motorists and a nasty incident when an ambulance tried to spoil our fun but we continued to exercise our right to party. So thanks chums.

Before the wedding I was pleased to see poor Grant Shapps comments in The Mirror. (http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/news/2011/04/22/royal-wedding-street-parties-need-not-be-bound-by-bonkers-health-and-safety-rules-says-grant-shapps-115875-23077303/).

I love it that poor Grant Shapps appears to be a fan of Dizzee Rascal, more of a Scrufizzer  fan myself. Mr Rascal once sang:

 

“I wake up everyday it’s a daydream

Everythin in my life isn’t what it seems

I wake up just to go back to sleep

I act real shallow but I’m in to deep

And all I care about is sex and violence

And a heavy bass line is my kind of silence

Everybody says I got to get a grip

But I let sanity give me the slip”

B.O.N.K.E.R.S!!!!... Indeed. Sounds like my life – apart from the sex and violence reference. Respect  MC Shappsy….. but sooo last year really.

Mr  Shapps , in his considered think piece in The Mirror, quite rightly attacked councils for their ‘bonkers’ approach to applying Health and Safety laws. I am so glad this he is the voice of reason. I now hope that he will tackle other bonkers acts so that I can continue to send one of the twins up the chimney from time to time – or at least until they get too big and not have to justify a little spring cleaning to some interfering social worker. Also it would help if he could stop those busy bodies forbidding me from fitting my own gas boiler and finally allow me next week to use the job lot of out-of-date sausages that I picked up down the boozer at the twins schools sports day next week. I am sure that with a little ketchup they will be fine after a couple of minutes on the BBQ and will really get the kids going.

Anyway time to get to the substantive request. Can you please supply me with the following information?

1)      A list of councils who DCLG are aware applied ‘bonkers health and safety rules [to] prevent simple celebrations taking place’

2)      Any evidence that councils were going, in Grant Shapps, words ‘bonkers?’  Please include the name of the council and details of the ‘bonkers’ decision,  act or intent.

Yours bonking

D:Eric

Would the real Derek Tickles please stand up?

As I type, DCLG senior officials are conducting a witch hunt to try and identify the person or persons behind the phenomenon that is Derek Tickles. I understand Nick Sheridan-Westlake is developing a J.Edgar Hoover persona. He is currently embarked on McCarthy style assault to smoke out the leader of the radical Army of Armchair Auditors from Eland House. Surely NSW is acting ultra vires?! Can Mr. T evade the pursuit?

A source, named Deepthroat, has warned me that a forensic search is being conducted of computer temporary files, IP addresses, email traffic; images are being closed inspected for reflection and steganography. NSW is believed to be keen to start some deep packet sniffing, but no one is sure what he really means by this. All these efforts are in the hope to identify which DCLG employee is causing so much embarrassment to Uncle Eric and is merry men through non-vexatious FoI requests.

I know that many colleagues have been accused of being Derek Tickles over the past few months. I too have been shocked to have been asked whether I am the brains behind The Tickler. I personally point the finger of suspicion at NSW himself, I think perhaps he is DT and has created this alter ego to try and garner support and sympathy. I could be wrong though - after all I am just a simple fool and he is not.

I need to be careful not to slip up and let my guard down. I cannot let Uncle Eric or NSW to smoke me out. The dreams and welfare of many DCLG staff depend upon it. I need your help to protect my identity by creating distractions and diversions where possible. I need extra material to include in the blog to ensure that myself and others sources are not isolated. So if you any anecdotes or information that you wish to share please direct message me on twitter or email me (derek.tickles.help@gmail.com ). If you wish to send me something and protect your identity then you can through the wonderful anonymous emailer (http://www.enote.com/). Also the more people that view the blog the less likely are individual viewers will stick out – so please feel free to share the blog ( - I know, I know this is a thinly veiled attempt to increase traffic!).

I do have a vision though..... I recall the scene when the leader of the rebel Roman army, Spartacus, played by Kirk Douglas, is captured with the remnants of his amateur army. The captured troops are promised they will not be punished if they will identify Spartacus. The heroic Spartacus and his deputy stand up, but before Spartacus can speak, his friend and deputy shouts "I'm Spartacus!" One by one, each surviving slave stands, shouting out "I'm Spartacus!”

Perhaps one day we will be forced to re-enact this scene in foyer of Eland House, with a cry of 'I'm Derek Tickles'.

Keep the faith comrades

Derek