 Hi Jamie,

  

 I acknowledge your email requesting a review. I can confirm that this will
 now be allocated to an officer, independent of the original decision, to
 undertake a review of the information supplied. The review normally takes
 15 working days, however, should there be a delay you will be kept
 informed.

  

 Kind Regards

  

 [1][email address]

  

 -----Original Message-----
 From: Jamie Halliday <[2][FOI #1399712 email]>
 Sent: 17 March 2026 17:43
 To: Solicitor - Freedom of Information
 <[3][email address]>
 Subject: Internal review request - Retention periods and disposal controls
 for pupil records, SEND, exclusions and EOTAS

  

 ***This message originates from outside your organisation. Do not provide
 login or password details. Do not click on links or attachments unless you
 are sure of their authenticity. If in doubt review the guidance at Report
 Phishing***

  

 Dear Customer Enabling Services,

  

 Thank you for your response dated 13 March 2026 (ref: FOI_10599).

  

 I am writing to request an internal review of the decision on three
 grounds.

  

 1. Misapplication of s.22 exemption — Questions 1 and 3

  

 The response withholds information responsive to Questions 1 and 3 under
 s.22 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, on the basis that Together
 for Children Sunderland is currently reviewing its records management
 procedures and anticipates publishing updated versions by July 2026.

  

 The s.22 exemption applies to information held with a view to its
 publication at some future date. It cannot lawfully be applied to
 information that already exists and is currently in operational use.

  

 Together for Children Sunderland must currently be applying some form of
 retention schedule and disposal procedure in order to manage its records.
 Those existing, operative documents are separate from any updated versions
 being prepared for future publication. The existence of a planned update
 does not justify withholding the version currently in force. To apply s.22
 in this way is to use the exemption as a means of concealing what the
 organisation is actually doing with records now, which is not its intended
 purpose.

  

 I request that the authority discloses the retention schedule entries and
 disposal procedures currently in operational use, or identifies any other
 exemption(s) it relies upon to withhold that information, with reasons.

  

 2. Redactions without cited exemption — attached SEND schedule

  

 The SEND retention schedule attached to your response
 (RecordsRetentionSchedule_SEND) is substantially redacted. The majority of
 rows below the three visible entries (SEN Panel Minutes and Decisions, SEN
 Case Files, SEN Tribunal Files) are blacked out.

  

 No exemption is cited for these redactions anywhere in the response
 letter. Under s.17 of the Freedom of Information Act, where a public
 authority refuses to communicate information it must give the applicant a
 notice specifying the exemption(s) relied upon. The response does not do
 this in relation to the redacted portions of the schedule.

  

 Please either disclose the redacted entries or provide a proper s.17
 refusal notice identifying the specific exemption(s) relied upon for each
 category of withheld information, with reasons.

  

 3. Question 4 — council guidance to maintained schools

  

 The response states that Together for Children Sunderland does not hold
 information about its role in ensuring maintained schools comply with
 records retention and information rights obligations, on the basis that
 schools are separate public authorities and data controllers.

  

 My question was whether the council or TfCS holds any recorded guidance,
 communications, or circulars issued to maintained schools about these
 matters. The separate legal status of schools as data controllers does not
 mean the council has never communicated with them about records management
 or information rights. These would be council-held records regardless of
 schools' separate status.

  

 Please confirm whether any such recorded guidance, communications, or
 circulars exist. If no such information is held, please confirm that
 explicitly.

  

 Yours faithfully,

 Jamie Halliday

  

  

  

 -------------------------------------------------------------------

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 [4][FOI #1399712 email]

  

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 manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.

  

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References

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