Thomas Bridge 06 June 2014

Exorcism inquiry sent to council

Councillors in Wigan have been forced to expose how many times cash swapped hands for exorcisms at the local authority.

Publishing figures on Freedom of Information (FOI) requests received by the local authority, Wigan Council revealed that is has also had to detail the defences it has in place to deal with a dragon attack.

The number of FOI requests sent to the town hall has more than doubled in the last four years.

It is thought that dealing with these inquiries has cost Wigan over £100,000 in staff time.

While 2009 saw the council spending over £55,000 dealing with 489 requests, some 1110 requests were received in 2013 – costing £124,875.

Over half of the 160 requests issued to the council in January this year came from members of the public, with commercial enterprises accounting for a further 22.5%.

Public bodies are required by law to respond to FOI requests for recorded information within 20 working days.

Cllr Terry Halliwell, cabinet member for customer transformation at Wigan Council, said: ‘The number of requests has dramatically increased. They can take a long time to process and very labour intensive, and there is a cost implication.

‘We are however, working hard to make sure that most of our information is made available online via our website, which should reduce the number of enquiries we have to process as FOIs.’

SIGN UP
For your free daily news bulletin
Highways jobs

Technical Support Officer

Wyre Borough Council
Grade 5 £25,992 – £27,711
This is a really exciting time to join Wyre Council, with a new Leader and Chief Executive leading our next chapter. Poulton-Le-Fylde, Lancashire
Recuriter: Wyre Borough Council

Residential Worker

Essex County Council
£27934.00 - £35344.00 per annum + + 26 Days Leave & Local Gov Pension
Residential WorkerPermanent, Full Time£27,934 up to £35,344 Per Annum (includes allowance) equal to £14.48 to £18.32 Per HourLocation
Recuriter: Essex County Council

Early Years Keyworker

Royal Borough of Greenwich
£37,068 - £38,058
Want to make a difference for children with special educational needs in Greenwich? Greenwich, London (Greater)
Recuriter: Royal Borough of Greenwich

Early Years Area SENCo

Royal Borough of Greenwich
£39,855 - £42,324
Have you got extensive experience in working within Early Years, with a clear understanding of child development Greenwich, London (Greater)
Recuriter: Royal Borough of Greenwich

Young Persons Substance Misuse Service Pathfinder

Royal Borough of Greenwich
£31,524 - £32,931
Are you looking to change the lives of young people? Greenwich, London (Greater)
Recuriter: Royal Borough of Greenwich
Linkedin Banner