FAQ

Frequently asked Freedom of Information Questions

Here’s a list of some of the most frequent Freedom of Information requests we receive:

Number	Question	Answer
1.	How much compensation have we paid to individuals for the damage caused by potholes and poor road maintenance?	Staffordshire County Council has the responsibility for road maintenance, road signs and safety, street lighting and maintaining road bridges and cycle paths.
2.	How many children (aged 16 and under) have been taken into care by the council.	We have has no responsibility for Social Services or schools. This is dealt with by Staffordshire County Council and all requests of this nature need to be referred to them.
3.	How many staff (full head-count rather than full-time equivalents) are employed in IT functions?	13
4.	How many desktop computers are in use?	420 (January 2011)
5.	How many laptop computers are in use?	75 (January 2011)
6.	Employee headcount for 2009, 2010 and 2011?	Total employee headcount for 1st April 2009: 420 Total employee headcount for 1st April 2010: 412 Total employee headcount for 1st April 2011: 389
7.	Working days lost due to sickness absence in 2008/09 and 2009/10?	2008/09 = 6.95 days 2009/10 = 8.8 days
8.	Total number of full time equivalents for 2009/09 and 2009/10?	2008/09 = 321.39 Full time equivalent employees (Based on 31st March 2009) 2009/10 = 313.51 Full time equivalent employees (Based on 31st March 2010)
9.	The number of parking tickets we issued.	The number of parking fines issued by council enforcement officers in 2009/10 was 957. The number for 2008/09 was zero as the service didn’t start until the end of March 2009. The total number of parking fines issued in 2011-12 was 1877.
10.	What was the remuneration package for the council's chief executive in: 2008/2009, 2009/2010, 2010/2011?	The remuneration package for the Chief Executive is published in our statement of accounts under the title Remuneration for Senior Employees.
11.	What do the top 5 earners of the Council get paid?	We publish the pay bands of the members of our strategic management team. Pay bands have been used rather than actual salary having taken into account guidance from the Office of the Information Commissioner.
12.	How much does it cost to produce the council's newspaper?	We publish our newspaper, the South Staffordshire Review, three times a year. In 2010/11 it cost £48,432.74 to produce the newspaper. That means is costs around 36 pence per household per edition.