Council quizzed over plans for Santa crash landing sleigh

BRITISH council officials making preparations for a crash landing by Santa’s present-laden sleigh this weekend could have to reveal their plans publicly.

Cheltenham Borough Council was asked to provide details of its contingency plans in a Freedom of Information (FoI) request filed this year.

The applicant called for details about who would rescue Santa, who would be responsible for rounding up the reindeer and who would clear the crash site.

The request made the second spot on the Local Government Association’s list of the 10 most bizarre FoI requests in 2011.

The winner was a request to West Devon District Council about its preparations for helping soldiers defending against invasion by Napoleon’s marauding hordes.

Both Bristol City Council and Leicester City Council were quizzed about their readiness for a zombie invasion, while Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service were asked about plans for an alien attack.

Cornwall Council faced requests about privacy holes being found in public toilet cubicles and money paid to exorcists.

Cllr Peter Fleming, chairman of the Local Government Association’s Improvement Board, said: “Local authorities are now the most transparent part of the public sector.

“Across the country, hundreds of Freedom of Information requests are sent to local authorities every day. Councils are committed to transparency and accountability and put a lot of time and effort into ensuring that legitimate requests for information are met with full and comprehensive responses.

“However, as this list shows, some of the requests councils receive do not appear to relate very closely to the services they are focused on delivering every day of the year.

“Councils work very hard to keep local communities running as efficiently as possible and anything which distracts from that can affect the value for money that taxpayers receive.”

More than 197,000 requests were made to councils in England and Wales this year. The local authorities spent £31.6 million (€24m) responding.

The top 5 most unusual FoIs received by councils in the past year are:

1: How does the council plan to help the brave soldiers of our infantry if and when Napoleon and his marauding hordes invade the district? (West Devon District Council)

2: What preparations has the council made for an emergency landing of Santa’s sleigh this Christmas? Who would be responsible for rescuing Santa? Who would be responsible for rounding up the reindeer, and who would have to tidy the crash site? (Cheltenham Borough Council)

3: How many drawing pins are in the building and what percentage are currently stuck in a pin board? (Hampshire County Council)

4: What preparations has the council made for a zombie attack? (Bristol and Leicester City Councils)

5: What plans are in place to deal with an alien invasion (Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service)