DWP Central Freedom of Information Team

e-mail: [DWP request email]

Our Ref: VTR 970

01 July 2009

Dear Ms Jones

Thank you for your Freedom of Information request dated 22 May 2009 asking for further information in relation to your request of 07 May 2009. I apologise for the delay in responding but it was important to establish whether DWP does have the information you require. In your original request you ask for information about the Steps to Work scheme:

“When was this scheme introduced? Can I have copies of minutes of meetings discussing the proposal and eventual introduction of the scheme?

Can you please tell me how many Steps to Work schemes are currently operating across the UK? Have there been schemes which were set up but now no longer exist? If so, why are they no longer in place?

How many people have attended Steps to Work to date? Can this be broken down by year since the scheme came into place? How many people are currently attending such schemes? How many have found work through the scheme?

Are there incentives for people to find work, and if so what are they?”

I can confirm following discussion with colleagues that DWP does not hold the information you require. The Steps to Work scheme is a Northern Ireland scheme as indicated in the response to FoI 821. Steps to Work Walsall Ltd is an organisation, not a scheme, that provides a service to DWP and is based in the West Midlands. Your request confuses the scheme, as operating in Northern Ireland, with the organisation, that provides a service to DWP.

If you do require further information regarding the Steps to Work scheme please direct your query to the Department for Employment and Learning Northern Ireland. I have attached a link to the Contact Us page of their website for ease of reference.

http://www.delni.gov.uk/index/contact-us.htm

If you are still not content with the outcome of this internal review you have the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner to look into the way your request has been handled. Please note that generally the Commissioner cannot make a decision unless you have first exhausted DWP's own complaints procedure. The Commissioner can be contacted at:

FoI Complaints Resolution

Information Commissioner's Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

Fax: 01625 545 510

Email:[email address]

Yours sincerely,

Central FoI Team

Department for Work and Pensions