London & South East Region
London Area Director’s Office
Beckett House
60 – 68 St Thomas Street
London
SE1 3QU
Ganesh Sittampalam
Web www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk
By email
request- [email address]
18 January 2010
Ref: 12862
Dear
Mr Sittampalam,
Thank you for your email of 23 September in which you requested information about the
case of Ms Tapui, a cleaner employed by Baroness Scotland, the Attorney General. Your
request has been dealt with under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. I apologise for the
delay in sending you a response.
You asked for the following information:
Please supply all evidence gathered during the investigation you conducted into the recent
breach of the law by Baroness Scotland in employing someone who did not have the right to
work in the country.
I am particularly interested in what evidence there is to back up the claim that Baroness
Scotland did take steps to check the worker's documents (as your chief executive has stated,
for example here: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article6845117.ece).
UKBA has obligations under the Data Protection Act 1998, it is the general policy of UKBA
not to disclose, to a third party, personal information about another person. Some of the
information we hold is the personal data of people connected to this investigation. Under
section 40(2) (personal data) of the Freedom of Information Act I am unable to disclose this
information to you. Further details about the application of this exemption can be found in
Annex A.
Furthermore, the information that we hold is also currently exempt under section 30(1) (b) of
the Freedom of information Act 2000. Section 30(1)(b) al ows us to exempt information if that
information has been held by the Department for the purposes of any investigation which is
conducted by the Department and which may lead to a decision to institute criminal
proceedings. This is the case here. However, as a qualified exemption, it can only be used
where the public interest in withholding the information outweighs the public interest in
disclosure. Further information can be found in Annex A.
Yours sincerely
Tony Smith
London & South East Region
London Area Director’s Office
Annex A – Application of Exemptions
Section 40(2)
Any information which UKBA might hold about the above named individual is their personal
data. It is the general policy of UKBA not to disclose, to a third party, personal information
about another person. This is because UKBA has obligations under the Data Protection Act
1998 and in law general y to protect this information.
Under the Data Protection Act 1998 personal data can only be processed if it meets the
requirements of the data protection principles. The first principle states that any processing
must be fair, lawful and meet one of the conditions in Schedule 2 and in the case sensitive
information (including certain material relating to a person’s immigration history) Schedule 3
of the Data Protection Act 1998. After careful consideration of this Act and the ICO guidance
on disclosure it is clear that processing this information would neither be fair or meet the
conditions in Schedule 2 or 3. Therefore any disclosure of information would be a breach of
the Data Protection Act 1998 and therefore we cannot supply the information you have
requested with regard to the case of the above named individual.
Section 30(1)(b)
We have considered the public interest there may be in the circumstances of this case in
disclosing the information requested. There is a public interest in the disclosure of this
information as it will al ow the public to assess whether UK Border Agency is adequately
policing the legislation it is responsible for enforcing on the prevention of il egal working.
We have also considered the public interest there may be in maintaining the exemption to
the duty to communicate. There is clearly a strong public interest in upholding the law and
prosecuting those who contravene the laws on illegal working. Disclosing details of this
investigation would also not be in the public interest as it could compromise any subsequent
legal action to be taken by UK Border Agency and could alert others to the intended course
of action UKBA plans to take against them. Furthermore, it could lead businesses to alter
their records to prevent or hamper legal proceedings against them.
We have considered whether in all the circumstances of the case the public interest in
maintaining this exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information
requested. We have concluded that the balance of the public interests identified lies in
favour of maintaining the exemption because it is in the overall public interest that UKBA can
pursue effective legal action against those who knowingly contravene immigration laws.
Annex B – Complaints
If you are dissatisfied with this response you may request an independent internal review of
our handling of your request. Internal review requests should be submitted within two
months of the UK Border Agency sending a substantive reply to your original request and
should be addressed to:
UK Border Agency
Central Freedom of Information Team
11th Floor
Lunar House, Short Corridor
40 Wel esley Road
Croydon
CR9 2BY
During the independent review the department’s handling of your information request will be
reassessed by staff who were not involved in providing you with this response. Should you
remain dissatisfied after this internal review, you wil have a right of complaint to the
Information Commissioner as established by section 50 of the Freedom of Information Act.
