Information Access Team
Shared Services Directorate
2 Marsham Street, London SW1P 4DF
Switchboard 020 7035 4848
E-mail: [email address] Website: www.homeoffice.gov.uk
Andrew Watson
[FOI #24914 email]
23 April 2010
Ref: CR 13889
Dear Mr Watson
Freedom of Information request (our ref. 13889): internal review
Thank you for your e-mail of 18 March, in which you asked for an internal
review of our response to your Freedom of Information (FoI) request about
procedures for handling UK identity cards handed in as lost property.
I have now completed the review. I have examined all the relevant papers,
including the information that was withheld from you, and have consulted the
policy unit which provided the original response. I have considered whether
the correct procedures were followed and assessed the reasons why
information was withheld from you. I confirm that I was not involved in the
initial handling of your request.
My findings are set out in the attached report. My main conclusion is that the
original response to the second question was correct, although we were at
fault in not replying within the time limit. The response to your first question
provided you with information you had not requested, and failed to answer
your question.
Manchester Police have not yet been issued with any guidance on how to
handle ID cards which are handed in as lost property. IPS should have stated
that explicitly, rather than simply stating that guidance is in preparation.
This completes the internal review process by the Home Office. If you remain
dissatisfied with the response to your FoI request, you have the right of
complaint to the Information Commissioner at the following address:
The Information Commissioner
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire SK9 5AF
Yours sincerely
Diana Pottinger
Information Access Team
Internal review of response to request under the Freedom of
Information (FoI) Act 2000 by Andrew Watson (reference [13889])
Responding Unit: Identity and Passport Service (IPS)
Chronology
Original FoI request:
26 January 2010
Acknowledgement:
2
February
2010
IPS response:
12 March 2010
Request for internal review:
18 March 2010
Subject of request
Mr Watson asked:
1. What guidance the Home Office has given Manchester area police forces
for handling a UK identity card that is handed in as lost property.
2. What procedure the Home Office has put in place for handling a UK identity
card that is returned to you as lost property.
The response by IPS
In answer to question 1 IPS informed Mr Watson that:
• Identity cards issued under the Identity Cards Act 2006 provide
information on the reverse of the card as to what to do in the event that
a lost card is found by a third party.
• Guidance on the security features of the card has been made widely
available, including to the police. The Identity and Passport Service
(IPS) is continuing to work on handling guidance, using experience of
the early stages of the roll-out, which will be issued to all police
authorities in due course.
In answer to question 2 IPS informed Mr Watson that cards returned to IPS by
a third party wil be cancelled and securely destroyed.
Mr Watson’s request for an internal review
Watson said that the response failed to answer question 1 adequately. He
was satisfied with the answer to question 2.
Procedural issues
The request was acknowledged, and the applicant was provided with a date
by which he should expect a response. The response was not issued within
20 working days. No qualified exemptions were being considered, so it was
not possible to issue a PIT extension, consequently s 10 of the FOI Act was
breached.
Consideration of the response
The response to the second question correctly informed Mr Watson that ID
cards found by a third party are securely destroyed, and Mr Watson is content
with that answer. However, Mr Watson has complained that question 1 was
not answered adequately. The response provided Mr Watson with
information he had not requested, on the general subject of ID cards, and
failed to answer the question. IPS informed Mr Watson that the reverse of the
ID cards contains instructions for what to do in the event that a lost card is
found by a third party, and that handling guidance for police forces was
currently under preparation.
No guidance on what to do with ID cards handed in as lost property has as yet
been given to the Manchester area police force. Although there was a
possibility that this fact might have been deduced from the information
supplied, it was not explicitly stated, so Section 1(1)(a) was not complied with
for question 1. This is the part of the Act which requires public authorities to
say whether or not they hold the requested information.
I have reminded IPS that they should ensure that they answer the specific
question posed by the applicant, rather than merely supplying general
information about the subject of the request.
Conclusion
• The response was partially correct - one of the two questions was
answered adequately
• Section 10(1) was not complied with – the response was 12 working
days late.
• Section 1(1)(a) was partly complied with
Information Access Team
Home Office
19 April 2010
