Dear Ms Dewet

I refer to your request for an internal review which was received on 27 March. You requested the information below -

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of
     Information reviews.

     I am writing to request an internal review of Department for
     Children, Schools and Families' handling of my FOI request
     'Correspondence with Graham Badman re Home Education review'.

     My initial FOI request was acknowledged giving a reference number
     (2009/0017527). There was no further communication from the DCSF
     regarding the request.

     When the statutory 20-day deadline for response had elapsed I
     emailed again, calling the DCSF's attention to its breach of the
     law. Instead of a sensible reply, I received a form response as
     though to a new FOI request, with a new reference number
     (2009/0027877).

     This is clearly an unacceptable standard of behaviour and in breach
     of the Freedom of Information Act. I am therefore requesting an
     internal review of the DCSF's failure to respond.

     A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is
     available on the Internet at this address:
     http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/correspondence_with_graham_badma

The internal review panel's remit is restricted to considering a review of the decision taken under the FOI Act. At the time of your request, you had not received a reply to your request. We have since sent you a substantive response under the Act. However, because of the unfortunate delays incurred in responding to your request, the panel did review the handling of your case (reference 2009/0017527).

The panel acknowledged that a breach of the Act had taken place in that a response had not been made within 20 days. It considered what action had been taken at the time to deal with your request within the deadline, namely that action had been considered by me to designate resources from elsewhere in my Division. However, due to high volumes of work and unexpected long term illness, additional staffing was unavailable. Special weekly meetings have taken place since the beginning of May to enable discussion of all current cases and this enabled new cases to be dealt with in a more timely manner and the backlog of delayed cases to be addressed.

The Department appreciates its statutory obligations and very much regrets the delay in responding to your request. I understand a response was forwarded to you on 1 June.

Yours sincerely

Penny Jones

Deputy Director

Independent Schools and School Organisation

[email address]

Tel: 01325 391001

2