Assets and contracts being transferred to MyCSP

Dear Cabinet Office,

Please tell me the approximate value of assets and contracts being
transferred to the mutual joint venture MyCSP, as announced this
month
http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/news/fir....

I believe that the Cabinet Office will hold information about
whether assets and contracts will be transferred to the new venture
on commercial terms, or partly subsidised/gifted. Please give me
information which explains the approximate value of any such
subsidy or gift. Alternatively, please give me information which
confirms that the joint venture will be established on wholly
commercial terms. In either case, please describe the document
that's the source of the information you quote.

Yours faithfully,

Anthony Meredith

Dear Cabinet Office,

This is a complaint made under the procedure for Cabinet Office
complaints described at
http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/content/...
Although this complaint concerns poor performance by the
CabinetOffice in relation to Freedom of Information requests, this
is not a request for an FoI internal review of this request
FOI313599.

My complaint is that you have failed to provide a timely reply to
my FOI request that you received on 18 April - despite the public
undertakings signed by your Director, Bruce Mann, to the
Information Commissioner's Office about timely FOI performance.

Bruce Mann has already provided six months delay without apology in
responding to my FOI request FOI309489. In the light of that, I now
expect a reply to this complaint from you in no more than five
working days, which should include a substantive response to my FOI
request.

Please understand that I will cheerfully escalate this complaint
both to the Head of the Cabinet Office and the Information
Commissioner if you continue with prevarication and delay in
matters of legitimate public interest, which are linked to heated
public debate and national industrial action by civil servants
about pension arrangements.

Yours faithfully,

Anthony Meredith

Dear Cabinet Office,

I am writing to request an internal review of Cabinet Office's
handling of my FOI request 'Assets and contracts being transferred
to MyCSP' made on 17 April (ref FOI 313599).

I am disappointed that your delayed response of 25 July has taken
so long to explain that the ‘mutual joint venture’ announced by
Ministers in April has not, in fact, been established yet. In the
light of that, I wish to clarify the meaning of my request made on
17 April and ask for a renewed search to be made for relevant
information.

The information you have provided says in part - ‘It is intended
that MyCSP will have the benefit of a 7-10 year contract term for
the delivery of pension administration services to the UK Civil
Service.’ That suggests that the mutual MyCSP and its new
commercial partner may benefit from the continuation of MyCSP
pension services to government departments without competitive
procurement against MyCSP.

I therefore wish to clarify my request of 17 April as follows-

Please tell me what information you hold from the twelve months up
to 17 April 2011 about any gifts or benefits of value from
government to the mutual MyCSP (the employee interests of MyCSP).
That means any benefit above those associated with contracts for
pension services secured from open EU competition against non-MyCSP
providers. The requested information might include, for example,
options and recommendations given to Ministers, or a business case
about the future of MyCSP.

Alternatively please confirm that information is held which
confirms that there are no actual or planned elements of gift or
benefit from government to the mutual MyCSP.

In either case please identify the document(s) which contain the
relevant information.’

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

Yours faithfully,

Anthony Meredith

Dear Cabinet Office,

Your response to my request for an internal review of FOI313599 is
unlawfully late, though I also note you have refused that request
in the pretence of treating it as a fresh request FOI315342. Either
way, your delay is unlawful.

Please tell me the name of the senior manager
responsible, the reason for delay and when you will reply.

Yours faithfully,

Anthony Meredith