Big Society

Dear Sirs,

This is a request for information made under the terms of the
Freedom of Information Act 2000.

In a BBC Newsnight piece on Friday 7 October 2011 it was claimed
that persons who had attended a community organiser's course as
part of the Prime Minister's "Big Society" programme were provided
with a "Smart phone and a year's contract" and that this was
"courtesy of the Government".

I request information as to how much the Government has spent on
acquiring and providing smart phones and contracts under this
scheme.

I look forward to your response in this matter.

Yours sincerely,
Alistair P Sloan

Dear Sirs,

Your Ref: FOI315564

I am writing with regard to the above noted request for information
made in terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 on 9 October
2011, acknowledged by the Cabinet Office on 10 October 2011.

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 requires a public authority to
respond to a request for information promptly and no later than the
twentieth working day following receipt.

My records indicate that the twentieth working day was Friday 4
November 2011 and as such a response should have been issued by the
Cabinet Office no later than that date. As there was only an E-mail
address provided to the Cabinet Office issues regarding postal time
do not arise in this case and a response should have been received
by me no later than the 4 November 2011. My records also indicate
that no such response has been received within the statutory
deadline.

I request that the Cabinet Office either respond to my request for
information with a response compliant with the Act no later than
the close of business on Tuesday 8 November 2011. If no such
response is received I will have no option but to move the request
on through the complaints process by requesting than an internal
review is conducted.

I look forward to your response.

Yours sincerely,
Alistair P Sloan

Dear Sirs,

Your Ref: FOI315564

I am writing to you regarding the above noted request for
information made to the Cabinet Office pursuant to the provisions
of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 on 9 October 2011.

The Cabinet Office acknowledged this request for information in an
E-mail dated 10 October 2011. My records indicated that a response
was due to be issued no later than Friday 4 November 2011 and when
none was received I wrote to the Cabinet Office on that date
requesting that the cabinet office issued a response compliant with
the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 by the close of
business on Tuesday 8 November 2011. Unfortunately my records
indicate that no response that complies with the terms of the
Freedom of Information Act 2000 has been received from the Cabinet
Office.

The Cabinet office appears to have failed to comply with the
requirements in Section 10 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000
which require the Cabinet Office to respond to a request for
information promptly and no later than the twentieth working day
following receipt. I now require the Cabinet Office to conduct an
internal review into its handling of this request for information.

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 does not set down a statutory
timescale in which such reviews should be handled. However, the
Information Commissioner has issued guidance that states public
authorities should respond within 20 working days and certainly no
more than 40 working days. The Commissioner also states in his
guidance that where a public authority is going to take longer than
20 working days to respond to a requirement for review that the
authority contact the applicant within 20 working days to inform
them of this. In view of the Commissioner's guidance I will contact
the Cabinet office again if no response (including a notification
that a response cannot be provided within 20 working days) by close
of business on Wednesday 7 December 2011.

I would be grateful if you could acknowledge that you have received
this requirement for review within two working days of receipt.

I look forward to the Cabinet Office's response.

Yours sincerely,
Alistair P Sloan