BNP membership list.

Mark Walker made this Freedom of Information request to Central Scotland Police

The request was refused by Central Scotland Police.

From: Mark Walker

6 October 2009

Dear Sir or Madam,

Please provide the following information under the Freedom of
Information Act 2000.

In November 2008 the membership list of the British National Party
(BNP) was published online. On September 1, 2009 a disgruntled
former official Matt Single was convicted in relation to this for
offences under the Data Protection Act.

I refer to Schedule 1 of The Data Protection Principles.

Under Schedule 1, any use of 'sensitive personal data' must be
processed
only when at least one of the conditions in Schedule 2 is met, and
at
least one of the conditions in Schedule 3 is also met.

1. Please tell me if Central Scotland Police
has processed any data relating to the leaked British National
Party membership list.

2. Please tell me which of the conditions in Schedule 2 and
Schedule 3
were met when processing sensitive personal data?

3. Has sensitive personal data been used for any purposes other
than
comparing against the Central Scotland Police
personnel database?

4. Who was responsible for the decision to compare sensitive
personnel
data against Central Scotland Police's personnel data?

5. What were the grounds for such a decision?

6. I request the minutes of any meeting held to come to such a
decision.

7. Please describe the process used in making such a decision and
whether the consequences of this decision, if any, were assessed.

Yours faithfully,

Mark Walker

Solidarity Trade Union

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From: Freedom Of Information
Central Scotland Police

8 October 2009

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Dear Mr Walker,

Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 - Acknowledgment

Thank you for your request for information received on 6th October, 2009,
and is being dealt with this in accordance with the Freedom of Information
(Scotland) Act 2002. Your request has been given the unique Reference
Number : 1238 and this should be quoted on all correspondence.

Under the terms of the Act, we have a statutory obligation to respond
within 20 working days from the after your request was received. A
response to your request for information will be sent to you promptly; and
in any event not later than 4th November, 2009. Please allow for postal
time, if sent by mail.

Your request may result in us not supplying the information you have
requested, as the Act imposes certain conditions and exemptions on the
information we may supply. It is also possible that the information you
request is controlled by different legislation.

If you require any clarification or advice, please do not hesitate to
contact me on 01786 456000 or Email: [1][email address]
. However, if you are not satisfied with the way in which your request has
been handled, you are entitled, in the first instance, to request a Review
of the decisions made. Should you wish to request a Review after your
initial Response from us, please write to Chief Inspector A McLeod, Head
of Department, Professional Standards Department, Central Scotland Police,
Police Headquarters, Randolphfield, Stirling FK8 2HD within 40 working
days of receiving this correspondence.

If, after receiving a response to the Review, you remain dissatisfied, you
have six months within which you may Appeal to the Scottish Information
Commissioner who can be contacted at Kinburn Castle, Doubledykes Road, St
Andrews, Fife, KY16 9DS. Phone: 01334 464610 Fax: 01334 464611 or Email
[2][email address] .

For further information on Freedom of Information you can visit the
Scottish Information Commissioners website at
[3]www.itspublicknowledge.info .

Yours sincerely

Kind regards
Ilene

Freedom of Information Officer

Central Scotland Police
Police Headquarters

Tel: 01786 456000
Fax: 01786 456388
Email: [4][Central Scotland Police request email]

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From: Ilene Hutchinson (48636)
Central Scotland Police

15 October 2009

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Dear Mr Walker,

Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 - Clarification

Thank you for your request for information received on 6th October, 2009,
and is being dealt with this in accordance with the Freedom of Information
(Scotland) Act 2002.

I write to seek clarification on your request as follows:

Request : As below

Clarification Required :

In connection with Question 3 please can you clarify if this question
refers directly to Question 1.

3. Has sensitive personal data been used for any purposes other than
comparing against the Central Scotland Police personnel database?

Please note : Until your clarification is received the statutory 20
working day clock has stopped and will begin once your clarification has
been received.

If you require any clarification, please do not hesitate to contact me on
01786 456000 or Email: [1][email address] . However, if
you are not satisfied with the way in which your request has been handled,
you are entitled, in the first instance, to request a Review of the
decisions made. Should you wish to request a Review, please write to Chief
Inspector A McLeod, Head of Department, Professional Standards Department,
Central Scotland Police, Police Headquarters, Randolphfield, Stirling FK8
2HD within 40 working days of receiving this correspondence.

If, after receiving a response, you remain dissatisfied, you have six
months within which you may Appeal to the Scottish Information
Commissioner who can be contacted at Kinburn Castle, Doubledykes Road, St
Andrews, Fife, KY16 9DS. Phone: 01334 464610 Fax: 01334 464611 or Email
[2][email address] .

Yours sincerely

Kind regards
Ilene

Freedom of Information Officer
Central Scotland Police
Police Headquarters
Tel: 01786 456000
Fax: 01786 456388
Email: [3][Central Scotland Police request email]

NOT PROTECTIVELY MARKED

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From: Mark Walker

16 October 2009

Dear Ilene Hutchinson (48636),

Question 3 relates directly to question 1.

Yours sincerely,

Mark Walker

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From: Freedom Of Information
Central Scotland Police

16 October 2009

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Dear Mr Walker,

Many thanks for your Clarification. I will deal with your FOI Request and
respond no later than 13th November, 2009.

Kind regards
Ilene

Freedom of Information Officer

Central Scotland Police
Police Headquarters

Tel: 01786 456000
Fax: 01786 456388
Email: [1][Central Scotland Police request email]

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From: Ilene Hutchinson (48636)
Central Scotland Police

10 November 2009

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Dear Mr Walker,

Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002

Thank you for your request for information received on 6th October, 2009
and further Clarified on 16th October, 2009. I have dealt with this in
accordance with the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 and respond
to your request as follows :

Your Request(s) :

1. Please tell me if Central Scotland Police has processed any data
relating to the leaked British National Party membership list.
2. Please tell me which of the conditions in Schedule 2 and Schedule 3
were met when processing sensitive personal data?
3. Has sensitive personal data been used for any purposes other than
comparing against the Central Scotland Police personnel database?
4. Who was responsible for the decision to compare sensitive personnel
data against Central Scotland Police's personnel data?
5. What were the grounds for such a decision?
6. I request the minutes of any meeting held to come to such a decision.
7. Please describe the process used in making such a decision and whether
the consequences of this decision, if any, were assessed.

Response :

In terms of Section 18 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 I
can neither confirm nor deny that Central Scotland Police hold the
information requested by you, as I do not consider it to be in the public
interest to do so. If the information was held I consider that it would be
exempt information by virtue of the exemptions contained in

Section 34(1)(a)&(b) Investigations and

Section 35(1)(a)(b) or (g) Law Enforcement

however this notice should not be regarding as any indication that the
information requested is held by Central Scotland Police.

I can, confirm that there are provisions within the Data Protection Act
1998 that facilitate the processing of personal data for the purposes
covered by the exemptions identified above should such processing have
taken place. In particular Condition 5 in Schedule 2 of the Act and
paragraph 2 of the Data Protection (Processing of Sensitive Personal Data)
Order 2000 (SI 417/2000) created by virtue of Condition 10 in Schedule 3
in the Act are relevant. I would remind you however that this
clarification should not be regarded as any indication whether the
information requested is or is not held by Central Scotland Police".

If you require any clarification, please do not hesitate to contact me on
01786 456000 or Email: [1][email address] . However, if
you are not satisfied with the way in which your request has been handled,
you are entitled, in the first instance, to request a Review of the
decisions made. Should you wish to request a Review, please write to Chief
Inspector A McLeod, Head of Department, Professional Standards Department,
Central Scotland Police, Police Headquarters, Randolphfield, Stirling FK8
2HD within 40 working days of receiving this correspondence.

If, after receiving a response, you remain dissatisfied, you have six
months within which you may Appeal to the Scottish Information
Commissioner who can be contacted at Kinburn Castle, Doubledykes Road, St
Andrews, Fife, KY16 9DS. Phone: 01334 464610 Fax: 01334 464611 or Email
[2][email address] .

Yours sincerely

Kind regards
Ilene

Freedom of Information Officer
Central Scotland Police
Police Headquarters
Randolphfield
Stirling FK8 2HD

Tel: 01786 456000
Fax: 01786 456388
Email: [3][Central Scotland Police request email]

NOT PROTECTIVELY MARKED

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From: Mark Walker

7 December 2009

Dear Sir or Madam,

Thank you for your response of 10th November 2009. I would like to
request an internal review of the decision not to disclose
information.

As you will be aware there is a general right of access to
information held by public authorities. In OGC v Information
Commissioner [2008] EA/2006/0040, 5.3.07 (at para 71) the High
Court approved the following statement:-

“[T]here is an assumption built into FOIA that the disclosure of
information by public authorities on request is in itself of value
and in the public interest, in order to promote transparency and
accountability in relation to the activities of public
authorities.”

You have claimed exemptions which are subject to a public interest
test. This requires you to take into account the public interest in
deciding whether to release information even when an exemption
applies. In short, our understanding is that the public interest
may override the exemption.

It is our belief that there is a presumption in favour of
disclosure in the Act created by the reverse emphasis in section 2.
We argue that where the balance is even, the public interest in a
particular disclosure should prevail.

We wish the review to consider the following points:-

1. The public would assume that the Police forces had obtained and
reviewed a copy of the leaked BNP list as there is a policy banning
BNP members from serving in the force and the list was leaked onto
the Internet (via Wikileaks). Several forces have publicly
disciplined workers on the basis that they were on this list. At
the time Spokespersons for Forces were happy to tell the Press that
they were "scouring" the list for people to discipline. Several
forces have also confirmed that they hold the list for this purpose
and others in response to FOI requests. We argue that claiming
exemptions on the grounds you do is therefore misconceived.

2. The only criminal charge we are aware of relates to Matt Single,
the person convicted under Data Protection law for leaking it. No
other criminal matter relating to the list has been brought before
the courts. It is difficult to understand what kind of criminal
investigations might be prejudiced by answering our request,
therefore.

3. We argue that it would be possible for you to disclose
information in response to our request that does not relate to the
areas covered by the exemptions. A blanket refusal is not a
proportionate response.

4. You have failed to fully consider the public interest in
disclosure. Specifically we would like the Review to consider the
public interest in:-

(a) Assisting public understanding of an issue that is subject to
current national debate
(b) Enabling a proper debate of issues relating to Data Protection,
Privacy, Freedom of Association, Freedom of Expression and misuse
of Government powers to the detriment of individual rights. We
argue that an informed debate cannot take place without wide
availability of all the relevant information.
(c) Allowing individuals affected adversely in Employment
information which they can refer to in order to challenge
discrimination on political grounds.
(d) Allowing analysis and scrutiny of the effect and implications
of a major policy decision with Human Rights implications
(e) Providing our Union sufficient information to allow us to make
representations on this issue. See Case No A.31/00 relating to the
enforcement of The Open Government Code of Practice on Access to
Government Information enforced by the Parliamentary Ombudsman.
This is particularly important to us as we have members who are or
may be directly affected in their employment.
(f) Providing our Union with information which can be used to see
the practical implications of a limitation on the right of Freedom
of Association. This is important as further restrictions are being
considered. In fact we recently gave evidence to the Smith review
(concerning Education) on this point, amongst others.
(g) Providing information which makes individuals and institutions
accountable for decisions.

Our Union argues that the substance of the information we have
requested relates to a matter of serious and legitimate public
concern and its disclosure will inform public debate. The public
interest in disclosing the information outweighs any public
interest in not disclosing it.

Yours sincerely

Mark Walker
Solidarity Trade Union
www.solidaritytradeunion.org

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

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From: Freedom Of Information
Central Scotland Police

8 December 2009

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Dear Mr Walker

Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 - Request for Review

I acknowledge receipt of your email received on 7th December, 2009 in
relation to a review of the decision made by our Force Freedom of
Information Officer, on 10th Novemger, 2009.

Your correspondence was received on 7th December, 2009 and your request
and the decision taken will be responded to within the statutory 20
working days time limit, under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act
2002 being 13th January, 2010.

If, after receiving a response, you remain dissatisfied, you have six
months within which you may Appeal to the Scottish Information
Commissioner who can be contacted at Kinburn Castle, Doubledykes Road, St
Andrews, Fife, KY16 9DS. Phone: 01334 464610 Fax: 01334 464611 or Email
[1][email address] .

Yours sincerely

Kind regards
Ilene

Freedom of Information Officer

Central Scotland Police
Police Headquarters

Tel: 01786 456000
Fax: 01786 456388
Email: [2][Central Scotland Police request email]

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From: Ilene Hutchinson (48636)
Central Scotland Police

13 January 2010

Attachment 1238 Review.doc
67K Download View as HTML

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Dear Mr Walker,

Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002

In relation to your letter received on 7th December, 2009 have reviewed
your request for information in regard to BNP.

A review has taken place and a decision has been made (attached) to uphold
the original decision made by our Force Freedom of Information Officer,
for the information to be refused using the original rationale detailed in
the email sent from our Freedom of Information Officer on 10th November,
2009.

If, after receiving a response, you remain dissatisfied, you have six
months within which you may Appeal to the Scottish Information
Commissioner who can be contacted at Kinburn Castle, Doubledykes Road, St
Andrews, Fife, KY16 9DS. Phone: 01334 464610 Fax: 01334 464611 or Email
[1][email address] .

Yours sincerely

Kind regards
Ilene

Freedom of Information Officer
Central Scotland Police
Police Headquarters
Tel: 01786 456000
Fax: 01786 456388
Email: [2][Central Scotland Police request email]

NOT PROTECTIVELY MARKED

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Things to do with this request

Anyone:
Central Scotland Police only: