Information returned from cookies on universal jobmatch

The request was partially successful.

Dear Department for Work and Pensions,

It has been brought to my attention that the new Universal Jobmatch website via directgov is to be made compulsory for claimants having a jobsearch requirement. It has also come to my attention that this website uses Third Party cookies on the site as well as presumably local cookies within the websites own domain. I assert that third party cookies are not necessary for such a site to function, therefor would you please provide the following information regarding the use of cookies and third party or 'tracking' cookies on this website;

1. what information is stored and/or made available to JCP advisers regarding a claimants use of the website, and what information regarding this use is additionally available to managers or decision makers, and to what purpose is this information gathered?

2. I assert that any third party cookie, or tracking cookie can be used to track a users activity over any number of websites which have signed up to use the third party company program, and any affiliates of the third party company, and that this website has been detected to use a third party cookie from webtrends.com by myself today, what information on any claimant is provided back to the DWP from the use of this and any other third party cookie on the website, and what information from the use of this third party cookie is provided to any other party, and who are those parties?

3. If the DWP asserts that no information is provided back to the DWP from the use of third party or tracking cookies, what is the purpose of using these cookies and considering that the use of the site is to be made mandatory, has provision been made for the site to function correctly should a user determine that they do not wish to accept third party cookies on the site?

4. it has been stated elsewhere that claimants will not be required to allow DWP or JCP to collect data on their use of the website, in order to insure that this is the case a user must block all cookies on the site, what provision has been made for the website to function correctly in this circumstance, i.e. without any cookies being used?

5. Finally what provision will the DWP make for claimants to use this website when they do not have broadband internet access, and what penalty if any will be imposed on a claimant who has lost thier own access due to finacial hardship or sanction, should the DWP fail to provide them with access to this 'mandatory' website?

Yours faithfully,

Tim Batchelor

DWP freedom-of-information-requests, Department for Work and Pensions

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Dear DWP freedom-of-information-requests,

I has come to my attention that you have not responded promptly to my freedom of information request regarding information returned by cookies on universal jobmatch. By law you should have responded promptly and by 25th Jan 2013, 'responded' in this case meaning an informative reply other than any automatic responder message.

I assert that the information I have requested is in the public interest, as is your compliance with the EU Privacy and electronic communications directive or 'cookie law' which came into effect on 26th may 2012.

Yours sincerely,

Tim Batchelor

references:

http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2012...

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2011/...

DWP freedom-of-information-requests, Department for Work and Pensions

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By the next working day your request will be forwarded to the relevant
information owner within the Department who will respond to you direct. 

If your email is a Freedom of Information request you can normally
expect a response within 20 working days.

Should you have any further queries in connection with this request do
please contact us.

For further information on the Freedom of Information Act within DWP
please click on the link below.

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keith left an annotation ()

i myself have sent to the DWP a request along the same lines on the 22 december. They have not responded and i have sent an email giving them till 4pm this Tuesday to comply or a report will be sent to the information commissionaires office.

it seems the DWP are very reluctant to answer these direct questions and one can only think that their are sinister motives behind these tracking cookies/web beacons

keith left an annotation ()

Any updates on this request. I am now typing up a complaint to the information commissionaires office on the DWP lack of compliance in answering these questions.

Wesley Hayden left an annotation ()

If there is any information on who these third party companies are then requests should be made to these also, interesting request, I take it there is no information regarding this warning on the UJM website?

Wesley Hayden left an annotation ()

WT_FPC does not expire for 10 years!
(unless you know how to remove it from your hard drive)

If you want to browse fully immune, get a cheap second hand laptop with WiFi enabled, rip out the hard drive, learn to use a copy of a Linux distro which boots from the disc, so nothing can ever be saved (cookies/viruses anything...) when you switch your laptop off, works great at train stations, libraries or just about anywhere that offers FREE WiFi....result!

keith left an annotation ()

It seems the DWP are reluctant to answer these tracking cookies questions by either myself or this poster. In both our cases the time limit for compliance has been exceeded by the DWP. NO NOTIFICATION BY THE DWP, NOTHING

Last week i submitted a complaint to the information commissionaires office, i will update when i receive a response from either from the DWP or the ICO

Dear DWP freedom-of-information-requests,

It has come to my attention that a response from you regarding my FOI 'Information returned from cookies on Universal Jobmatch' is LONG OVERDUE. By law, under all circumstances you should have responded informatively by now.

Accordingly I am now requesting that you make an Internal Review regarding this request, prior to making a formal complaint to the Information Commissioner.

Lest there is any doubt, full details of this FOI request and DWPs failure to respond in a timely manner can be found here:

http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/in...

Yours sincerely,

Tim Batchelor

DWP freedom-of-information-requests, Department for Work and Pensions

This is an automated confirmation that your request for information has
been accepted by the DWP FoI mailbox.

By the next working day your request will be forwarded to the relevant
information owner within the Department who will respond to you direct. 

If your email is a Freedom of Information request you can normally
expect a response within 20 working days.

Should you have any further queries in connection with this request do
please contact us.

For further information on the Freedom of Information Act within DWP
please click on the link below.

[1]http://www.dwp.gov.uk/freedom-of-informa...

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DWP Digitalisation Programme Support, Department for Work and Pensions

1 Attachment

Dear Tim Batchelor,

attached is the response to your review of your Freedom of Information
Request - Universal Jobmatch.

<<IR 87 Response final.pdf>>

Regards,

DWP Digitalisation Programme Support

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Tim Batchelor left an annotation ()

My request for an Internal Review finally produced some response, see above. However the FOI still has not been answered in any way. To summarise the response from DWP IR;

They apologise for the delay, and hope to produce a response by 20th March.

One has to wondered if the delay is caused by them being busy as they say, or by requiring time to clean up their act with respect to the UJ site.

Ho hum,.. keep following folks, we may get an informative response yet.

Dear DWP Digitalisation Programme Support,

Thankyou for your response to my request for an Internal Review of my FOI request 'information returned from cookies on Universal Jobmatch'.

After considering your response I am happy to delay making a formal complaint to the Information Commissioner regarding DWP's handling of this request, pending your expected response to this request by 20th March 2013.

Yours sincerely,

Tim Batchelor

Tim Batchelor left an annotation ()

For the information of those following this request it appears that the PCS union has some useful information regarding this matter. This article published today sheds a little light;

http://www.pcs.org.uk/en/department_for_...

keith left an annotation ()

I have exactly the same email from the DWP, AND I AM TALKING WORD FOR WORD, RIGHT DOWN TO THE 20TH MARCH.

I have put in a complaint to the Information Commissioners office who have given the DWP 10 days to comply

My original FOI was made on the 22 december 2012 and it seems the DWP are being deliberately evasive in answering questions

The response from the PCS union although welcomed, is only guidance. I require the statutory instrument, or lack of it the DWP are instigating by way of threats of sanctions to force people to sign up to this UJM service. Even the PCS in their response to mandation in signing up to UJM has failed to show where in the secondary legislation it has been agreed by parliament. This mandation needs to be contained within the (Job Seekers Allowance Regulations 2013), to the primary legislation, that is the Job Seekers Act 1995

ALL SMOKE SCREEN AND MIRRORS AGAIN

DWP Digitalisation Programme Support, Department for Work and Pensions

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Batchelor

Attached is the response to your Freedom of Information Request -
Universal Jobmatch

Regards

DWP Digitalisation Programme Support

<<5132 response.pdf>>

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Dear Department for Work and Pensions,

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

I am writing to request an internal review of Department for Work and Pensions's handling of my FOI request 'Information returned from cookies on universal jobmatch'.

It is my view that my request has not been answered fully or informatively. The answer that I have received repeats statements that have recently been made by the government publicly prior to this request receiving any informative response, a response should have been made by 25th of january 2013, where instead no informative response was made untill 15th march 2013, and that after public statements had been made by goverment. The department has in my view failed to comply with the spirit of the freedom of information act in this case, and may also have failed in my view with the letter of the act.

Furthermore the limited reply that I have received to my request for information under the act is the following statement;

"A full breakdown of all of the cookies on the Universal Jobmatch has been attached as an
annex to this response. "

No such attachment was received by myself.

As regards the claim of the Digitalisation Programme that their are no third party cookies being used specifically the webtrends cookie. The digitalisation department is in my view playing semantic games, possibly to avoid its responsibilites under the EU cookie directive. Webtrends is a third party to the agreement between the jobseeker and the DWP, as is monster, its service provider.

If I do not receive a fully, complete and satisfactory review of the departments handling of this request in a timely manner, and a fully complete and informative response to the request I will make a formal complaint to the information comissioner forthwith, regarding the departments handling of this request.

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

Yours faithfully,

Tim Batchelor

DWP freedom-of-information-requests, Department for Work and Pensions

This is an automated confirmation that your request for information has
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By the next working day your request will be forwarded to the relevant
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expect a response within 20 working days.

Should you have any further queries in connection with this request do
please contact us.

For further information on the Freedom of Information Act within DWP
please click on the link below.

[1]http://www.dwp.gov.uk/freedom-of-informa...

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DWP Digitalisation Programme Support, Department for Work and Pensions

2 Attachments

Dear Tim Batchelor
 
Attached is the response to the Review of your Freedom of Information
request - Universal Jobmatch
 
Regards
 
Yours
 
DWP Digitalisation Programme Support
 
 
 
 
 

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