"parent departments" of the 7 civil servants seconded to the ICO

Link: [1]File-List

27th April 2009

Case Reference Number IRQ0245397

Dear Sir or Madam

Thank you for your email of 25 April 2009 in which you have made a request
for information to the Information Commissioner’s Office.

Your request is being dealt with in accordance with the Freedom of
Information Act 2000.  We will respond by 26 May 2009 which, taking into
account the two May bank holidays, is 20 working days from the day after
we received your request.

Yours sincerely

Joanne Crowley

Assistant Internal Compliance Manager

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http://www.ico.gov.uk or email: [email address]
Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow,
Cheshire, SK9 5AF
Tel: 01625 545 700 Fax: 01625 524 510

References

Visible links
1. file:///tmp/rad9F72B_files/filelist.xml

Link: [1]File-List

12th May 2009

Case Reference Number IRQ0245397

Dear Sir/Madam

I write further to our acknowledgment letter and regarding your request
for information.

Your request asked:

1) The list of the "parent departments" of the "seven civil
servants" on secondment to the Information Commissioner's Office,
as mentioned in the Government's Response to the House of Commons
Parliamentary Select Committee:

We currently have six secondees working in the Information Commissioners
Office.  They are seconded to us from the Ministry of Justice, Department
of Work and Pensions and HM Revenue and Customs.

2) What exactly are the specific duties of these seven civil
servants within the Information Commissioner's Office ?

The secondees are performing the duties of a Senior FOI Complaints Officer
working within our Freedom of Information Operations Department.  This
department is responsible for investigating complaints received under the
Freedom of Information Act 2000 and Environmental Information Regulations
2004.

Attached is copy of the generic job description for the Senior Complaints
Officer.

3) How can the Information Commissioner's Office now be seen to
remain independent of Whitehall ?

The secondees have been asked to sign an agreement which states that:

Information to which the secondee has access during the course of the
secondment to the ICO must be treated as being private and confidential.
The information must not be disclosed to parties outside the ICO either
during or after the secondment period.

Furthermore Freedom of Information Operations Department has a procedures
manual which records the complaint process and is a resource for all
caseworkers whilst investigating complaints received.  Within the
‘Investigation Stage’ of the manual and when referring to allocation
of complaints within teams its states:

‘When allocating casework to secondees the Team Leader should ensure
that no case is allocated to a secondee which involves their home
department’.

I hope this information is helpful, however If you are dissatisfied with
the response you have received and wish to request a review of our
decision or make a complaint about how your request has been handled you
should write to the Internal Compliance Team at the address below or
e-mail [2][email address]

Your request for internal review should be submitted to us within 40
working days of receipt by you of this response. Any such request
received after this time will only be considered at the discretion of the
Commissioner.

If having exhausted the review process you are not content that your
request or review has been dealt with correctly, you have a further right
of appeal to this office in our capacity as the statutory complaint
handler under the legislation.  To make such an application, please write
to the Case Reception Team, at the address below or visit the
‘Complaints’ section of our website to make a Freedom of Information
Act or Environmental Information Regulations complaint online.

 

A copy of our review procedure is attached.

Yours sincerely

Charlotte Powell

Internal Compliance Manager

Yours sincerely

show quoted sections

http://www.ico.gov.uk or email: [email address]
Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow,
Cheshire, SK9 5AF
Tel: 01625 545 700 Fax: 01625 524 510

References

Visible links
1. file:///tmp/rad39D74_files/filelist.xml
2. mailto:[email address]