whatdotheyknow.com URL's visited by ICO staff

The request was refused by Information Commissioner's Office.

Barbara Whittle

Dear Information Commissioner’s Office,

I would like to know how many times the whatdotheyknow.com website has been accessed by Information Commissioner staff in the last 12 months and the full URL's visited in each case

If you are unable to supply 12 months worth of information , I will accept 6 months , failing that 3 months

Yours faithfully,

Barbara Whittle

Information Commissioner's Office

Link: [1]File-List

29 June 2011

Case Reference Number IRQ0400834

Dear Ms Whittle

Thank you for your email of today in which you have made a request for
information to the ICO.

Your request has been passed to the Internal Compliance Team, and is being
dealt with in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000 under
the reference number shown above.  We will therefore respond to your
request by 27 July 2011 which is 20 working days from the day after we
received your request.

If you wish to add further information to your request case please reply
to this email, being careful not to amend the information in the
‘subject’ field. This will ensure that the information is added
directly to your case. However, please be aware that this is an automated
process; the information will not be read by a member of our staff until
your case is allocated to a request handler.

Yours sincerely

Helen Ward

Lead Internal Compliance Officer

show quoted sections

Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow,
Cheshire, SK9 5AF
Tel: 0303 123 1113 Fax: 01625 524 510 Web: www.ico.gov.uk

References

Visible links
1. file:///tmp/rad59D45_files/filelist.xml

Information Commissioner's Office

2 Attachments

Link: [1]File-List

4th July 2011

Reference: IRQ0400834

Dear Ms Whittle,

I write further to our correspondence of 29 June 2011 in which we
acknowledged your request for information to the Information
CommissionerÂ’s Office.

As previously explained we are treating your request as a request for
information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA).

In your request dated 29 June 2011 you asked for the following:

“I would like to know how many times the whatdotheyknow.com website
has been accessed by Information Commissioner staff in the last 12 months
and the full URLÂ’s visited in each case.

If you are unable to supply 12 months worth of information, I will accept
6 months, failing that 3 months.”

I should initially explain that the software that we use to monitor
internet use of staff only stores detailed information such as URLÂ’s
visited for a time period of 28 days. As such we do not hold the
information you have requested for the 12, 6 or 3 month time period you
have specified in your request.

However, I have completed a search for the last 28 day time period, which
runs from 6 June to the present day (4 July 2011). You will find a
breakdown of all URLÂ’s visited in the attached document.

With regards to your request for the number of times the
whatdotheyknow.com website has been accessed by Information Commissioner
staff I should explain that this is not information we hold.

The way in which our reporting software operates means that it does not
simply record each time a website is accessed. The software records each
link (i.e. [2]www.whatdotheyknow.com) and then each subsequent item that
is automatically downloaded in the background of the website (i.e. images
or jpeg files). As such on the reports these background items will also be
displayed as a link in the report I have provided to you. You will find
therefore that a number of the links end in .jpeg or .png.

I trust this information has been of use to you 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 Department at the
address below or email [3][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 First Contact 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.

I hope this information has been of assistance to you.

Yours sincerely

Hannah Burling

Lead Internal Compliance Officer

show quoted sections

Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow,
Cheshire, SK9 5AF
Tel: 0303 123 1113 Fax: 01625 524 510 Web: www.ico.gov.uk

References

Visible links
1. file:///tmp/radD8135_files/filelist.xml
2. http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/
3. mailto:[email address]

Mark Goodge left an annotation ()

The file doesn't seem to be attached. Not sure whether that's a bug in the WDTK system or a problem at the sending end.

Alex Skene left an annotation ()

I can confirm that the attachment is 0 bytes long in the raw email. I would suggest asking the ICO to re-send their reply.

Regards
Alex - WhatDoTheyKnow volunteer

Dear Information Commissioner’s Office,

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

I am writing to request an internal review of Information Commissioner’s Office's handling of my FOI request 'whatdotheyknow.com URL's visited by ICO staff'.

[ GIVE DETAILS ABOUT YOUR COMPLAINT HERE. ] Please resend the information

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

Yours faithfully,

Barbara Whittle

Information Commissioner's Office

Link: [1]File-List

16th August 2011

Reference: IRQ0400834

Dear Ms Whittle,

Thank you for your correspondence of 15 August 2011 in which you request
that the information provided to you in response to your original request
is resent. This is due to the file not opening.

It would appear an error has occurred with the file I attached to the
response I sent to you dated 4 July 2011. We are currently looking into
this issue with our IT team and I will respond to you as soon as possible.

I apologise for the inconvenience this may have caused you.

Yours sincerely

Hannah Burling

Lead Internal Compliance Officer

show quoted sections

Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow,
Cheshire, SK9 5AF
Tel: 0303 123 1113 Fax: 01625 524 510 Web: www.ico.gov.uk

References

Visible links
1. file:///tmp/radC2E60_files/filelist.xml

Information Commissioner's Office

3 Attachments

Link: [1]File-List

23rd August 2011

Reference: IRQ0400834

Dear Ms Whittle,

I write further to my email of 16^th August 2011.

I apologise for the delay in providing you with a response, I have been
looking into the error that has resulted in you being unable to view the
information I sent to you in response to your request.

Unfortunately, our IT department have not been able to recover the
document from our electronic case management system and therefore I am
unable to re-send the document in question. However, following this
technical error I have completed a search for the last 28 day time period,
which runs from 26^th July 2011 to the present day. Due to the volume of
information I have sent a breakdown of the URLÂ’s in separate emails
– most of which will follow this initial email.

As I explained in my previous correspondence the way in which our
reporting software operates means that it does not simply record each time
a website is accessed. The software records each link (i.e.
[2]www.whatdotheyknow.com) and then each subsequent item that is
automatically downloaded in the background of the website (i.e. images or
jpeg files). As such on the reports these background items will also be
displayed as a link in the reports I have provided to you. You will find
therefore that a number of the links end in .jpeg or .png.

I apologise for the inconvenience our technical error may have caused you.
However, I hope the information I have provided will be of use to you. 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
Department at the address below or email
[3][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 First Contact 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.

I hope this information has been of assistance to you.

Yours sincerely

Hannah Burling

Lead Internal Compliance Officer

show quoted sections

Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow,
Cheshire, SK9 5AF
Tel: 0303 123 1113 Fax: 01625 524 510 Web: www.ico.gov.uk

References

Visible links
1. file:///tmp/rad004D2_files/filelist.xml
2. http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/
3. mailto:[email address]

Information Commissioner's Office

1 Attachment

Link: [1]File-List

23rd August 2011

Reference: IRQ0400834

Dear Ms Whittle,

Part 3 attached.

Yours sincerely

Hannah Burling

Lead Internal Compliance Officer

show quoted sections

Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow,
Cheshire, SK9 5AF
Tel: 0303 123 1113 Fax: 01625 524 510 Web: www.ico.gov.uk

References

Visible links
1. file:///tmp/rad53C28_files/filelist.xml

Information Commissioner's Office

1 Attachment

Link: [1]File-List

23rd August 2011

Reference: IRQ0400834

Dear Ms Whittle,

Part 4 attached.  

Yours sincerely

Hannah Burling

Lead Internal Compliance Officer

show quoted sections

Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow,
Cheshire, SK9 5AF
Tel: 0303 123 1113 Fax: 01625 524 510 Web: www.ico.gov.uk

References

Visible links
1. file:///tmp/rad92169_files/filelist.xml

Information Commissioner's Office

1 Attachment

Link: [1]File-List

23rd August 2011

Reference: IRQ0400834

Dear Ms Whittle,

Part 5 attached.  

Yours sincerely

Hannah Burling

Lead Internal Compliance Officer

show quoted sections

Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow,
Cheshire, SK9 5AF
Tel: 0303 123 1113 Fax: 01625 524 510 Web: www.ico.gov.uk

References

Visible links
1. file:///tmp/rad4EBAB_files/filelist.xml

Information Commissioner's Office

1 Attachment

Link: [1]File-List

23rd August 2011

Reference: IRQ0400834

Dear Ms Whittle,

Part 6 attached.  

Yours sincerely

Hannah Burling

Lead Internal Compliance Officer

show quoted sections

Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow,
Cheshire, SK9 5AF
Tel: 0303 123 1113 Fax: 01625 524 510 Web: www.ico.gov.uk

References

Visible links
1. file:///tmp/rad5886E_files/filelist.xml

Information Commissioner's Office

2 Attachments

Link: [1]File-List

23rd August 2011

Reference: IRQ0400834

Dear Ms Whittle,

Parts 7 and 8 attached. I can confirm these are the last attachments.  

Yours sincerely

Hannah Burling

Lead Internal Compliance Officer

show quoted sections

Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow,
Cheshire, SK9 5AF
Tel: 0303 123 1113 Fax: 01625 524 510 Web: www.ico.gov.uk

References

Visible links
1. file:///tmp/rad18C53_files/filelist.xml

Dear Information Commissioner’s Office,

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

I am writing to request an internal review of Information Commissioner’s Office's handling of my FOI request 'whatdotheyknow.com URL's visited by ICO staff'

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

Yours faithfully,

Barbara Whittle

Information Commissioner's Office

Link: [1]File-List

30th September 2011

 

Case Reference Number

 

Dear Ms Whittle

 

Thank you for your correspondence dated 30 September 2011.

 

This correspondence will now be treated as a request for review of your
recent request for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

 

We will respond by 28 October 2011 which is 20 working days from the day
after we received your recent correspondence.  This is in accordance with
our internal review procedures.

 

If you wish to add further information or evidence to your case please
reply to this email, being careful not to amend the information in the
‘subject’ field. This will ensure that the information is added directly
to your case. However, please be aware that this is an automated process;
the information will not be read by a member of our staff until your case
is allocated to a request handler.

 

 

 

Yours sincerely

 

Iman Elmehdawy

Lead Internal Compliance Officer

show quoted sections

Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow,
Cheshire, SK9 5AF
Tel: 0303 123 1113 Fax: 01625 524 510 Web: www.ico.gov.uk

References

Visible links
1. file:///tmp/radABE20_files/filelist.xml

Information Commissioner's Office

Link: [1]File-List

Dear Ms Whittle

 

Re: RCC0419048

 

I am writing in response to your request for an internal review of the way
in which we handled your freedom of information request of 29 June 2011.

 

In that request, you asked:

 

“I would like to know how many times the whatdotheyknow.com website has
been accessed by Information Commissioner staff in the last 12 months and
the full URLÂ’s visited in each case.

 

If you are unable to supply 12 months worth of information, I will accept
6 months, failing that 3 months.”

 

We replied to you on 4 July explaining that we only hold information
relating to URLs accessed by ICO staff for a period of 28 days, after
which it is deleted from the system. We were therefore unable to supply
you with exactly what you asked for, but we provided you with what we did
have, ie the data from the previous 28 day period. In order to do this,
the Compliance Officer created a separate file from the internet reporting
tool, but it appears when we sent it to you the file did not open
properly, and you contacted us again on 15 August to ask us to resend it.
Unfortunately, by this time the Compliance Officer had deleted the file
she had created, as she had assumed it had been received without any
problem. We then contacted our IT team to ask that the relevant back-up
tape be recovered for that file, only to find that a technical error meant
that they could not find the file. We apologised for this and on 23 August
we sent you a new file, of (updated) URL data from the 28 day period
immediately prior to 23 August. You have not specifically stated so, but I
presume you have asked for a review because you are unhappy with the data
you did receive, as well as the way in which we handled your request.

 

I have now had the opportunity to reconsider how we handled your request.
I have reviewed the sequence of events, the actions taken and spoken to
our Head of IT and members of his team. It is clear to me that most of the
data you originally asked for, ie that prior to the 28 days immediately
preceding the request, was not held by us because it was permanently
deleted from the system before you made your request. However, that left
one monthÂ’s worth of data, which we tried but failed to send to you in a
usable format.

 

I asked the IT department to retrieve the relevant back-up tape again,
which they did, but when they searched on it for the file we sent you on 4
July they were still unable to locate it. We have no explanation for this
IÂ’m afraid, perhaps if the file was corrupted then that might have
affected our ability to restore it from the back-up system. In terms of
our handling of the situation, clearly this was unsatisfactory, and I note
that you have received an apology from the Compliance Officer. I also note
that the Officer did what she could to remedy the situation by sending you
an updated file.     

 

I am not sure there is anything more I can add to the above. If you remain
unhappy with the above outcome then as you will be aware, you have a right
of appeal to the ICO in our capacity as the statutory regulator for the
FOI Act. If you wish to appeal, then please visit the ‘Complaints’
section of our website to make a complaint online, or alternatively please
write directly to the Case Reception Unit at our head office in Wilmslow.

 

Yours sincerely

 

 

Anne Jones

Assistant Commissioner

 

 

show quoted sections

Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow,
Cheshire, SK9 5AF
Tel: 0303 123 1113 Fax: 01625 524 510 Web: www.ico.gov.uk

References

Visible links
1. file:///tmp/rad84D93_files/filelist.xml

Information Commissioner's Office

Link: [1]File-List

Dear Ms Whittle

 

Re: RCC0419048

 

I am writing in response to your request for an internal review of the way
in which we handled your freedom of information request of 29 June 2011.

 

In that request, you asked:

 

“I would like to know how many times the whatdotheyknow.com website has
been accessed by Information Commissioner staff in the last 12 months and
the full URLÂ’s visited in each case.

 

If you are unable to supply 12 months worth of information, I will accept
6 months, failing that 3 months.”

 

We replied to you on 4 July explaining that we only hold information
relating to URLs accessed by ICO staff for a period of 28 days, after
which it is deleted from the system. We were therefore unable to supply
you with exactly what you asked for, but we provided you with what we did
have, ie the data from the previous 28 day period. In order to do this,
the Compliance Officer created a separate file from the internet reporting
tool, but it appears when we sent it to you the file did not open
properly, and you contacted us again on 15 August to ask us to resend it.
Unfortunately, by this time the Compliance Officer had deleted the file
she had created, as she had assumed it had been received without any
problem. We then contacted our IT team to ask that the relevant back-up
tape be recovered for that file, only to find that a technical error meant
that they could not find the file. We apologised for this and on 23 August
we sent you a new file, of (updated) URL data from the 28 day period
immediately prior to 23 August. You have not specifically stated so, but I
presume you have asked for a review because you are unhappy with the data
you did receive, as well as the way in which we handled your request.

 

I have now had the opportunity to reconsider how we handled your request.
I have reviewed the sequence of events, the actions taken and spoken to
our Head of IT and members of his team. It is clear to me that most of the
data you originally asked for, ie that prior to the 28 days immediately
preceding the request, was not held by us because it was permanently
deleted from the system before you made your request. However, that left
one monthÂ’s worth of data, which we tried but failed to send to you in a
usable format.

 

I asked the IT department to retrieve the relevant back-up tape again,
which they did, but when they searched on it for the file we sent you on 4
July they were still unable to locate it. We have no explanation for this
IÂ’m afraid, perhaps if the file was corrupted then that might have
affected our ability to restore it from the back-up system. In terms of
our handling of the situation, clearly this was unsatisfactory, and I note
that you have received an apology from the Compliance Officer. I also note
that the Officer did what she could to remedy the situation by sending you
an updated file.     

 

I am not sure there is anything more I can add to the above. If you remain
unhappy with the above outcome then as you will be aware, you have a right
of appeal to the ICO in our capacity as the statutory regulator for the
FOI Act. If you wish to appeal, then please visit the ‘Complaints’
section of our website to make a complaint online, or alternatively please
write directly to the Case Reception Unit at our head office in Wilmslow.

 

Yours sincerely

 

 

Anne Jones

Assistant Commissioner

 

 

show quoted sections

Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow,
Cheshire, SK9 5AF
Tel: 0303 123 1113 Fax: 01625 524 510 Web: www.ico.gov.uk

References

Visible links
1. file:///tmp/rad7B69F_files/filelist.xml