DWP Post Handling Contracts

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Dear Department for Work and Pensions,

I understand that the DWP contracts with various commercial companies to provide postage services on its behalf (e.g. Balfour Beatty Workplace, Royal Mail, etc).

For the avoidance of doubt by postage services I mean:
Opening letters / packages (sent by normal mail, recorded deliver, special delivery or courier)
Processing any documents sent by ESA claimants whether that be copying/scanning into a computer system, redirecting to appropriate DWP department or Atos Healthcare.
Storing documents into a manual filing system
Destroying documents (by shredding or placing into bins/bags to be destroyed by others)

Please provide the following data in relation to ESA (including migration from IB) post and commercial companies contracted by the DWP:

Question 1: Please provide the names of the companies that the DWP currently contract to carry out postage service.

Question 2: What services are provided by each contractor?

Question 3: Please provide copies of each contract (including all security and audit processes). These can obviously be redacted as per the medical services contract with Atos Healthcare to avoid the problem with disclosing commercially sensitive information. This will avoid the DWP claiming an exemption then going through the IRR route and eventually to the ICO. There is a clear public interest in seeing the contracts as the information being processed by them is of the highest sensitivity and people will need to be absolutely certain that it is safe. Given recent media coverage of highly sensitive data being available illegally it is essential that people can be certain that their most intimate details are secure.

Question 4: How many people who carry out postage services have been disciplined in 2012 for data security breaches (including dismissal and criminal prosecution)?

Question 5: What is the range of offenses committed in question 4.

Question 6: Are there any pieces of post that the contractors are not allowed to open and process?

Question 6.1: What kind of post are the contractors not allowed to open / process?

Question 7: What DWP systems to the contractors have access to and are they able to search DWP systems?

Yours faithfully,

John Slater

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

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J Newman left an annotation ()

John, my interest at the time was not as wide ranging as yours - see http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/we..., might be of interest.

CD Official Correspondence, Department for Work and Pensions

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Slater,

Please see the attached letter.


Communications Team
Commercial Directorate | Communications Team | Leeds and Sheffield |
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CD Official Correspondence, Department for Work and Pensions

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Slater,

 

Please see the attached letter.

 

 

Communications Team

Commercial Directorate | Communications Team | Leeds and Sheffield |
Please consider the environment before printing.

 

 

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CD Official Correspondence, Department for Work and Pensions

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Slater,

 

Please see the attached letter.

 

<<FOI 3323 - Letter 171012.pdf>>

 

Communications Team

Commercial Directorate | Communications Team | Leeds and Sheffield |
Please consider the environment before printing.

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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 'DWP Post Handling Contracts'.

This is the second time that the DWP has extended the deadline. I believe that the DWP is simply abusing the public interest exemption as a delaying tactic. When I finally receive the department's response on the 14th of November (or further notification of yet another delay) I will be making a complaint to the ICO. I would hope that the department is aware of the following:

“A public authority must be prepared to justify to the Information Commissioner any time it takes, beyond the 20 working days, to consider disclosure in the public interest. Should the Information Commissioner receive a complaint, he would need such information in order to decide whether the time taken was ‘reasonable in the circumstances’. “

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

Yours faithfully,

John Slater

CD Official Correspondence, Department for Work and Pensions

24 Attachments

Dear Mr Slater,

 

Please see the attached letter and attachments.

<<FOI 3323 WDTK - Response 141112.pdf>> <<Schedule 00 - Terms and
conditions.pdf>> <<Schedule 01 - Interpretations.pdf>> <<Schedule 02 - The
Requirement.pdf>> <<Schedule 03 - The Services..pdf>> <<Schedule 04 -
Transition and Transformation.pdf>> <<Schedule 05 - Subcontractors.pdf>>
<<Schedule 06 - Charging - redacted.pdf>> <<Schedule 07 - Invoicing
Procedures.pdf>> <<Schedule 08 - Service Management and Reporting.pdf>>
<<Schedule 09 - Change Control Procedure.pdf>> <<Schedule 10 -
Premises.pdf>> <<Schedule 11 - Key Personnel - redacted.pdf>> <<Schedule
12 - Provisions Relating to Staff.pdf>> <<Schedule 13 - Authority
Responsibilities.pdf>> <<Schedule 14 - Deed of Guarantee.pdf>> <<Schedule
15 - Dispute Resolution Procedure.pdf>> <<Schedule 16 - Retender
Provisions.pdf>> <<Schedule 17 - Security, Risk Assessment, Audit &
Business Continuity - redacted.pdf>> <<Schedule 18 - Standard and
Policies.pdf>>

  <<Schedule 19 - Termination Services and Transition Agreement.pdf>>
<<Schedule 20 - Service Levels Service Credits - redacted.pdf>> <<Schedule
21 - Exempt Information.pdf>> <<Capita Redacted Contract.pdf>>

 

Communications Team

Commercial Directorate | Communications Team | Leeds and Sheffield |
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CD Official Correspondence, Department for Work and Pensions

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Slater,

 

Please see the attached letter.

<<FOI 3323 - Response 301112.pdf>>

 

 

Communications Team

Commercial Directorate | Communications Team | Leeds and Sheffield |
Please consider the environment before printing.

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