Sexual Harassment Cases

The request was refused by High Speed Two (HS2) Limited.

Dear High Speed Two (HS2) Limited,

Please can you provide:

1. How many sexual misconduct/harassment investigations have been conducted?
2. How many sexual misconduct/harassment investigations have been concluded?
3. What were the conclusions of these investigations?
4. How many members of staff have left the company after being investigated for sexual misconduct/harassment?
5. How many sexual misconduct/harassment complaints have involved a member of senior management
6. How many members of staff have left the company who have at some point submitted a sexual misconduct/harassment complaint?

Yours faithfully,

Graeme Amis

HS2Enquiries, High Speed Two (HS2) Limited

Thank you for your email which will be dealt with by a member of the HS2
Helpdesk team who will provide a response as soon as possible*. If your
enquiry is urgent and requires immediate attention please contact the 24
hour HS2 Helpdesk line directly on our Freephone number 08081 434 434.

 

Please note that the HS2 Helpdesk is not able to access  emails from 10pm
until 7am on weekdays and from 5pm until 9am on weekends and bank holidays
so all urgent enquiries should be directed to the 24 hour HS2 Helpdesk
line number as above.

 

*In accordance with our community commitments, we will respond to
questions and complaints quickly and efficiently, with an acknowledgement
within 2 working days, and responding within 20 working days if we cannot
answer the query straight away.

This email is scanned and cleared by Websense. HS2 Ltd is registered in
England and Wales. Registration Number 06791686, Registered office
Registered office High Speed Two (HS2) Limited, Two Snowhill, Snow Hill
Queensway, Birmingham, B4 6GA, England. The information contained in this
e-mail is confidential and may also be subject to legal privilege. It is
intended only for the recipient(s) named above. If you are not named above
as a recipient, you must not read, copy, disclose, forward or otherwise
use the information contained in this email. If you have received this
e-mail in error, please notify the sender (whose contact details are
within the original email) immediately by reply e-mail and delete the
message and any attachments without retaining any copies.

HS2Enquiries, High Speed Two (HS2) Limited

Dear Graeme Amis,

Thank you for contacting Hs2 enquiries.

Your E-mail below has been forwarded to our FOI team for response.

Kind regards,

Tom Blay | Helpdesk | HS2 Ltd
Tel: 08081 434434 | [email address] | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn
High Speed Two (HS2) Limited, 2 Snowhill, Queensway, Birmingham, B4 6GA | www.gov.uk/hs2

“This email is scanned and cleared by Websense. HS2 Ltd is registered in
England and Wales. Registration Number 06791686, Registered office High
Speed Two (HS2) Ltd, 2 Snowhill, Queensway, Birmingham, B4 6GA,
England. The information contained in this e-mail is confidential and
may also be subject to legal privilege. It is intended only for the
recipient(s) named above. If you are not named above as a recipient,
you must not read, copy, disclose, forward or otherwise use the
information contained in this email. If you have received this e-mail
in error, please notify the sender (whose contact details are within
the original email) immediately by reply e-mail and delete the message
and any attachments without retaining any copies.”

show quoted sections

HS2Enquiries, High Speed Two (HS2) Limited

Dear Mr Amis

Thank you for your email to HS2 Ltd. We are considering your request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and aim to reply as soon as possible and no later than 18 December 2018.

Your reference number for the request is FOI18-2200.

Kind regards,

F Woollard| Briefings, Correspondence and FOI Adviser | HS2 Ltd      
Tel: 08081 434 434 (Freephone number)| [email address]| Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn
High Speed Two (HS2) Limited , Two Snowhill, Snow Hill Queensway, Birmingham, B4 6GA  | www.gov.uk/hs2

show quoted sections

Dear HS2Enquiries,

This FOI is now very overdue. Please respond to it immediately.

Yours sincerely,

Graeme Amis

HS2Enquiries, High Speed Two (HS2) Limited

Thank you for your email which will be dealt with by a member of the HS2
Helpdesk team who will provide a response as soon as possible*. If your
enquiry is urgent and requires immediate attention please contact the 24
hour HS2 Helpdesk line directly on our Freephone number 08081 434 434.

 

Please note that the HS2 Helpdesk is not able to access  emails from 10pm
until 7am on weekdays and from 5pm until 9am on weekends and bank holidays
so all urgent enquiries should be directed to the 24 hour HS2 Helpdesk
line number as above.

 

*In accordance with our community commitments, we will respond to
questions and complaints quickly and efficiently, with an acknowledgement
within 2 working days, and responding within 20 working days if we cannot
answer the query straight away.

This email is scanned and cleared by Websense. HS2 Ltd is registered in
England and Wales. Registration Number 06791686, Registered office
Registered office High Speed Two (HS2) Limited, Two Snowhill, Snow Hill
Queensway, Birmingham, B4 6GA, England. The information contained in this
e-mail is confidential and may also be subject to legal privilege. It is
intended only for the recipient(s) named above. If you are not named above
as a recipient, you must not read, copy, disclose, forward or otherwise
use the information contained in this email. If you have received this
e-mail in error, please notify the sender (whose contact details are
within the original email) immediately by reply e-mail and delete the
message and any attachments without retaining any copies.

HS2Enquiries, High Speed Two (HS2) Limited

Mr Amis

 

I apologise that we have not been able to provide a response to this
request within the 20 working day timescales.

 

I will look into providing a response as a matter of urgency.

 

Thank you

 

Carl

 

Carl Bird | Briefings, Correspondence and FOI Manager | HS2 Ltd      

Tel: 08081 434 434 (Freephone number)| [1][email address]|
[2]Facebook | [3]Twitter | [4]LinkedIn

High Speed Two (HS2) Limited , Two Snow Hill, Snow Hill Queensway,
Birmingham, B4 6GA  | [5]www.gov.uk/hs2

 

This email is scanned and cleared by Websense. HS2 Ltd is registered in
England and Wales. Registration Number 06791686, Registered office
Registered office High Speed Two (HS2) Limited, Two Snowhill, Snow Hill
Queensway, Birmingham, B4 6GA, England. The information contained in this
e-mail is confidential and may also be subject to legal privilege. It is
intended only for the recipient(s) named above. If you are not named above
as a recipient, you must not read, copy, disclose, forward or otherwise
use the information contained in this email. If you have received this
e-mail in error, please notify the sender (whose contact details are
within the original email) immediately by reply e-mail and delete the
message and any attachments without retaining any copies.

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. http://www.facebook.com/HS2ltd
3. http://www.twitter.com/hs2ltd
4. http://www.linkedin.com/company/high-spe...
5. http://www.gov.uk/hs2

Dear HS2Enquiries,

Thank you for your reply, but I am still awaiting the response to the FOI. Please respond ASAP.

Yours sincerely,

Graeme Amis

HS2Enquiries, High Speed Two (HS2) Limited

Good afternoon

 

Thank you for your email which has been forwarded to FOI.

 

Regards

 

Simone Wright |Senior Helpdesk Advisor – | HS2 Ltd 

Tel: 0808 143 4434 | [1][email address] | [2]Facebook | [3]Twitter
| [4]LinkedIn

High Speed Two (HS2) Limited, Two Snowhill, Snow Hill Queensway,
Birmingham, B4 6GA | [5]www.gov.uk/hs2

This email is scanned and cleared by Websense. HS2 Ltd is registered in

England and Wales. Registration Number 06791686, Registered office High

Speed Two (HS2) Ltd, 2 Snowhill, Queensway, Birmingham, B4 6GA,

England. The information contained in this e-mail is confidential and

may also be subject to legal privilege. It is intended only for the

recipient(s) named above. If you are not named above as a recipient,

you must not read, copy, disclose, forward or otherwise use the

information contained in this email. If you have received this e-mail

in error, please notify the sender (whose contact details are within

the original email) immediately by reply e-mail and delete the message

and any attachments without retaining any copies

 

 

 

show quoted sections

HS2Enquiries, High Speed Two (HS2) Limited

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Amis

Please find attached our response to your request for information.

Your reference number is FOI18-2200.

F Woollard| Briefings, Correspondence and FOI Adviser | HS2 Ltd      
Tel: 08081 434 434 (Freephone number)| [email address]| Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn
High Speed Two (HS2) Limited , Two Snowhill, Snow Hill Queensway, Birmingham, B4 6GA  | www.gov.uk/hs2

show quoted sections

Dear HS2Enquiries,

Thank you eventually for this extremely late response. However, this leaves a number of questions unanswered and I would like to request an internal review as well as further information, which you may treat as a new request or an extension of this request as you see fit.

Please provide answers to the following:
1. How many informal investigations into sexual misconduct/harassment were detailed in the HR records?
2. What were the results of these investigations?
3. Why did this request take so long to answer?
4. What other records aside from HR records, were searched for this request?
5. What other avenues do employees have to report sexual misconduct/harassment complaints? e.g. the Speak Out whistleblowing line, the Health & Safety Directorate
6. Were these records searched? If not, why not?
7. Please provide all correspondence from the FOI/correspondence/briefings team regarding the original request, this should include internal correspondence from within the FOI department (or whatever it is named) and any correspondence it had with HR, senior management, external whistleblowing line contractors or anyone else that is relevant to this request. Of course I'm happy for you to redact the names of junior members of staff as per ICO guidance.

Yours sincerely,

Graeme Amis

HS2Enquiries, High Speed Two (HS2) Limited

Good morning

 

Thank you for your email which has been forwarded to FOI

 

Regards

 

Simone Wright |Senior Helpdesk Advisor – | HS2 Ltd 

Tel: 0808 143 4434 | [1][email address] | [2]Facebook | [3]Twitter
| [4]LinkedIn

High Speed Two (HS2) Limited, Two Snowhill, Snow Hill Queensway,
Birmingham, B4 6GA | [5]www.gov.uk/hs2

This email is scanned and cleared by Websense. HS2 Ltd is registered in

England and Wales. Registration Number 06791686, Registered office High

Speed Two (HS2) Ltd, 2 Snowhill, Queensway, Birmingham, B4 6GA,

England. The information contained in this e-mail is confidential and

may also be subject to legal privilege. It is intended only for the

recipient(s) named above. If you are not named above as a recipient,

you must not read, copy, disclose, forward or otherwise use the

information contained in this email. If you have received this e-mail

in error, please notify the sender (whose contact details are within

the original email) immediately by reply e-mail and delete the message

and any attachments without retaining any copies

 

 

 

show quoted sections

Dear HS2Enquiries,

After an extremely tardy response to the original FOI request (FOI18-2200), can you please confirm:

1. Acknowledgement of my follow-up dated 9th January 2019
2. That you are treating this under the FOI regulations
3. When I can expect a reply

Yours sincerely,

Graeme Amis

HS2Enquiries, High Speed Two (HS2) Limited

Good afternoon

 

Thank you for your email which has been forwarded to FOI.

 

Regards

 

Simone Wright |Senior Helpdesk Advisor – | HS2 Ltd 

Tel: 0808 143 4434 | [1][email address] | [2]Facebook | [3]Twitter
| [4]LinkedIn

High Speed Two (HS2) Limited, Two Snowhill, Snow Hill Queensway,
Birmingham, B4 6GA | [5]www.gov.uk/hs2

This email is scanned and cleared by Websense. HS2 Ltd is registered in

England and Wales. Registration Number 06791686, Registered office High

Speed Two (HS2) Ltd, 2 Snowhill, Queensway, Birmingham, B4 6GA,

England. The information contained in this e-mail is confidential and

may also be subject to legal privilege. It is intended only for the

recipient(s) named above. If you are not named above as a recipient,

you must not read, copy, disclose, forward or otherwise use the

information contained in this email. If you have received this e-mail

in error, please notify the sender (whose contact details are within

the original email) immediately by reply e-mail and delete the message

and any attachments without retaining any copies

 

 

 

show quoted sections

HS2Enquiries, High Speed Two (HS2) Limited

Mr Amis

 

Apologies for the lack of an acknowledgement.

 

Your correspondence is being treated as both a request for internal review
and as a new FOI request.

 

The 20 working day deadline for both is 06/02/19.

 

We aim to respond on or before that date.

 

Thank you

 

Carl

 

Carl Bird | Briefings, Correspondence and FOI Manager | HS2 Ltd      

Tel: (0207 944) 6035| [mobile number] |  [1][email address] |
[2]Facebook | [3]Twitter | [4]LinkedIn

High Speed Two (HS2) Limited , Two Snow Hill, Snow Hill Queensway,
Birmingham, B4 6GA  | [5]www.gov.uk/hs2

 

 

show quoted sections

Dear Mr Bird,

Thank you for your response, that is very useful.

Yours sincerely,

Graeme Amis

HS2Enquiries, High Speed Two (HS2) Limited

Good afternoon

 

Thank you for contacting HS2.

 

I have forwarded your comments to the FOI Team.

 

Kind regards

 

 

Regina Murdoch | Helpdesk Advisor | HS2 Ltd     

Tel: 08081434434 | [email address] | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn

High Speed Two (HS2) Limited, | www.gov.uk/hs2

 

“This email is scanned and cleared by Websense. HS2 Ltd is registered in

England and Wales. Registration Number 06791686, Registered office High

Speed Two (HS2) Ltd, 2 Snowhill, Queensway, Birmingham, B4 6GA,

England. The information contained in this e-mail is confidential and

may also be subject to legal privilege. It is intended only for the

recipient(s) named above. If you are not named above as a recipient,

you must not read, copy, disclose, forward or otherwise use the

information contained in this email. If you have received this e-mail

in error, please notify the sender (whose contact details are within

the original email) immediately by reply e-mail and delete the message

and any attachments without retaining any copies.”

 

 

 

 

show quoted sections

Dear HS2Enquiries,

This request is now overdue. Please provide the response immediately and explain why this was not dealt with in time.

Yours sincerely,

Graeme Amis

HS2Enquiries, High Speed Two (HS2) Limited

Hi Graeme,

Thanks for contacting HS2 Enquiries,

I have passed this over to our FOI team to investigate and respond

Regards,

James Buchanan | Helpdesk Team Leader | HS2 Ltd        
Tel: 08081 434 434 | [email address] | [email address] | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn
High Speed Two (HS2) Limited, | www.gov.uk/hs2

show quoted sections

Dear HS2Enquiries,

I originally made request FOI18-2200 on 20th November 2018.

The FOI regulations require a response within 20 days. This request was answered 9 working days after the deadline.

Finding the response insufficient I asked for both new information and for an internal review on the 9th January 2019. Both of these requests were only acknowledged by HS2 Ltd on the 25th January 2019.

Both the internal review and the new information are now overdue.

This somewhat worryingly suggests that HS2 Ltd has something to hide. Might I remind the team at HS2 Ltd that their current failure to respond puts them in breach of the Freedom of Information Act.

Further to this, the team may wish to bear in mind, that to “deliberately destroy, hide or alter requested information to prevent it being released” is a criminal offence under the Act, with which both organisations and individuals can be charged.

Yours sincerely,

Graeme Amis

HS2Enquiries, High Speed Two (HS2) Limited

Good afternoon

 

Thank you for your email which has been forwarded to FOI.

 

Regards

 

Simone Wright |Senior Helpdesk Advisor – | HS2 Ltd 

Tel: 0808 143 4434 | [1][email address] | [2]Facebook | [3]Twitter
| [4]LinkedIn

High Speed Two (HS2) Limited, Two Snowhill, Snow Hill Queensway,
Birmingham, B4 6GA | [5]www.gov.uk/hs2

This email is scanned and cleared by Websense. HS2 Ltd is registered in

England and Wales. Registration Number 06791686, Registered office High

Speed Two (HS2) Ltd, 2 Snowhill, Queensway, Birmingham, B4 6GA,

England. The information contained in this e-mail is confidential and

may also be subject to legal privilege. It is intended only for the

recipient(s) named above. If you are not named above as a recipient,

you must not read, copy, disclose, forward or otherwise use the

information contained in this email. If you have received this e-mail

in error, please notify the sender (whose contact details are within

the original email) immediately by reply e-mail and delete the message

and any attachments without retaining any copies

 

 

 

show quoted sections

HS2Enquiries, High Speed Two (HS2) Limited

Mr Amis

 

Please accept my apologies for the delay in responding.

 

I hope we can be in a position to respond next week.

 

Carl

 

Carl Bird | Briefings, Correspondence and FOI Manager | HS2 Ltd      

Tel: 08081 434 434 (Freephone number)| [1][email address]|
[2]Facebook | [3]Twitter | [4]LinkedIn

High Speed Two (HS2) Limited , Two Snow Hill, Snow Hill Queensway,
Birmingham, B4 6GA  | [5]www.gov.uk/hs2

 

show quoted sections

Dear Mr Bird,

Thank you for this reply. This pretty simple request (not to mention the internal review) is now significantly overdue, though.

Could you please clarify what you mean by hoping that HS2 Ltd “are in a position to respond”?

The correspondence relating to my previous request should be trivial to collate, so:

Is HS2 Ltd delaying the release of the information so it can release an accompanying statement (or for another reason)?

Is any member of the HS2 staff blocking or delaying the release of this information?

What is the reason for the continued delay?

Many thanks,

Graeme Amis

HS2Enquiries, High Speed Two (HS2) Limited

Good afternoon

 

Thank you for your email which has been forwarded.

 

Regards

 

Simone Wright |Senior Helpdesk Advisor – | HS2 Ltd 

Tel: 0808 143 4434 | [1][email address] | [2]Facebook | [3]Twitter
| [4]LinkedIn

High Speed Two (HS2) Limited, Two Snowhill, Snow Hill Queensway,
Birmingham, B4 6GA | [5]www.gov.uk/hs2

This email is scanned and cleared by Websense. HS2 Ltd is registered in

England and Wales. Registration Number 06791686, Registered office High

Speed Two (HS2) Ltd, 2 Snowhill, Queensway, Birmingham, B4 6GA,

England. The information contained in this e-mail is confidential and

may also be subject to legal privilege. It is intended only for the

recipient(s) named above. If you are not named above as a recipient,

you must not read, copy, disclose, forward or otherwise use the

information contained in this email. If you have received this e-mail

in error, please notify the sender (whose contact details are within

the original email) immediately by reply e-mail and delete the message

and any attachments without retaining any copies

 

 

 

show quoted sections

HS2Enquiries, High Speed Two (HS2) Limited

Mr Amis

 

I am sorry that we haven’t yet provided a response.  We have received an
unusually large number of FOI requests which has prevented us from
responding as quickly as we would like.

 

I aim to reply before the end of the week.

 

Carl Bird | Briefings, Correspondence and FOI Manager | HS2 Ltd      

Tel: 08081 434 434 (Freephone number)| [1][email address]|
[2]Facebook | [3]Twitter | [4]LinkedIn

High Speed Two (HS2) Limited , Two Snow Hill, Snow Hill Queensway,
Birmingham, B4 6GA  | [5]www.gov.uk/hs2

 

 

show quoted sections

HS2Enquiries, High Speed Two (HS2) Limited

1 Attachment

Mr Amis

 

Please find attached the response to this Internal Review.  I apologise
for late delivery of this response.

 

Thank you

 

Carl

 

Carl Bird | Briefings, Correspondence and FOI Manager | HS2 Ltd      

Tel: 08081 434 434 (Freephone number)| [1][email address]|
[2]Facebook | [3]Twitter | [4]LinkedIn

High Speed Two (HS2) Limited , Two Snow Hill, Snow Hill Queensway,
Birmingham, B4 6GA  | [5]www.gov.uk/hs2

 

This email is scanned and cleared by Websense. HS2 Ltd is registered in
England and Wales. Registration Number 06791686, Registered office High
Speed Two (HS2) Limited, Two Snowhill, Snow Hill Queensway, Birmingham, B4
6GA, England. The information contained in this e-mail is confidential and
may also be subject to legal privilege. It is intended only for the
recipient(s) named above. If you are not named above as a recipient, you
must not read, copy, disclose, forward or otherwise use the information
contained in this email. If you have received this e-mail in error, please
notify the sender (whose contact details are within the original email)
immediately by reply e-mail and delete the message and any attachments
without retaining any copies.

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. http://www.facebook.com/HS2ltd
3. http://www.twitter.com/hs2ltd
4. http://www.linkedin.com/company/high-spe...
5. http://www.gov.uk/hs2

HS2Enquiries, High Speed Two (HS2) Limited

1 Attachment

Mr Amis

 

Please find attached a response to FOI request FOI-19-3037.  I apologise
for the late delivery of this response.

 

Thank you

 

 

Carl Bird | Briefings, Correspondence and FOI Manager | HS2 Ltd      

Tel: 08081 434 434 (Freephone number)| [1][email address]|
[2]Facebook | [3]Twitter | [4]LinkedIn

High Speed Two (HS2) Limited , Two Snow Hill, Snow Hill Queensway,
Birmingham, B4 6GA  | [5]www.gov.uk/hs2

 

This email is scanned and cleared by Websense. HS2 Ltd is registered in
England and Wales. Registration Number 06791686, Registered office High
Speed Two (HS2) Limited, Two Snowhill, Snow Hill Queensway, Birmingham, B4
6GA, England. The information contained in this e-mail is confidential and
may also be subject to legal privilege. It is intended only for the
recipient(s) named above. If you are not named above as a recipient, you
must not read, copy, disclose, forward or otherwise use the information
contained in this email. If you have received this e-mail in error, please
notify the sender (whose contact details are within the original email)
immediately by reply e-mail and delete the message and any attachments
without retaining any copies.

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. http://www.facebook.com/HS2ltd
3. http://www.twitter.com/hs2ltd
4. http://www.linkedin.com/company/high-spe...
5. http://www.gov.uk/hs2

Dear Carl,

Thank you for this response. It appears that you are trying to do a tough job in difficult circumstances. I have just a couple of further questions:

1. An instance of sexual misconduct was picked up in the internal review. How was this discovery unearthed and why was it not picked up by the normal process?
2. The internal review seems to have been written on the 5th February 2019, 1 day before its due date. However, it was only provided to me on the 15th February, 9 days after the due date. What is the reason for this delay?
3. Is there any recorded information about why or indeed when the ‘victim’ in question asked for this to be left off the register? Was this at the time of the complaint or e.g. after a redundancy package had been agreed?
4. How far back do the formal HR records go and what records are held for events/complaints occurring prior to this date?
5. Can you please confirm that this one isolated incident is the only complaint that HS2 Ltd has a record of and that there are no other incidents that HS2 Ltd has record of that may have been labelled in a more general way in the records?

Yours sincerely,

Graeme Amis

HS2Enquiries, High Speed Two (HS2) Limited

Thank you for your email to the HS2 Helpdesk.

 

In keeping with our community engagement commitments we will respond to
enquiries quickly and efficiently, with an acknowledgement within 2
working days, and responding within 20 working days if we are unable to
answer the query straight away.

 

If your enquiry is urgent and requires immediate attention please contact
the 24 hour HS2 Helpdesk directly on our freephone number 08081 434 434.

 

Please note that the HS2 Helpdesk does not routinely access emails from
10pm until 7am on weekdays and from 5pm until 9am on weekends and Bank
Holidays, so all urgent enquiries should be directed to the freephone 24
hour HS2 Helpdesk number as above.

 

For reference, you can also access a range of information online at
[1]https://www.hs2.org.uk/ Information linked to a specific area can be
found at [2]https://www.hs2.org.uk/in-your-area/what...

 

We look forward to assisting you as soon as we can.

This email is scanned and cleared by Websense. HS2 Ltd is registered in
England and Wales. Registration Number 06791686, Registered office High
Speed Two (HS2) Limited, Two Snowhill, Snow Hill Queensway, Birmingham, B4
6GA, England. The information contained in this e-mail is confidential and
may also be subject to legal privilege. It is intended only for the
recipient(s) named above. If you are not named above as a recipient, you
must not read, copy, disclose, forward or otherwise use the information
contained in this email. If you have received this e-mail in error, please
notify the sender (whose contact details are within the original email)
immediately by reply e-mail and delete the message and any attachments
without retaining any copies.

References

Visible links
1. https://www.hs2.org.uk/
2. https://www.hs2.org.uk/in-your-area/what...

HS2Enquiries, High Speed Two (HS2) Limited

Good Afternoon Mr Amis,

Thank you for your email to HS2 Enquiries,

I have passed on your email to our FOI team

Regards,

James Buchanan | Helpdesk Team Leader | HS2 Ltd        
Tel: 08081 434 434 | [email address] | [email address] | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn
High Speed Two (HS2) Limited, | www.gov.uk/hs2

show quoted sections

Matt Knight left an annotation ()

We have deleted a response from this request, after HS2 Ltd advised us of ineffective redaction within the attached PDF document. A correctly redacted version has been supplied as a replacement.

-Matt
WhatDoTheyKnow.com Volunteer Admin Team

HS2Enquiries, High Speed Two (HS2) Limited

2 Attachments

Mr Amis

 

Please find attached a response to your FOI request (our reference
FOI-19-3138).

 

Carl

 

 

Carl Bird | Briefings, Correspondence and FOI Manager | HS2 Ltd      

Tel: 08081 434 434 (Freephone number)| [1][email address]|
[2]Facebook | [3]Twitter | [4]LinkedIn

High Speed Two (HS2) Limited , Two Snow Hill, Snow Hill Queensway,
Birmingham, B4 6GA  | [5]www.gov.uk/hs2

 

This email is scanned and cleared by Websense. HS2 Ltd is registered in
England and Wales. Registration Number 06791686, Registered office High
Speed Two (HS2) Limited, Two Snowhill, Snow Hill Queensway, Birmingham, B4
6GA, England. The information contained in this e-mail is confidential and
may also be subject to legal privilege. It is intended only for the
recipient(s) named above. If you are not named above as a recipient, you
must not read, copy, disclose, forward or otherwise use the information
contained in this email. If you have received this e-mail in error, please
notify the sender (whose contact details are within the original email)
immediately by reply e-mail and delete the message and any attachments
without retaining any copies.

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. http://www.facebook.com/HS2ltd
3. http://www.twitter.com/hs2ltd
4. http://www.linkedin.com/company/high-spe...
5. http://www.gov.uk/hs2

Dear HS2Enquiries,

Thank you for your email, however, I'm afraid that you are failing to answer my questions. I've attached your recent responses and below each the question that still needs to be answered.

1. An instance of sexual misconduct was picked up in the internal review.
How was this discovery unearthed and why was it not picked up by the normal
process?
As explained in the previous response this particular complaint was, at the request of
the complainant, not recorded on HR systems. Therefore a search of HR systems did
not discover it.
The recorded information we hold on how this complaint was uncovered is exempt by
virtue of Section 40(2). See covering letter.

If you redact the names and job titles, you should be able to provide this information and still comply with 40(2). Please now do so.

2. The internal review seems to have been written on the 5th February 2019, 1
day before its due date. However, it was only provided to me on the 15th
February, 9 days after the due date. What is the reason for this delay?
The file was created and first saved on 5th February. Subsequently this file was worked
on to ensure that the response was correct.

This has not addressed the reason for the delay in replying within the 20 working day timeframe. If the reply was only started 1 day before the due date, then clearly there was no intention of replying in time, why was this?

3. Is there any recorded information about why or indeed when the ‘victim’ in
question asked for this to be left off the register? Was this at the time of the
complaint or e.g. after a redundancy package had been agreed?
The recorded information we hold on the reasons why the complainant did not want
this recorded in the normal way is exempt by virtue of Section 40(2).
This complaint was made while the individual was an employee.

As per 1, please redact the names, thus preserving confidentiality and release the information.

4. How far back do the formal HR records go and what records are held for
events/complaints occurring prior to this date?
We have investigated back to when HS2 Ltd was first established as an organisation.

You have not answered the question posed of how far back do the HR records go and what other records are held for events occurring prior to this date. Please respond to these questions.

5. Can you please confirm that this one isolated incident is the only complaint
that HS2 Ltd has a record of and that there are no other incidents that HS2 Ltd
has record of that may have been labelled in a more general way in the records?
This was the only such complaint at the time of the request. Subsequently there has
been a complaint which has been recorded on the system with the acceptance of the
person involved.

Thank you for this response to point 5, while it suggests that HS2 Ltd's recording keeping my be somewhat lacking, no further information is requested about it.

Yours sincerely,

Graeme Amis

HS2Enquiries, High Speed Two (HS2) Limited

Dear Mr Amis,

 

Thank you for your email to HS2 Ltd. We are considering your request for
an Internal Review under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and aim to
reply as soon as possible and no later than 09 May 2019.

 

Your reference number for the request is FOI-19-3138-R.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

J Palmer | Briefings, Correspondence and FOI Adviser | HS2 Ltd      

Tel: 08081 434 434 (Freephone number)| [1][email address]|
[2]Facebook | [3]Twitter | [4]LinkedIn

High Speed Two (HS2) Limited , The Podium, 1 Eversholt Street, Lonodon,
NW1 2DN | [5]www.gov.uk/hs2

 

------------------- Original Message

show quoted sections

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Dear HS2Enquiries,

I was told to expect a reply by the 9th May in your last message, but this date is now long past. Please reply immediately as this delay is unacceptable.

Yours sincerely,

Graeme Amis

HS2Enquiries, High Speed Two (HS2) Limited



Thank you for your email to the HS2 Helpdesk.

 

In keeping with our community engagement commitments we will respond to
enquiries quickly and efficiently, with an acknowledgement within 2
working days, and responding within 20 working days if we are unable to
answer the query straight away.

 

If your enquiry is urgent and requires immediate attention please contact
the 24 hour HS2 Helpdesk directly on our freephone number 08081 434 434.

 

There is a range of information available about HS2 online at
[1]https://www.hs2.org.uk/

If you would like information about what is happening in relation to HS2
in your area you may also like to browse the following link
[2]https://www.hs2.org.uk/in-your-area/what...

 

We look forward to assisting you as soon as we can.

 

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Dear High Speed Two (HS2) Limited,

I was told to expect an Internal Review response by the 9th May 2019 at the latest. I have still not received this response nor any explanation for the delay. This flies in the face of ICO guidance.

Please respond immediately. If you cannot supply the completed Internal Review, I would at least expect the name of the person appointed to conduct the Internal Review, the day upon which they were appointed and the reason for this enormous delay.

This appears to be yet another example of HS2 Ltd failing to take their legal obligations with respect to the Freedom of Information Act, seriously.

This FOI request concerns the extremely serious allegation of sexual harassment of a member of HS2 staff by a senior manager at HS2. Since the Internal Review is likely being conducted by another senior manager, this feels rather uncomfortably like a cover-up.

I look forward to your prompt response.

Yours faithfully,

Graeme Amis

Dear High Speed Two (HS2) Limited,

Please ensure this is forwarded to the FOI team; also J Palmer.

I was informed that an internal review would be conducted and would receive a response to this by the 9th May.

This response is now grotesquely overdue.

Please respond immediately, letting me know the results of the internal review or the reason why this was not conducted.

This FOI concerns very serious allegations of sexual harassment on a member of HS2 staff by a member of HS2's senior management. Is this not a matter that HS2 Ltd are willing to investigate further? This would be against the spirit and the letter of FOI legislation.

I hope for a prompt reply. One would hope that an NDPB like HS2 Ltd would take matters such as sexual harassment of its employees seriously. I look forward to hearing if this is the case.

Yours faithfully,

Graeme Amis

HS2Enquiries, High Speed Two (HS2) Limited

2 Attachments

Dear Graeme Amis,

 

Thank you for your request for an Internal Review of your Freedom of
Information Request.

 

Please find attached our response.

 

Your reference number is FOI-19-3138-R.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

 

J Palmer | Briefings, Correspondence and FOI Adviser | HS2 Ltd      

Tel: 08081 434 434 (Freephone number)| [1][email address]|
[2]Facebook | [3]Twitter | [4]LinkedIn

High Speed Two (HS2) Limited , The Podium, 1 Eversholt Street, Lonodon,
NW1 2DN | [5]www.gov.uk/hs2

 

 

This email is scanned and cleared by Websense. HS2 Ltd is registered in
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Speed Two (HS2) Limited, Two Snowhill, Snow Hill Queensway, Birmingham, B4
6GA, England. The information contained in this e-mail is confidential and
may also be subject to legal privilege. It is intended only for the
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must not read, copy, disclose, forward or otherwise use the information
contained in this email. If you have received this e-mail in error, please
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immediately by reply e-mail and delete the message and any attachments
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