2015/16 Review into Post Office’s Horizon system instigated by BIS Minister

The request was successful.

Dear Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy,

In evidence submitted by your Department to the BEIS Select Committee’s Post Office Inquiry, it was stated that in September 2015: ‘The Post Office Minister commissions POL’s new Chair to undertake a review of POL’s Horizon system and handling of postmaster issues’.

https://committees.parliament.uk/written...

Please can you:

i) disclose the terms of reference and preliminary findings of the review;

ii) disclose all correspondence between the department and the Post Office concerning this review, its findings and reasons for its premature cessation;

iii) disclose correspondence concerning this review between ShEx/UKGI and the department, or between ShEx/UKGI and the Post Office to which the department was party.

Yours sincerely

Eleanor Shaikh

FOI Requests, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

BEIS ref: FOI2022/01378

Dear Ms Shaikh

Thank you for your request for information which was received on 19th
January. Your request has been passed on to the appropriate official at
the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) to
process.

Your request is being considered under the terms of the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 or the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 and
we will reply at the latest by 16th February.

If you have any queries about this email, please contact the Information
Rights & Records Unit at BEIS. Please remember to quote the reference
number above in any future communications.

Kind regards,

Information Rights & Records Unit

Information Rights & Records Unit | Department for Business, Energy and
Industrial Strategy | 1 Victoria Street, London, SW1H 0ET |
www.gov.uk/beis | [email address] |

FOI Requests, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Dear Ms Shaikh

 

 

Thank you for your information request of 19 January 2022.

 

We are dealing with your request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000
(the Act).

 

We can confirm that BEIS holds information within the scope of your
request. However, we have determined that some of this information may be
exempt from release under section 43 (Commercial Interests) of the Act.
This is a qualified exemption and, as such, it is necessary to carry out a
public interest test to consider whether, in all the circumstances of the
case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the
public interest in disclosing the information.

 

By virtue of section 10(3) of the Act, where public authorities have to
carry out a public interest test, they do not have to comply with the
request until such time as is reasonable in the circumstances. Due to the
need to consider where the balance of the public interest lies in relation
to the information that you have requested, the Department will not be
able to respond to your request immediately. However, we hope to let you
have a substantive response to your request by 16 March 2022.

 

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Information Rights & Records Unit

 

Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy

Upper Ground

1 Victoria Street

London

SW1H 0ET

[1]www.gov.uk/beis

 

 

References

Visible links
1. http://www.gov.uk/beis

FOI Requests, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Dear Ms Shaikh,

 

I am writing with regard to your Freedom of Information request of 19^th
January and our subsequent email of 17^th February.

 

We have confirmed that BEIS holds information in scope of your request and
that additional time was required to consider the balance of public
interest with regard to the exemption in Section 43 (Commercial Interests)
of the FOI Act.  We also informed you that we hoped to provide you with a
substantive response to your request by 16^th March.

 

I am writing to you today to inform you that some of the information in
scope of your request engages another exemption.  The exemption which
applies to the information is Section 42 (Legal Professional Privilege). 
The Department has not yet reached a decision on the balance of the public
interest regarding this exemption and we are therefore not able to provide
you with a full response today.  

 

We apologise for this further delay. We hope to let you have a substantive
response to your information request by 13^th April.

 

Yours sincerely,

Information Rights & Records Unit

Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy

Upper Ground

1 Victoria Street

London

SW1H 0ET

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dear Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy,

Further to my FOI request (2022/01378) of 19 January 2022.

I understand you are considering the scope of qualified exemptions under Section 42 and Section 43 for the information you hold, but I was led to believe I may receive a substantive response by 13 April.

I would be most grateful if you could update me as to the progress on this request.

Many Thanks,

Yours sincerely
Eleanor Shaikh

Dear Information Rights & Records Unit

On 19 January 2022 I submitted a FOI request (FOI2022/01378) to the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

On 17 February I was informed that the Department held information which was within scope of my request but that a public interest test was to be applied under sections 42 and 43 of the FOI Act. It was suggested that extensions would last until mid-April.

I followed up the request on 1 June and received no response to my prompt.

Whilst I appreciate there may be a need for a public interest test on commercial and/or legal privilege grounds, your delay is now nearing seven months.

I would be grateful if you could indicate when you will be able to provide a response.

Yours sincerely,

Eleanor Shaikh

Dear Information Rights and Records Unit

Following the long-delayed response to FOI request (2022/01378) of January 2022, and the failure to acknowledge my two further prompts I am, for the last time, requesting an update on the disclosure of documents which you have already acknowledged fall within scope of my request.

My questions regarding the 2015 review into Horizon Issues which the Postal Minister commissioned, and BEIS’s failure to respond within a reasonable time to the FOI request on the issue, will in future be referred to the Williams Statutory Inquiry. I suspect the public interest test on exemptions under sections 43 and 42 may be more objectively and swiftly applied by Sir Wyn.

Yours sincerely,
Eleanor Shaikh

FOI Requests, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

4 Attachments

Dear Ms Shaikh

 

 

Please accept my apologies for the delay in responding to
you. Unfortunately, this request has taken longer than we would have liked
to administer.

 

Due to the large volume of information we are releasing to you, we need to
send these documents to you via 7 emails – this is email 1.

 

Attached is a response to your information request, reference
FOI2022/01378.

 

If you have any queries about this email, please contact the Information
Rights & Records Unit at BEIS.

 

Please remember to quote the reference number above in any future
communications.

 

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Information Rights & Records Unit

 

Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy

Upper Ground

1 Victoria Street

London

SW1H 0ET

[1]www.gov.uk/beis

 

 

References

Visible links
1. http://www.gov.uk/beis

FOI Requests, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

4 Attachments

Dear Ms Shaikh

 

 

This is email 2 for FOI2022/01378.

 

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Information Rights & Records Unit

 

Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy

Upper Ground

1 Victoria Street

London

SW1H 0ET

[1]www.gov.uk/beis

 

 

References

Visible links
1. http://www.gov.uk/beis

FOI Requests, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

4 Attachments

Dear Ms Shaikh

 

 

This is email 3 for FOI2022/01378.

 

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Information Rights & Records Unit

 

Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy

Upper Ground

1 Victoria Street

London

SW1H 0ET

[1]www.gov.uk/beis

 

 

References

Visible links
1. http://www.gov.uk/beis

FOI Requests, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

3 Attachments

Dear Ms Shaikh

 

 

This is email 4 for FOI2022/01378.

 

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Information Rights & Records Unit

 

Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy

Upper Ground

1 Victoria Street

London

SW1H 0ET

[1]www.gov.uk/beis

 

 

References

Visible links
1. http://www.gov.uk/beis

FOI Requests, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

1 Attachment

Dear Ms Shaikh

 

 

This is email 5 for FOI2022/01378.

 

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Information Rights & Records Unit

 

Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy

Upper Ground

1 Victoria Street

London

SW1H 0ET

[1]www.gov.uk/beis

 

 

References

Visible links
1. http://www.gov.uk/beis

FOI Requests, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

4 Attachments

Dear Ms Shaikh

 

 

This is email 6 for FOI2022/01378.

 

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Information Rights & Records Unit

 

Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy

Upper Ground

1 Victoria Street

London

SW1H 0ET

[1]www.gov.uk/beis

 

 

References

Visible links
1. http://www.gov.uk/beis

FOI Requests, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

5 Attachments

Dear Ms Shaikh

 

 

This is email 7 for FOI2022/01378.

 

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Information Rights & Records Unit

 

Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy

Upper Ground

1 Victoria Street

London

SW1H 0ET

[1]www.gov.uk/beis

 

 

References

Visible links
1. http://www.gov.uk/beis