A 'meta request' concerning 'Activity with MPs/disability training for staff' R0000584

The request was refused by Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman.

Dear Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman,

Please provide me with all information you hold relating to a request I made on 16 March 2019 entitled 'Activity with MPs/disability training for staff' (ref. R0000584):

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/a...

1. Please include information evidencing internal PHSO deliberations or discussion. In particular, please provide information which demonstrates that you first considered the application of section 12 FOIA before applying section 14 to my request.

2. Please make sure to include all information created as a consequence of any contact with the ICO. Include information passed from the PHSO to the ICO and vice versa.

3. Please search paper records and electronic records. Please do not restrict the search of electronic records to email. There may be notes of telephone conversations which would be captured by my request.

Yours faithfully,

D Moore

InformationRights@CMSPHSOLGO.mail.onmicrosoft.com,

Thank you for contacting the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman’s (PHSO) Freedom of Information and Data Protection Team. This is to confirm we have received your request.
If you have made a request for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 or Environment Information Regulations 2004, we will respond to your request within 20 working days in accordance with the statutory time frames set out in both Acts.
If you have made a request for personal information held by the PHSO, your request will be processed as a Subject Access Request under the provisions of the Data Protection Act 2018 and will be responded to within one calendar month in accordance with the statutory time frame set out in the Act.
We may contact you before this time if we require further clarification or if we need to extend the time required to complete your request.
For Subject Access Requests, we will send any personal information via secure email, unless you instruct us differently. To access the information on the email we send, you will need to sign up to our secure email service. Details can be found on our website using the link below:
www.ombudsman.org.uk/about-us/being-open...
If you require us to post your personal information to you instead you will need to inform us of this and confirm your current address as soon as possible.

Dear Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman,

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

I am writing to request an internal review of Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman's handling of my FOI request 'A 'meta request' concerning 'Activity with MPs/disability training for staff' R0000584'.

I have not yet received a response to my information request, and more than 20 working days have passed since I made it.

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

Yours faithfully,

D. Moore

D. Moore left an annotation ()

ICO contacted.

D. Moore left an annotation ()

Latest from ICO:

"I have recorded a breach of section 10 of the FOIA against the PHSO and I have requested it today to respond in accordance with its obligations under FOIA by 27 January 2020."

J Roberts left an annotation ()

You might be interested in this (private email accounts):

"38. The Commissioner notes the complainant’s comment regarding Mr Baker’s private email account, however, she considers that a pragmatic approach is appropriate in the circumstances of this case. The Commissioner has guidance on the use of private email accounts. She considers it neither reasonable nor proportionate to request searches of private email accounts without prima facie evidence that a private email account has been used."

ICO Guidance on the matter:

https://ico.org.uk/media/for-organisatio...

J Roberts left an annotation ()

Dear Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman,

Ref. R0000584 - A meta request concerning Activity with MPs/disability training for staff

I was expecting a response from you by today. The ICO caseworker informed me:

"I have recorded a breach of section 10 of the FOIA against the PHSO and I have requested it today to respond in accordance with its obligations under FOIA by 27 January 2020."

Please respond.

Yours faithfully,

D. Moore

D. Moore left an annotation ()

I have again contacted the ICO about this matter.

InformationRights, Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman

Dear D Moore

 

PHSO reference R0001145

Your request for information

 

Thank you for your correspondence of 30^th October 2019 in which you
requested information from the PHSO.

 

Please accept my apologies for the lengthy delay in responding to your
request. A copy of this email will be sent to the ICO in order to
demonstrate that the breach of Section 10(1) of the Freedom of Information
Act 2000 has now been addressed.

 

PHSO response

 

PHSO holds information relevant to your request. However, this information
is exempt from disclosure under Section 40(1) of the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 as it is your personal data. This is an absolute
exemption so there is no requirement to consider the balance of the public
interest.

 

PHSO is aware of the ICO’s guidance concerning meta-requests:

 

[1]https://ico.org.uk/media/for-organisatio...

 

However, these generally concern the documents where a previous request
was refused under an exemption other than Section 14(1) of the Freedom of
Information Act 2000. The documentation and correspondence concerning the
refusal of your request as vexatious concerns the context in which that
request was made, which quite clearly relates to you and is therefore your
personal data.

 

PHSO can provide information from the handling of request R0000584 through
the provisions of the Data Protection Act 2018 as a request for access. If
you wish to do so, please email the Information Rights Team’s with the
address you have the information sent to. PHSO will ensure this is sent
out as soon as possible in light of the long delay you’ve had in waiting
for this information.

 

Right of appeal

 

If you have any queries about this response, please contact the
Information Rights Team. Please remember to quote the reference number
above in any future communications. If you are unhappy with the service
you have received in relation to your request or wish to request an
internal review, please respond to this email and explain why you are
dissatisfied.

 

If you are not content with the outcome of your internal review, you may
apply directly to the Information Commissioner’s Office for a decision.
Generally, the Commissioner will not make a decision unless you have
exhausted the complaints procedure provided by the PHSO. The Information
Commissioner’s Office can be contacted at:

 

The Information Commissioner’s Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

 

[2]https://ico.org.uk/

 

Regards,

 

Freedom of Information/Data Protection Team

Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman

E: [3][email address]

W: [4]www.ombudsman.org.uk

 

References

Visible links
1. https://ico.org.uk/media/for-organisatio...
2. https://ico.org.uk/
3. mailto:[email address]
4. http://www.ombudsman.org.uk/
http://www.ombudsman.org.uk/

Dear Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman,

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

I am writing to request an internal review of Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman's handling of my FOI request 'A 'meta request' concerning 'Activity with MPs/disability training for staff' R0000584'.

I refer to your response dated 19/2/20 (PHSO previous reference R0000584; new reference R0001145).

You responded:

"However, this information is exempt from disclosure under Section 40(1) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 as it is your personal data."

I disagree. The information I seek relates to the FOIA 2000 and not the DPA 2018. It may be that you have used my full name when dealing with the FOIA request to which my meta request relates, but doing so would not catapult my request out of the FOIA regime. Should my full name appear on anything, it could easily be redacted. I fully appreciate your wish to protect my personal information, but it may be that your previous unauthorized disclosure of my personal information - https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/p... – has contributed to error-causing caution this time.

You provided me with a link to the ICO guidance on meta requests to support your reasoning. Again I find your reasoning flawed. The guidance does refer to section 40(1):

“Any information about the requester’s own personal data is exempt under Section 40(1) of the Act and an authority should deal it with under the subject access provisions of the Data Protection Act."

However, I wish to remind you that my initial request dated 16 March 2019 - https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/a... – had nothing to do with personal information, like this one.

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

Yours faithfully,

D. Moore

InformationRights, Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman

Thank you for contacting the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman’s
(PHSO) Freedom of Information and Data Protection Team. This is to confirm
we have received your request.

If you have made a request for information under the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 or Environment Information Regulations 2004, we will
respond to your request within 20 working days in accordance with the
statutory time frames set out in both Acts.

If you have made a request for personal information held by the PHSO, your
request will be processed as a Subject Access Request under the provisions
of the Data Protection Act 2018 and will be responded to within one
calendar month in accordance with the statutory time frame set out in the
Act.

We may contact you before this time if we require further clarification or
if we need to extend the time required to complete your request.

For Subject Access Requests, we will send any personal information via
secure email, unless you instruct us differently. To access the
information on the email we send, you will need to sign up to our secure
email service. Details can be found on our website using the link below:
www.ombudsman.org.uk/about-us/being-open...

If you require us to post your personal information to you instead you
will need to inform us of this and confirm your current address as soon as
possible.

Angharad Jackson
Data Protection Officer & Assistant Director Information Assurance
Office of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman
PHSO CityGate
47-51 Mosley Street
Manchester
M2 3HQ
[email address]

D. Moore left an annotation ()

ICO contacted again.

D. Moore left an annotation ()

Latest:

'I have written to the public authority today and have instructed it to issue you with a response to your internal review request. If you do not receive a response from the public authority within 20 working days, or if you do receive a response you are dissatisfied with, please bring this back to us for review.'

ICO is moving to a new case management system. The reference number has been changed.

D. Moore left an annotation ()

More than 20 working days ago I received the following response from the ICO in connection with this request ("A 'meta request' concerning 'Activity with MPs/disability training for staff' R0000584"):

'I have written to the public authority today and have instructed it to issue you with a response to your internal review request. If you do not receive a response from the public authority within 20 working days, or if you do receive a response you are dissatisfied with, please bring this back to us for review.'

I fully understand the exceptional circumstances you are working under because of Covid-19. I consider the 20 working days referred to by the ICO as not enough. I think it should be 35 working days. If you think it should be more please get in touch.

Dear Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman,

More than 20 working days ago I received the following response from the ICO in connection with this request ("A 'meta request' concerning 'Activity with MPs/disability training for staff' R0000584"):

'I have written to the public authority today and have instructed it to issue you with a response to your internal review request. If you do not receive a response from the public authority within 20 working days, or if you do receive a response you are dissatisfied with, please bring this back to us for review.'

I fully understand the exceptional circumstances you are working under because of Covid-19. I consider the 20 working days referred to by the ICO as not enough. I think it should be 35 working days. If you think it should be more please get in touch.

Yours faithfully,

D. Moore

InformationRights, Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman

Thank you for contacting the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman’s
(PHSO) Freedom of Information and Data Protection Team. This is to confirm
we have received your request.

If you have made a request for information under the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 or Environment Information Regulations 2004, we will
respond to your request within 20 working days in accordance with the
statutory time frames set out in both Acts.

If you have made a request for personal information held by the PHSO, your
request will be processed as a Subject Access Request under the provisions
of the Data Protection Act 2018 and will be responded to within one
calendar month in accordance with the statutory time frame set out in the
Act.

We may contact you before this time if we require further clarification or
if we need to extend the time required to complete your request.

For Subject Access Requests, we will send any personal information via
secure email, unless you instruct us differently. To access the
information on the email we send, you will need to sign up to our secure
email service. Details can be found on our website using the link below:
www.ombudsman.org.uk/about-us/being-open...

If you require us to post your personal information to you instead you
will need to inform us of this and confirm your current address as soon as
possible.

Angharad Jackson
Data Protection Officer & Assistant Director Information Assurance
Office of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman
PHSO CityGate
47-51 Mosley Street
Manchester
M2 3HQ
[email address]

D. Moore left an annotation ()

ICO has been contacted.

Dear Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman,

You recently responded to a WDTK request of mine not through WDTK but to an email account:

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/n...

(see my comment dated 25/9/20)

I would like you to respond to this request, and all of my other information requests, via WDTK.

I refer you to the Commissioner's guidance:

“46. This can be ANY (italicised in original) address where the requester may be contacted (including postal or email addresses) and does not have to be their normal residential or business address.

47. It follows that a requester can use a “care of” or PO Box address, or even provide another individual’s email account as their contact address.”

https://ico.org.uk/media/for-organisatio...

It may be that you interpret 'any' to mean any address of your choosing. I, however, would contest such an interpretation. Paragraph 47 clearly indicates that the choice of address to which a response should be sent rests with the requester and not the public authority.

If, however, you have a reason for not responding through WDTK, please first provide me with it via WDTK. Should I accept your reason as valid, then you can send your response to my email account.

(I have sent you this message with regard to more than one of my requests because it may be that messages are passed direct to different individuals each unable to action my preference that you to respond via WDTK to all of my information requests.)

Yours faithfully,

D. Moore

D. Moore left an annotation ()

The ICO has not upheld my complaint:

"Based on the correspondence trail, it would appear that the PHSO has applied section 40(1) correctly.

The exact wording of the opening of your request read as follows:

"Please provide me with all information you hold relating to a request I made on 16 March 2019 entitled 'Activity with MPs/disability training for staff'" [emphasis added]

Any information that the PHSO holds within the scope of this request must, by definition, relate to a previous request made by you. Any information which does not relate to the previous request would not fall within the scope of the current request. That information would relate to a decision made about you (ie. the decision as to how to respond to your request) and you are identifiable via the relevant whatdotheyknow.com thread. Therefore any information falling within the scope of the above request would be your own personal data - regardless of whether the information itself contains your name. Section 40(1) is an absolute exemption and therefore the Commissioner is not required to take into account any public interest in the information or whether you are content for your personal information to be disclosed.

Given her finite resources, the Commissioner considers that issuing a decision notice setting out the above view would be of little value. Given her view about personal data expressed above, it might be more helpful to you to ask the PHSO to deal with your request as a SAR. Whilst you may not receive all the information the PHSO holds it seems likely that you will receive more information via this route than via a FOIA complaint.

However, if you do wish to have a decision notice in respect of your complaint, please let me know by Wednesday 11 November 2020. If I do not hear from you by then I will assume that you intend to pursue this matter via other means and will close the case accordingly."

I have asked for the decision notice:

"Thank you for your email of 4 November 2020.

This email is to inform you that I do wish you to issue a decision notice.

I say this because I consider your reasoning flawed.

I base my assertion on the fact that the DWP responded to a request of mine dated 8 November 2020 through "what do they know" entitled "A 'meta request' regarding four workfare deniers in Scotland":

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/a...

In any event, the decision notice will allow me to understand more fully your arguments against disclosure and permit me the opportunity to examine the validity of my own analgous reasoning. It may also benefit others thinking about making a "meta request" related to a FOI request."

D. Moore left an annotation ()

The DN has not yet been published on the ICO website, but here it is:

https://metarequest.wordpress.com

Here is another DN concerning a meta request someone else made through WDTK:

https://ico.org.uk/media/action-weve-tak...

FS50748747

61. In her guidance, the Commissioner recognises that information caught by a meta request is likely to contain a mixture of the requester’s own personal data and third party personal data (principally the personal data of the employees who dealt with the original request).

62. The requester’s own personal data is exempt from disclosure under Section 40(1) of FOIA and should be handled under the subject access provisions of the DPA.

My previous meta request:

"A 'meta request' regarding four workfare deniers in Scotland"

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/a...

I am mulling an appeal. All thoughts welcome.

D. Moore left an annotation ()

DN now available:

IC-41062-W1P7

https://ico.org.uk/media/action-weve-tak...