Letters to GPs following WCA assessments

The request was partially successful.

Dear Department for Work and Pensions,
Given this announcement in the press regards your department sending letters to GPs following a WCA and your decision makers deciding the claimant is fit for work can you please supply the following information:-

1. Given this contact and instruction would break Data Protection Laws and GDPR laws the legislation you are using to allow this.

2. What extended medical training is going to be provided to the decision makers to both understand medical evidence provided by claimants and medical specialists, and to make an informed and correct decision as to medical fitness for work of a claimant.

3. The information regards medical negligence claims and possibly corporate manslaughter issues to decision makers over their decisions on fitness to work of claimants with confirmed medical issues,

4. The information on whether the DWP minister or the decision maker who contacts the GP to advise them to NOT issue further fit notes (Sick Notes) is to be held as liable for breeches of the Data Protection Act & GDPR laws as advised to yourselves by the ICO, and any legal actions arising from decisions made over fitness to work or not

5. Provide a copy of the standard letter to be sent to GP's to make the request to not issue further "Sick Notes"

6. As this would put your employees in serious risk of legal action, provide details of which Trade Union was consulted and when.

Yours faithfully,

Mark Bennett

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

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no-reply@dwp.ecase.co.uk on behalf of DWP Strategy Freedom of Information, Department for Work and Pensions

1 Attachment

Dear Mark Bennett,

I am writing in response to your request for information, received 18th
December.

Yours sincerely,

DWP Central FoI Team

Dear [email address] on behalf of DWP Strategy Freedom of Information,
Thank you for the reply a lot of which I could contest as to its legal status as claimed, however for now I wish to challenge only one. In your answer to number 6 "6. As this would put your employees in serious risk of legal action, provide details of which Trade Union was consulted and when." Your reply was and I quote "The information you requested is not held by the Department." I would inform you as the DWP recognises atleast two trade unions then by law you have to consult them on issues like described above. You then have to hold a record of those meetings so I put it to you that you do hold this information and should disclose it, if you further state you dont hold it this means you have operated outside of current UK legislation namely the "Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992". So again I think you need to revisit this and provide the information held as it poses zero financial or business impact to do so and as such is not excluded by any section of the FOI act. You may also wish at this time to look again at the information you claim is not held and reply with the information asked for.

Yours sincerely,

Mark Bennett

Department for Work and Pensions

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jimmy3 left an annotation ()

Signing page 22 of the ESA50 I believe gives them 'consent'
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk...

There is no checkbox however to withdraw the option and there should be.

no-reply@dwp.ecase.co.uk on behalf of DWP Strategy Freedom of Information, Department for Work and Pensions

1 Attachment

Dear Mark Bennett,

I am writing in response to your request for information, received 23rd
January.

Yours sincerely,

DWP Central FoI Team

Frank Zola left an annotation ()

"we are now aiming to have the ESA1 and
ESA50 live from mid-August and can share copies with you once they have been published. "
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/6...
21/7/20 update
https://mrfrankzola.wordpress.com/2020/0...