Racist Proud to be British blog - CEO message to staff

The request was partially successful.

Jacob Hawthorne

Dear The Financial Conduct Authority,

Please provide the message to all staff from interim CEO Christopher Woolard about the racist Proud to be British blog post which talks about slavery.

Please provide the FCA'S policy for blogging that was in place at the time that the Proud to be British blog was published.

Please provide the FCA'S dignity at work policy that was in place at the time that the Proud to be British blog was published.

Please provide the record of the final decision not to remove the blog.

Please provide the record of the final subsequent decision to remove the blog.

This is not a request for personal data. Please redact any personal information.

Yours faithfully,

Jacob Hawthorne

The Financial Conduct Authority

Thank you for e-mailing the Financial Conduct Authority's Information Access Team. This is an automatic acknowledgement to tell you we have received your email safely. Please do not reply to this email. We will be in touch in due course.

This communication and any attachments may contain personal information. For more information about how and why we use personal information and who to contact with any queries about this, please see our privacy notices: FCA Privacy Notice (https://www.fca.org.uk/data-protection) and PSR Privacy Notice (https://www.psr.org.uk/cookies-privacy-a...).

This communication and any attachments contain information which is confidential and may be subject to legal privilege. It is for intended recipients only. If you are not the intended recipient you must not copy, distribute, publish, rely on or otherwise use it without our consent. Some of our communications may contain confidential information which it could be a criminal offence for you to disclose or use without authority. If you have received this email in error please notify [email address] immediately and delete the email from your computer. Further information on the classification and handling of FCA information can be found on the FCA website (http://www.fca.org.uk/site-info/legal/fc...).

The FCA (or, if this email originates from the Payment Systems Regulator Limited, the FCA on behalf of the Payment Systems Regulator Limited / the Payment Systems Regulator Limited) reserves the right to monitor all email communications for compliance with legal, regulatory and professional standards.

This email is not intended to nor should it be taken to create any legal relations or contractual relationships. This email has originated from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), or the Payment Systems Regulator Limited.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is registered as a limited company in England and Wales No. 1920623. Registered office: 25 The North Colonnade, Canary Wharf, London E14 5HS, United Kingdom

The Payment Systems Regulator Limited is registered as a limited company in England and Wales No. 8970864. Registered office: 25 The North Colonnade, Canary Wharf, London E14 5HS, United Kingdom

Switchboard 020 7066 1000

Web Site http://www.fca.org.uk (FCA); http://www.psr.org.uk (the Payment Systems Regulator Limited)

Freedom of Information, The Financial Conduct Authority

1 Attachment

Our ref: FOI7476

 

 

Dear Mr Hawthorne,

 

We refer to your request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 for the
following information:

 

“Please provide the message to all staff from interim CEO Christopher
Woolard about the [mentioned post].

 

Please provide the FCA'S policy for blogging that was in place at the time
that the Proud to be British blog was published.

 

Please provide the FCA'S dignity at work policy that was in place at the
time that the Proud to be British blog was published.

 

Please provide the record of the final decision not to remove the blog.

 

Please provide the record of the final subsequent decision to remove the
blog.”

 

We are sorry to inform you that we are still processing your request and,
therefore, we will not be able to respond to you by today’s statutory
deadline.

 

We will endeavour to complete work on your request and send you a response
by 28 August 2020.

 

In the meantime, we thank you for your understanding and patience.

 

Yours sincerely

 

 

Information Disclosure Team

[1]cid:image001.png@01D5F6F8.E90FD970

 

 

This communication and any attachments may contain personal information.
For more information about how and why we use personal information and who
to contact with any queries about this, please see our privacy notices:
FCA Privacy Notice (https://www.fca.org.uk/data-protection) and PSR
Privacy Notice
(https://www.psr.org.uk/cookies-privacy-a...).

This communication and any attachments contain information which is
confidential and may be subject to legal privilege. It is for intended
recipients only. If you are not the intended recipient you must not copy,
distribute, publish, rely on or otherwise use it without our consent. Some
of our communications may contain confidential information which it could
be a criminal offence for you to disclose or use without authority. If you
have received this email in error please notify [email address]
immediately and delete the email from your computer. Further information
on the classification and handling of FCA information can be found on the
FCA website
(http://www.fca.org.uk/site-info/legal/fc...).

The FCA (or, if this email originates from the Payment Systems Regulator
Limited, the FCA on behalf of the Payment Systems Regulator Limited / the
Payment Systems Regulator Limited) reserves the right to monitor all email
communications for compliance with legal, regulatory and professional
standards.

This email is not intended to nor should it be taken to create any legal
relations or contractual relationships. This email has originated from the
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), or the Payment Systems Regulator
Limited.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is registered as a limited company
in England and Wales No. 1920623. Registered office: 12 Endeavour Square,
Stratford, London, E20 1JN, United Kingdom

The Payment Systems Regulator Limited is registered as a limited company
in England and Wales No. 8970864. Registered office: 12 Endeavour Square,
Stratford, London, E20 1JN, United Kingdom

Switchboard 020 7066 1000

Web Site http://www.fca.org.uk (FCA); http://www.psr.org.uk (the Payment
Systems Regulator Limited)

References

Visible links

Freedom of Information, The Financial Conduct Authority

Link: [1]File-List

 

Our ref:  FOI7476

 

 

Dear Mr Hawthorne

 

We write further to our email of 17 August 2020 in respect of your request
for information relating to the “Proud to be British” blog.  We are sorry
to inform you that we are still processing your request and are therefore
not in a position to respond by today’s deadline.

 

We will endeavour to complete work on your request and send you a response
by 11 September 2020 at the latest.

 

In the meantime, we thank you for your understanding and patience.

 

Yours sincerely

 

Information Disclosure Team

Financial Conduct Authority

 

 

 

 

 

This communication and any attachments may contain personal information.
For more information about how and why we use personal information and who
to contact with any queries about this, please see our privacy notices:
FCA Privacy Notice (https://www.fca.org.uk/data-protection) and PSR
Privacy Notice
(https://www.psr.org.uk/cookies-privacy-a...).

This communication and any attachments contain information which is
confidential and may be subject to legal privilege. It is for intended
recipients only. If you are not the intended recipient you must not copy,
distribute, publish, rely on or otherwise use it without our consent. Some
of our communications may contain confidential information which it could
be a criminal offence for you to disclose or use without authority. If you
have received this email in error please notify [email address]
immediately and delete the email from your computer. Further information
on the classification and handling of FCA information can be found on the
FCA website
(http://www.fca.org.uk/site-info/legal/fc...).

The FCA (or, if this email originates from the Payment Systems Regulator
Limited, the FCA on behalf of the Payment Systems Regulator Limited / the
Payment Systems Regulator Limited) reserves the right to monitor all email
communications for compliance with legal, regulatory and professional
standards.

This email is not intended to nor should it be taken to create any legal
relations or contractual relationships. This email has originated from the
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), or the Payment Systems Regulator
Limited.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is registered as a limited company
in England and Wales No. 1920623. Registered office: 12 Endeavour Square,
Stratford, London, E20 1JN, United Kingdom

The Payment Systems Regulator Limited is registered as a limited company
in England and Wales No. 8970864. Registered office: 12 Endeavour Square,
Stratford, London, E20 1JN, United Kingdom

Switchboard 020 7066 1000

Web Site http://www.fca.org.uk (FCA); http://www.psr.org.uk (the Payment
Systems Regulator Limited)

References

Visible links
1. file:///tmp/cid:filelist.xml@01D67D26.3BD71930

Freedom of Information, The Financial Conduct Authority

3 Attachments

Link: [1]File-List

 

Our ref:  FOI7476

 

 

Dear Mr Hawthorne

 

Thank you for your request of 29 June 2020, in which you asked for the
following information:

 

 1. Please provide the message to all staff from interim CEO Christopher
Woolard about the Proud to be British blog post.

 

 2. Please provide the FCA'S policy for blogging that was in place at the
time that the Proud to be British blog was published.

 

 3. Please provide the FCA'S dignity at work policy that was in place at
the time that the Proud to be British blog was published.

 

 4. Please provide the record of the final decision not to remove the
blog.

 

 5. Please provide the record of the final subsequent decision to remove
the blog.

 

Your request has been considered in line with the provisions of the
Freedom of Information Act 2000.  Please accept our apologies for the
delay in responding.

Our decision on your request

 

Question 1:

 

An all staff message from the FCA’s Communications Director, Andrew Whyte,
was posted on the FCA’s intranet on 17 June 2020, a copy of which is
attached at Annex A.  In addition, the FCA’s interim CEO, Chris Woolard,
wrote the following in a weekly note to all staff on Friday, 3 July 2020:

 

“At ExCo this week we also discussed our blogging policy.  The blogs on
Pulse are a valuable way for us to talk to each other about things that
matter to us, they are an important part of bringing your whole self to
work and I have learned a lot from reading some powerful and moving
pieces.  But over the last few weeks some blogs and the debates they have
generated have sometimes caused upset or offence.  Reflecting on that,
ExCo agreed that while we want to continue with the blogging platform, we
should review our blogging policy so that we can ensure that blogging
makes an inclusive and positive contribution to the FCA.  Andrew Whyte and
the internal comms team will be leading this review and consulting with
the SCC, network groups and others across the FCA over the next few
weeks.  We’ll let you know the outcome of the review, but in the meantime,
when writing blogs or commenting on them, please be respectful, thoughtful
and mindful of your colleagues.”

 

Question 2:

 

A copy of our internal Blogging Policy is contained in the attached Annex
B.

 

The details of the FCA’s Political Impartiality and Social Media policies
are set out in our [2]Employee Handbook and are publicly available.

 

Question 3:

 

We do not hold any recorded policy documents under the name “Dignity at
work policy”.  However, we have taken this part of your request to refer
to sections 4.1 Corporate responsibility and diversity and inclusion and
4.2 Equal opportunities and respect at work of the FCA’s employee
handbook.  This is publicly available and can be accessed from the FCA
website [3]here.

 

Question 4:

 

We hold information relevant to this point of your request and the
information we can disclose can be seen in the attached Annex C.  Please
note, some information has been withheld as we are of the view that the
exemption in section 40(2)(b) (Personal information) of FOIA is engaged. 
This is because its disclosure would reveal personal data about other
individuals.

 

In particular, in line with the FCA’s policy, the information that has
been withheld consists of the names of current FCA staff below management
level.  References to the content of the blog you refer to have also been
withheld, as they would reveal the political and personal views of the
author of the blog.

 

For further details on why this exemption applies, please refer to Annex D
below.

 

Question 5:

 

We do not hold the information you have requested, as the decision to
remove the blog mentioned was the result of verbal discussions amongst
different stakeholders and was not minuted.

 

Your right to complain under FOIA

 

If you are unhappy with this response, you have the right to request an
internal review.  To do so, please contact us within 40 working days of
the date of this response.

 

If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you also
have a right of appeal to the Information Commissioner by phone or on
their website at:

 

Telephone:     0303 123 1113

Website:        [4]www.ico.org.uk

 

Yours sincerely

 

 

Information Disclosure Team

Financial Conduct Authority

 

Annex D

 

General right of access to information held by public authorities

 

Anyone requesting information from a public authority is entitled to be
informed in writing whether it holds the information described (this is
under section 1(1)(a) of FOIA).  If the public authority does hold it, the
person requesting it is entitled to have the information communicated to
them, under section 1(1)(b).  However, there are exclusions and exemptions
to these rights.

 

·                Section 40 (Personal data)

 

To the extent that the information that we hold contains personal data
about individuals, section 40(2)(b) of the Act provides that any
information to which a request for information relates is also exempt
information if any of the three conditions listed in s40(3A), s40(3B) or
s40(4A) are satisfied.

 

1.    We have applied this exemption because the first condition (as
stated in section 40(3A) of FOIA) is satisfied.  Some of the information
you have requested comprises the personal data of individuals other than
yourself which, if disclosed, would breach the requirement of Regulation
(EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April
2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of
personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing
Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation) (“GDPR”) owing to
a contravention of the data protection principles of Articles 5 and 9 and
the Data Protection Act 2018 (“DPA”).

 

2.    It would be a breach of the first data protection principle as set
out in Article 5(1)(a) of the GDPR:

 

                      i.    to disclose the details of any members of
staff below manager level contained in the records referred to at point 4
of your request. Such disclosure would not be necessary or fair to the
individuals concerned, or lawful, where the conditions in Article 6(1) of
the GDPR have not been met.  The individual(s) concerned have not given
their consent for their personal details to be made public and the release
of such information may be detrimental to the individuals themselves.

 

                     ii.    to disclose any information which would
directly or indirectly reveal the content of the blog you refer to, as
this contains special category information and no relevant exemptions
apply (see Article 9 of the GDPR). Processing of personal data revealing
matters including racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious
or philosophical beliefs is prohibited, unless a relevant exemption
applies.

 

This is an “absolute” exemption, and so it is not necessary to balance the
public interest for and against disclosing the information.

 

 

 

 

 

This communication and any attachments may contain personal information.
For more information about how and why we use personal information and who
to contact with any queries about this, please see our privacy notices:
FCA Privacy Notice (https://www.fca.org.uk/data-protection) and PSR
Privacy Notice
(https://www.psr.org.uk/cookies-privacy-a...).

This communication and any attachments contain information which is
confidential and may be subject to legal privilege. It is for intended
recipients only. If you are not the intended recipient you must not copy,
distribute, publish, rely on or otherwise use it without our consent. Some
of our communications may contain confidential information which it could
be a criminal offence for you to disclose or use without authority. If you
have received this email in error please notify [email address]
immediately and delete the email from your computer. Further information
on the classification and handling of FCA information can be found on the
FCA website
(http://www.fca.org.uk/site-info/legal/fc...).

The FCA (or, if this email originates from the Payment Systems Regulator
Limited, the FCA on behalf of the Payment Systems Regulator Limited / the
Payment Systems Regulator Limited) reserves the right to monitor all email
communications for compliance with legal, regulatory and professional
standards.

This email is not intended to nor should it be taken to create any legal
relations or contractual relationships. This email has originated from the
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), or the Payment Systems Regulator
Limited.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is registered as a limited company
in England and Wales No. 1920623. Registered office: 12 Endeavour Square,
Stratford, London, E20 1JN, United Kingdom

The Payment Systems Regulator Limited is registered as a limited company
in England and Wales No. 8970864. Registered office: 12 Endeavour Square,
Stratford, London, E20 1JN, United Kingdom

Switchboard 020 7066 1000

Web Site http://www.fca.org.uk (FCA); http://www.psr.org.uk (the Payment
Systems Regulator Limited)

References

Visible links
1. file:///tmp/cid:filelist.xml@01D68762.388ABED0
2. https://www.fca.org.uk/publication/corpo...
3. https://www.fca.org.uk/publication/corpo...
4. http://www.ico.org.uk/