Our reference: 3492745             Information request

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Dear Mr Hai
 
Freedom of Information Act 2000
 
Thank you for contacting us on 22 September 2017 requesting
 
Who decided that Tower Hamlets should be excluded from the voter ID pilot
in 2018?

All correspondence between:
a) DCLG Ministers and Officials in this regard since 2015;
b) Commissioners and DCLG since 2015;
c) Council officers including Will Tuckley since 2015; and
d) Elected members of Tower Hamlets or members of the Commons and Lords
since 2015 in this regard.
 
I am dealing with your request under the Freedom of Information Act
2000 and aim to send you a response by 20 October 2017.
 
If you have any questions, please ask by return email. Please leave the
subject line unchanged when replying, to make sure your email gets
straight to me.
 
Yours sincerely
 
 
Ben Heathcote
FOI Business Partner
 
[email address]
 
 
NOTE: Please do not edit the subject line when replying to this email.

                            
Our reference: 3492745             Information request

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Dear Mr Hai
 
Freedom of Information Act 2000
 
Thank you for your request for information concerning Tower Hamlets
exclusion from the voter ID pilot in 2018, which we received on 22
September 2017.
 
We are handling it under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
 
We do hold this information, but unfortunately I will not be able to give
you a response within the normal 20 working days. I need additional time
to give extra consideration to the public interest in releasing it.
 
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 allows this when one or more qualified
exemptions apply to the information. In this case the exemptions I am
considering are section 35(1)(a), which relates to the formulation and
development of government policy, and multiple arms of section 36, which
relates to prejudice to the conduct of public affairs.
 
I estimate that it will take an additional 20 working days to take a
decision on where the balance of the public interest lies. Therefore, I
will respond to you by 17 November 2017.
 
Complaints procedure
 
If you are unhappy with this response, we will review it and report back
to you. (This is called an internal review.) If you want us to do this,
let us know by return email within two months of receiving this response.
You can also ask by letter addressed to:
 
Department for Communities and Local Government
Knowledge and Information Access Team
1st Floor NW, Fry Building
2 Marsham Street
London, SW1P 4DF
 
If you are unhappy with the outcome of this internal review, you can ask
the independent Information Commissioner to investigate. The Information
Commissioner can be contacted at email address [1][email address] or
use their online form at [2]ico.org.uk/concerns or call them on 0303 123
1113.
 
 
Yours sincerely
 
 
Ben Heathcote
FOI Business Partner
 
[email address]
 
 
NOTE: Please do not edit the subject line when replying to this email.

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. https://ico.org.uk/concerns

                            
Our reference: 3492745             Information request

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Dear Mr Hai
 
Freedom of Information Act 2000
 
Thank you for your request received on 22 September 2017 concerning Tower
Hamlets and the voter ID pilot.
 
I regret to inform you that we require further time to consider the public
interest arguments relating to the applicable exemptions. We will now try
to respond to you by 13 December 2017.
 
Complaints procedure
 
If you are unhappy with this response, we will review it and report back
to you. (This is called an internal review.) If you want us to do this,
let us know by return email within two months of receiving this response.
You can also ask by letter addressed to:
 
Department for Communities and Local Government
Knowledge and Information Access Team
1st Floor NW, Fry Building
2 Marsham Street
London, SW1P 4DF
 
If you are unhappy with the outcome of this internal review, you can ask
the independent Information Commissioner to investigate. The Information
Commissioner can be contacted at email address [1][email address] or
use their online form at [2]ico.org.uk/concerns or call them on 0303 123
1113.
 
 
Yours sincerely
 
 
Ben Heathcote
Lead FOI Business Partner
 
[email address]
 
NOTE: Please do not edit the subject line when replying to this email.

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. https://ico.org.uk/concerns

                            
Our reference: 3492745             Information request

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Dear Mr Hai
 
Freedom of Information Act 2000
 
Thank you for your request received on 22 September 2017. I regret to
inform you that we need more time to process it. This is because of public
interest considerations, as per my previous email. We will now try to
respond to you by 15 January 2018.
 
Complaints procedure
 
If you are unhappy with this response, we will review it and report back
to you. (This is called an internal review.) If you want us to do this,
let us know by return email within two months of receiving this response.
You can also ask by letter addressed to:
 
Department for Communities and Local Government
Knowledge and Information Access Team
1st Floor NW, Fry Building
2 Marsham Street
London, SW1P 4DF
 
If you are unhappy with the outcome of this internal review, you can ask
the independent Information Commissioner to investigate. The Information
Commissioner can be contacted at email address [1][email address] or
use their online form at [2]ico.org.uk/concerns or call them on 0303 123
1113.
 
 
Yours sincerely
 
 
Ben Heathcote
Lead FOI Business Partner
 
[email address]
 
NOTE: Please do not edit the subject line when replying to this email.

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. https://ico.org.uk/concerns

                            
Our reference: 3492745             Information request

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Dear Mr Hai
 
Freedom of Information Act 2000
 
Thank you for your request received on 22 September 2017. We are still
considering the public interest arguments, as per my previous email. We
will now try to respond to you by 9 February 2018.
 
Complaints procedure
 
If you are unhappy with this response, we will review it and report back
to you. (This is called an internal review.) If you want us to do this,
let us know by return email within two months of receiving this response.
You can also ask by letter addressed to:
 
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Knowledge and Information Access Team
1st Floor NW, Fry Building
2 Marsham Street
London, SW1P 4DF
 
If you are unhappy with the outcome of this internal review, you can ask
the independent Information Commissioner to investigate. The Information
Commissioner can be contacted at email address [1][email address] or
use their online form at [2]ico.org.uk/concerns or call them on 0303 123
1113.
 
 
Yours sincerely
 
 
Ben Heathcote
Lead FOI Business Partner
 
[email address]
 
NOTE: Please do not edit the subject line when replying to this email.

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. https://ico.org.uk/concerns

                            
Our reference: 3492745             Information request

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Dear Mr Hai
 
Thank you for your request for information concerning excluding Tower
Hamlets from the voter ID pilot. Please accept my apologies for hte delay
in responding.
 
Unfortunately I am unable to provide this information. I have attached my
formal response which sets out the reasons for this.
 
 
Knowledge and Information Access Team
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

 
NOTE: Please do not edit the subject line when replying to this email.

                            
Our reference: 3492745             Information request

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Dear Mr Hai
 
Internal review under the Freedom of Information Act 2000
 
Thank you for your request for a review received on 6 March 2018. I am
sorry that you are dissatisfied with our attempts to handle your request
under the Freedom of Information Act 2000
 
I am considering your concerns and will aim to provide you with a response
by 5 April 2018.
 
Yours sincerely
 
Anna Canning
 
Knowledge & Information Access
Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government
 
 
NOTE: Please do not edit the subject line when replying to this email.

                            
Our reference: 3492745             Information request

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Dear Mr Hai,
 
Please find attached my response to your request for an internal review of
the Department's handling of your FOI request for correspondence on Tower
Hamlets and the voter ID pilot.
Yours sincerely
  
Anna Canning
 
Knowledge & Information Access
Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government
NOTE: Please do not edit the subject line when replying to this email.

                            
Our reference: 3492745             Information request

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Dear Mr Hai,

We refer to your request for information which was received on 22
September 2017 and our response dated 5 March 2018.

Following correspondence with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO),
the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) would
like to revise its response to you; please find our revised response
below. We would like to offer our apologies for the change in the
Department’s position in relation to your request.

Yours sincerely,

MHCLG FOI Team

NOTE: Please do not edit the subject line when replying to this email.