Universal Jobmatch info

Waiting for an internal review by Department for Work and Pensions of their handling of this request.

Christine Omotoso

Dear Department for Work and Pensions,

For Universal Jobmatch a letter says an "adviser" will have online access to activity records of the user, who is this "adviser",? Which government department do they belong to? If someone is not claiming any benefit who has access to the users activity records? How long are the records stored for. If a user starts a new benefit claim will the "adviser" have access to past user activity records?

Can you please send me a copy of the contracts awarded for this Universal Match and a copy of the original tender notice and documents?

Has any Public consultation taken place for Universal Jobmatch?

“One of the advantages of the new service for benefit claimants is not having to provide evidence of their jobsearch activity on Universal Jobmatch as their personal
adviser will be able to view this online.”

http://www.rightsnet.org.uk/pdfs/IDS_job...

Universal Jobmatch Q&A says >>>

Q13. Will claims to benefit be affected by the service?
No, this is a job posting and matching service, which is open to everyone, not just benefit claimants and is not connected to any claims.

http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/universal-job...

The above comment suggests that use of Universal Jobmatch is optional for anyone in receipt of or claiming out of work benefits that include an obligation to provide evidence of Jobseeking/Jobsearch as part of the claim, such as Jobseekers Allowance or future Universal Credit, is this true?

Universal Jobmatch letter says >>>>

“One of the advantages of the new service for benefit claimants is not having to
provide evidence of their jobsearch activity on Universal Jobmatch as their personal
adviser will be able to view this online.”

http://www.rightsnet.org.uk/pdfs/IDS_job...

If someone on Jobseekers Allowance or getting future Universal Credit is required as part of their benefit to provide evidence of Jobseeking/Jobsearch can they choose not to use Universal Jobmatch and not have these benefits sanctioned?

Mandatory registration on Universal Jobmatch for everyone in receipt of Jobseekers Allowance?

Are there plans, expectation or requirements that everyone claiming Jobseekers Allowance will have to register for Universal Jobmatch and this registration will allow an "adviser" to view evidence of Jobsearch activity on Universal Jobmatch?

Will any “adviser” or anyone else acting on behalf of the DWP have the Power to make registration on Universal Jobmatch a mandatory requirement?

Do you have any info on how Universal Jobmatch will be compatible with the Data Protection Act and the Human Rights Act? If you do please supply.

Mandatory registration on Universal Jobmatch for everyone who will be in receipt of Universal Credit?

Will everyone on Universal Credit that has a mandatory Work search requirement also have a mandatory requirement to register with ad use Universal Jobmatch and will this mandatory requirement allow an "adviser" to view evidence of Jobsearch activity on Universal jobmatch?

Employers making use of Jobmatch Mandatory >>>>>

Can employers make it a requirement that they will only accept a Job application via Universal Jobmatch? If this is true, it actually means registration will become, by default, a mandatory requirement by the way it is designed, is this true?

Anti fraud and security >>>>>

For the purposes of anti-fraud and national security can you supply a list of agencies that will have access to the personal data of Universal Jobmatch users? Will access include all law enforceement agencies, local authorities, security services (MI5 for example), HMRC for example. What are/will be the laws that apply to access to such personal data for the purposes of anti-fraud and national security?

Employment Support Services >>>>

Will companies (Contractors/Providers) running any Employment Support Services on behalf of the DWP have the same level of access to Universal Jobmatch user personal data as does the "adviser"?

Yours faithfully,
Christine Omotoso

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

This is an automated confirmation that your request for information has
been accepted by the DWP FoI mailbox.

By the next working day your request will be forwarded to the relevant
information owner within the Department who will respond to you direct. 

If your email is a Freedom of Information request you can normally
expect a response within 20 working days.

Should you have any further queries in connection with this request do
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For further information on the Freedom of Information Act within DWP
please click on the link below.

[1]http://www.dwp.gov.uk/freedom-of-informa...

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Christine Omotoso

Dear DWP freedom-of-information-requests,

Supplemental to info request

>>> Employer access and registration

Will employers be able to upload job postings directly onto Universal Jobmatch themselves? Will employers be able to search Universal Jobmatch for potential registered job candidates and then have access to their name, home address, cv (online profile), telephone number and email address?

Yours sincerely,

Christine Omotoso

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

This is an automated confirmation that your request for information has
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Should you have any further queries in connection with this request do
please contact us.

For further information on the Freedom of Information Act within DWP
please click on the link below.

[1]http://www.dwp.gov.uk/freedom-of-informa...

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S. Martin left an annotation ()

Personal information is big business, lets not forget that, and its very lucrative selling on personal information.

This is just another scheme to obtain more personal information, and once this scheme is introduced it will soon become mandatory for all claimants. This gives the DWP access to considerable personal information and the ability to link it to other personal information you may post on other non-associated sites.

Dear Department for Work and Pensions,

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

I am writing to request an internal review of Department for Work and Pensions's handling of my FOI request 'Universal Jobmatch info'.

whatdotheysay.com says my request is being delayed unlawfully and your should normally have responded promptly and by 10 September 2012.

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

Yours faithfully,

Christine Omotoso

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

This is an automated confirmation that your request for information has
been accepted by the DWP FoI mailbox.

By the next working day your request will be forwarded to the relevant
information owner within the Department who will respond to you direct. 

If your email is a Freedom of Information request you can normally
expect a response within 20 working days.

Should you have any further queries in connection with this request do
please contact us.

For further information on the Freedom of Information Act within DWP
please click on the link below.

[1]http://www.dwp.gov.uk/freedom-of-informa...

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Dear DWP freedom-of-information-requests,

Thanks for the 11 September 2012 update on the [ Feedback from employers about claimants job applications and interview without their permission or consent. ] request
http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/fe...

Yours sincerely,

Christine Omotoso

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

This is an automated confirmation that your request for information has
been accepted by the DWP FoI mailbox.

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information owner within the Department who will respond to you direct. 

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expect a response within 20 working days.

Should you have any further queries in connection with this request do
please contact us.

For further information on the Freedom of Information Act within DWP
please click on the link below.

[1]http://www.dwp.gov.uk/freedom-of-informa...

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

5 Attachments

Dear Christine Omotoso

Please see attached response to your FoI request.

Kind regards

DWP Central FoI Team

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Dear Department for Work and Pensions,

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

I am writing to request an internal review of Department for Work and Pensions's handling of my FOI request 'Universal Jobmatch info'.

All exemptions wrongly applied as it has been announced Universal Jobmatch is imminently due for launch and therefore the information requested must be concluded, otherwise launch would have to be postponed. The Public need the information before launch, as they have never been consulted.

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

Yours faithfully,

Christine Omotoso

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

This is an automated confirmation that your request for information has
been accepted by the DWP FoI mailbox.

By the next working day your request will be forwarded to the relevant
information owner within the Department who will respond to you direct. 

If your email is a Freedom of Information request you can normally
expect a response within 20 working days.

Should you have any further queries in connection with this request do
please contact us.

For further information on the Freedom of Information Act within DWP
please click on the link below.

[1]http://www.dwp.gov.uk/freedom-of-informa...

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References

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S. Rotheram left an annotation ()

Hello Christine,
They seem to want it both ways:-
Our Ref: VTR IR 568 and FoI 3082

Date: 18 September 2012
Annex A

Dear Frank Zola,

Thank you for your Freedom of Information review request which we received on 11 September 2012. I acknowledge that in this instance, the Department failed to respond within the 20 working days and DWP apologise for the delay. Furthermore, we apologise for not keeping you updated of the progress of your request. A slight backlog of work has meant that some responses have not been answered as promptly as we would hope. DWP is working to avoid any such errors occurring in the future.

In reviewing your request the reviewing officer upholds your complaint as the Department failed to respond to your request within 20 days.

The response to your original request dated 8 August is set out below. You asked:

Today you mentioned the Autumn launch of a new Jobmatch CV service
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/adviser/updates/un... - please supply any information you have about plans or proposals to make registration mandatory in connection to welfare benefit claims or mandatory for people claiming Universal Credit. Can you confirm that all of your Welfare to Work Providers have the delegated Authority and Powers to make registration mandatory, whether on an individual case by case basis or for any welfare to work DWP customer they provide public funded services to.
Will registration only be based upon the consent of the user and no Public Authority (PA) or PA Provider/Data Processor will be able to make registration mandatory?

Please provide a copy of any Equality, Human Rights and Privacy impact assessments you have done for this Jobmatch service, as well as any related guidance and privacy statements or policy.

With regard to your question about plans to make registration mandatory, the service will greatly enhance employment prospects, so we expect most JSA claimants will register willingly. However, where registration is deemed by a Jobcentre Plus adviser as reasonable in terms of improving employment prospects, but the claimant will not do so willingly, the adviser will be able to require registration through the issue of a Jobseeker's Direction. Similarly, under Universal Credit, where registration with the service is deemed by a Jobcentre Plus adviser as reasonable in terms of improving job prospects, this will be Claimant Commitment. Failure to comply with any part of the Claimant Commitment, without good reason, will lead to a benefit sanction.

We do not hold any information at this time about registration in relation to Welfare to Work Providers, Public Authorities or Data Processors.

We do not hold any documents relevant to Jobmatch relating to Human Rights nor do we currently hold an Equality Impact Assessment or Privacy Impact Assessment as these are in the process of being developed.

If you have any queries about this letter please contact me quoting the reference number
above.

Yours sincerely,

DWP Central FoI Team

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

1 Attachment

Dear Christine Omotoso

Please see attached response to your FoI request.

Kind regards

DWP Central FoI Team

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

1 Attachment

Dear Ms Otomoso

Please see attached response to your FoI request.

Kind regards

DWP Central FoI Team

show quoted sections

Him left an annotation ()

In relation to the Universal Jobmatch service...

How does this impact those Jobseekers who are Illiterate, Computer Illiterate, those that do not have access to a home-pc or due to location have difficulty in accessing the internet?

Seems as usual, the DWP has not considered many of the jobseeking public in their ill thought out plans....

S. Martin left an annotation ()

Always remember that the DWP are a registered company with shareholders, they are not a Government Deaprtment as they would have people believe.