Who is paying for the travel expenses?

The request was refused by Department for International Development.

Dear Department for International Development,
I write with regards to a senior employee of DFID, currently posted to Nigeria. She moved to Abuja with her husband and two children in August 2017.
Since taking up her appointment her husband has been returning twice a month to see his daughter from a previous marriage and is accompanied on alternate visits (ie once a month) by his 4-year-old son.
He is unemployed and my question is who is paying for the air flights, which may total £1,200 per month.
I am able to provide the names of the individuals concerned if necessary.
With thanks,
Yours faithfully,
Peter Toase

Department for International Development

Dear Mr Toase,

Thank you for your request for information which we received on 14 May
2018. We are dealing with it under the terms of the Freedom of Information
Act 2000 and will respond to you directly as soon as possible and within
20 working days.

Please note the Department for International Development may also publish
our response to Freedom of Information requests at www.gov.uk/dfid.

Please contact me if you have any queries, quoting reference number
F2018-183.

Yours sincerely

Nicole Murphy
Information Rights Team
Department for International Development

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Dear Mr Toase

Please find attached the Department for International Development's
response to your Freedom of Information request F2018-183.

Yours sincerely,

Nicole Murphy
Information Rights Team
Department for International Development

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Dear Nicole Murphy,

Re: Freedom of Information request F2018-183.

I have received notification that a response has been sent to me but I am unable to access it. I have a MacBook Pro 2011, using the most recent macOS High Sierra update, which seemingly will not allow me to load Windows Internet Explorer as advised.
I would be most grateful if you could send me the response from DFID in a format which I can read.

Thank you.

Yours sincerely,

Peter Toase

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Toase,

Please find attached a PDF version of our response, if you still unable to open the document then please let me know.

Regards

Christine Mackintosh
DFID Information Rights Team

show quoted sections

Dear Department for International Development,

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

I am writing to request an internal review of Department for International Development's handling of my FOI request 'Who is paying for the travel expenses?'.

[ GIVE DETAILS ABOUT YOUR COMPLAINT HERE ]

You will have details of my initial complaint and the response that I have received. I understand that the Data Protection Act 2018 may make it impossible for you to answer the query I posed. However, I am in no doubt that in this case the travel expenses are being paid for by DFID.
I am sure that this is not an isolated instance and I question the appropriateness of this expenditure. It is laudable that the UK is spending 0.7% of GNI on overseas aid but only if the money is responsibly utilised. We in the UK are suffering from the effects of austerity and many feel that some of the overseas budget could be better spent at home. There are many other instances where the wisdom of some of DFID's projects have been criticised, the airports on St Helena and Montserrat and spending in private schools in Nigeria, to name but three.
I do have to admit that I have an axe to grind with this particular case but that does in my view invalidate my complaint.
I intend to write to my MP and Penny Mordaunt.

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

Yours faithfully,

Peter Toase

Department for International Development

Dear Mr Toase,

I refer to your e-mail dated 6 July 2018 in which you asked for an
internal review of DFID's handling of Freedom of Information request
reference F2018-183. I will carry out this review and write to you with
the outcome as soon as possible.

Yours sincerely,

Helen Kennedy
Information Rights Team

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UK aid is helping the world's poorest people change their lives.
Follow us online: [1]http://www.gov.uk/dfid Twitter: @DFID_UK

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Department for International Development

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Dear Mr Toase,

Please find attached my internal review of your request F2018-183.

Yours sincerely,

Helen Kennedy
DFID Information Rights Team