DWP Central Freedom of
Information Team
Caxton House
6-12 Tothill Street
London
SW1H 9NA
Janice Mason
freedom-of-information-
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx
xxxxxxx@xxx.xxx.xx
DWP Website
Our Ref: FOI2023/21972
18 April 2023
Dear Janice Mason,
Thank you for your Freedom of Information (FoI) request received on 18 March. You wrote:
“On 9th March 2023 during Business Questions, Andrew Gwynne MP brought to the
attention of the House about a letter received from the DWP which appeared to show
wrong information about the State Pension Age. He was answered by Penny Mordaunt
MP who asked for the letter to be passed to her so she could take it up urgently with the
DWP.
Can you please provide the actual letter submitted by Andrew Gwynne so that I may see
the context?
Can you also please provide details of the result of this investigation? Did the letter
contain wrong information and will it be corrected if it did?”
DWP Response
We confirm that we do hold a photo of the letter submitted by Andrew Gwynne MP and we
have attached that with this letter. Please note that we do not hold anything else submitted
by Andrew Gwynne MP in this matter.
We are also unable to provide you with some of the information requested as it constitutes
personal data of someone other than yourself and as such, it is being withheld in accordance
with section 40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act.
Section 40(2) exempts information in response to a request if it is personal data belonging to
an individual other than the requester and it satisfies one of the conditions listed in the
legislation. In this case the condition contained in section 40(3A)(a) applies - that disclosure
would breach one of the data protection principles, specifically that “Personal data shall be
processed lawfully, fairly and in a transparent manner...”.
We do not consider that disclosing this information is necessary or justified in order to satisfy
your information request and the requirements of the FoI Act. In relation to this request, we
consider that there is no strong legitimate interest that would override the prejudice to the
rights and freedoms of the data subject.
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Personal data are subject to General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data
Protection Act 2018
We are currently reviewing the wording we include in letters sent to international customers
as part of a regular update of our communications.
The State Pension age information was correct for the intended recipient.
If you have any queries about this letter, please contact us quoting the reference number
above.
Yours sincerely,
DWP Central Freedom of Information Team
Department for Work and Pensions
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Your right to complain under the Freedom of Information Act
If you are not happy with this response you may request an internal review by e-mailing
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxx.xxx.xx or by writing to: DWP Central FoI Team, Caxton
House, 6-12 Tothill Street, London, SW1H 9NA.
Any review request should be submitted within two months of the date of this letter.
If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review you may apply directly to the
Information Commissioner’s Office for a decision. Generally, the Commissioner cannot make
a decision unless you have exhausted our own complaints procedure. The Information
Commissioner can be contacted at: The Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House,
Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF.
Website
: ICO FOI and EIR complaints or telephone 0303 123 1113.
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