Dear Mr. Andrews

Freedom of Information Request Reference No: 2010110000063
I write in connection with your request for information which was received
by the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) on 31/10/2010.  I note you seek
access to the following information:

"I was perusing the Sunday papers when I came across a reference to a
guide that explained how the Met Police should deal with Witches.    
I would like to request a copy of this 300 page guide is published.
Certainly I believe each of the various groups identified within the
document, might like to peruse the original to ensure the accuracy of the
document.    
You can find more about this document here:    
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/l...
"  

Your request will now be considered in accordance with the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 (the Act).  You will receive a response within the
statutory timescale of 20 working days as defined by the Act, subject to
the information not being exempt or containing a reference to a third
party.  In some circumstances the MPS may be unable to achieve this
deadline.  If this is likely you will be informed and given a revised
time-scale at the earliest opportunity.

Some requests may also require either full or partial transference to
another public authority in order to answer your query in the fullest
possible way. Again, you will be informed if this is the case.

COMPLAINT RIGHTS

Your attention is drawn to the attached sheet, which details your right of
complaint.

Should you have any further enquiries concerning this matter, please
contact me at the above e-mail address, quoting the reference number
above.

Yours sincerely

R. Loizou
Policy and Support Officer
COMPLAINT RIGHTS

Are you unhappy with how your request has been handled or do you think the
decision is incorrect?

You have the right to require the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) to
review their decision.

Prior to lodging a formal complaint you are welcome and encouraged to
discuss the decision with the case officer that dealt with your request.  

Ask to have the decision looked at again –

The quickest and easiest way to have the decision looked at again is to
telephone the case officer that is nominated at the end of your decision
letter.

That person will be able to discuss the decision, explain any issues and
assist with any problems.

Complaint

If you are dissatisfied with the handling procedures or the decision of
the MPS made under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act) regarding
access to information you can lodge a complaint with the MPS to have the
decision reviewed.

Complaints should be made in writing, within forty (40) working days from
the date of the refusal notice, and addressed to:

FOI Complaint
Public Access Office
PO Box 57192
London
SW6 1SF
[email address]

In all possible circumstances the MPS will aim to respond to your
complaint within 20 working days.
The Information Commissioner

After lodging a complaint with the MPS if you are still dissatisfied with
the decision you may make application to the Information Commissioner for
a decision on whether the request for information has been dealt with in
accordance with the requirements of the Act.

For information on how to make application to the Information Commissioner
please visit their website at www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk.
 Alternatively, phone or write to:

Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Phone:  01625 545 700

show quoted sections

Dear Mr. Andrews

Please accept our apologies for the delay and for the inconvenience
caused.

Your request is being dealt by Jen Powell (case worker at HR unit). I
will ask Jen to update you on your request sometime today.

You may also contact Jen at [email address]

With kind regards,

R. Loizou

show quoted sections

Case reference: 2010110000063

FOIA: Disclosure - Full
Case number:  2010110000063
Created:  10/01/2011
Replies go to: [email address]
Document owner:  Jennifer b Powell

+------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|     General | |
| | |
| To: [FOI #50752 email] | |
| cc: | |
| bcc: | |
| Subject: FOIA: Disclosure - Full | |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------+

+------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Text: |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------+

Dear Mr. Andrews
Freedom of Information Request Reference No:  2010110000063
I write in connection with your request for information which was received
by the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) on 31/10/2010.  I apologise for
the delay in getting this information to you.  I note you seek access to
the following information:
I was perusing the Sunday papers when I came across a reference to a guide
that explained how the Met Police should deal with Witches.     I would
like to request a copy of this 300 page guide is published. Certainly I
believe each of the various groups identified within the document, might
like to peruse the original to ensure the accuracy of the document.    
You can find more about this document here:    
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/l...
 
EXTENT OF SEARCHES TO LOCATE INFORMATION
To locate the information relevant to your request searches were conducted
within Human Resources.
RESULT OF SEARCHES
The searches located records relevant to your request.
DECISION
I have today decided to disclose the located information to you in full.
Please find attached information pursuant to your request above.

COMPLAINT RIGHTS
Your attention is drawn to the attached sheet which details your right of
complaint.
Should you have any further enquiries concerning this matter, please write
or contact Jen Powell on telephone number 020 7230 2343 quoting the
reference number above.
Yours sincerely

Jen Powell
HR Freedom of Information Manager
In complying with their statutory duty under sections 1 and 11 of the
Freedom of Information Act 2000 to release the enclosed information, the
Metropolitan Police Service will not breach the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act 1988. However, the rights of the copyright owner of the
enclosed information will continue to be protected by law.  Applications
for the copyright owner's written permission to reproduce any part of the
attached information should be addressed to MPS Directorate of Legal
Services, 1st Floor (Victoria Block), New Scotland Yard, Victoria, London,
SW1H 0BG.
COMPLAINT RIGHTS
Are you unhappy with how your request has been handled or do you think the
decision is incorrect?
You have the right to require the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) to
review their decision.
Prior to lodging a formal complaint you are welcome and encouraged to
discuss the decision with the case officer that dealt with your request.  
Ask to have the decision looked at again –
The quickest and easiest way to have the decision looked at again is to
telephone the case officer that is nominated at the end of your decision
letter.
That person will be able to discuss the decision, explain any issues and
assist with any problems.
Complaint
If you are dissatisfied with the handling procedures or the decision of
the MPS made under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act) regarding
access to information you can lodge a complaint with the MPS to have the
decision reviewed.
Complaints should be made in writing, within forty (40) working days from
the date of the refusal notice, and addressed to:
FOI Complaint
Public Access Office
PO Box 57192
London
SW6 1SF
[email address]
In all possible circumstances the MPS will aim to respond to your
complaint within 20 working days.
The Information Commissioner
After lodging a complaint with the MPS if you are still dissatisfied with
the decision you may make application to the Information Commissioner for
a decision on whether the request for information has been dealt with in
accordance with the requirements of the Act.
For information on how to make application to the Information Commissioner
please visit their website at www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk.
 Alternatively, phone or write to:
Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Phone:  01625 545 700

The Metropolitan Police Service is here for London - on the streets and in
your community, working with you to make our city safer.

Consider our environment - please do not print this email unless
absolutely necessary.

NOTICE - This email and any attachments may be confidential, subject to
copyright and/or legal privilege and are intended solely for the use of
the intended recipient. If you have received this email in error, please
notify the sender and delete it from your system.  To avoid incurring
legal liabilities, you must not distribute or copy the information in this
email without the permission of the sender. MPS communication systems are
monitored to the extent permitted by law.  Consequently, any email and/or
attachments may be read by monitoring staff. Only specified personnel are
authorised to conclude any binding agreement on behalf of the MPS by
email. The MPS accepts no responsibility for unauthorised agreements
reached with other employees or agents.  The security of this email and
any attachments cannot be guaranteed. Email messages are routinely scanned
but malicious software infection and corruption of content can still occur
during transmission over the Internet. Any views or opinions expressed in
this communication are solely those of the author and do not necessarily
represent those of the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS). The MPS has a
strict staff conduct policy. Any email that causes you concern should be
reported via the Contacts section on the official MPS Website at
[1]www.met.police.uk

References

Visible links
1. http://www.met.police.uk/

Dear  Mr. Andrews

Freedom of Information Request Reference No: 2011010003699

I write in connection with your letter requesting that the Metropolitan
Police Service (MPS) review its response to your request for information
relating to:

* FOIA case 2010110000063.

The review will be conducted in accordance to the MPS's complaints
procedure. The MPS endeavour to respond to your complaint by 21 February
2011 .

Should you have any further enquiries concerning this matter, please
contact me on telephone number 020 7161 3527 or at the address at the top
of the letter quoting the reference number above.

Yours sincerely

Shannon Aldridge
Quality and Assurance Advisor

COMPLAINT RIGHTS

Are you unhappy with how your request has been handled or do you think the
decision is incorrect?

You have the right to require the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) to
review their decision.

Prior to lodging a formal complaint you are welcome and encouraged to
discuss the decision with the case officer that dealt with your request.  

Ask to have the decision looked at again –

The quickest and easiest way to have the decision looked at again is to
telephone the case officer that is nominated at the end of your decision
letter.

That person will be able to discuss the decision, explain any issues and
assist with any problems.

Complaint

If you are dissatisfied with the handling procedures or the decision of
the MPS made under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act) regarding
access to information you can lodge a complaint with the MPS to have the
decision reviewed.

Complaints should be made in writing, within forty (40) working days from
the date of the refusal notice, and addressed to:

FOI Complaint
Public Access Office
PO Box 57192
London
SW6 1SF
[email address]

In all possible circumstances the MPS will aim to respond to your
complaint within 20 working days.
The Information Commissioner

After lodging a complaint with the MPS if you are still dissatisfied with
the decision you may make application to the Information Commissioner for
a decision on whether the request for information has been dealt with in
accordance with the requirements of the Act.

For information on how to make application to the Information Commissioner
please visit their website at www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk.
 Alternatively, phone or write to:

Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Phone:  01625 545 700

The Metropolitan Police Service is here for London - on the streets and in
your community, working with you to make our city safer.

Consider our environment - please do not print this email unless
absolutely necessary.

NOTICE - This email and any attachments may be confidential, subject to
copyright and/or legal privilege and are intended solely for the use of
the intended recipient. If you have received this email in error, please
notify the sender and delete it from your system.  To avoid incurring
legal liabilities, you must not distribute or copy the information in this
email without the permission of the sender. MPS communication systems are
monitored to the extent permitted by law.  Consequently, any email and/or
attachments may be read by monitoring staff. Only specified personnel are
authorised to conclude any binding agreement on behalf of the MPS by
email. The MPS accepts no responsibility for unauthorised agreements
reached with other employees or agents.  The security of this email and
any attachments cannot be guaranteed. Email messages are routinely scanned
but malicious software infection and corruption of content can still occur
during transmission over the Internet. Any views or opinions expressed in
this communication are solely those of the author and do not necessarily
represent those of the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS). The MPS has a
strict staff conduct policy. Any email that causes you concern should be
reported via the Contacts section on the official MPS Website at
[1]www.met.police.uk

References

Visible links
1. http://www.met.police.uk/

Dear Mr. Andrews

Freedom of Information Request Reference No:  2011010003699

Further to our email of 28 January 2011, I am now able to provide a
response to your complaint concerning:

* FOIA request number 2010110000063.  

DECISION

I am aware that your complaint concerns the length of time taken to
respond to your FOI request, which asked for a copy of the MPS Diversity
guide - Policing Diversity Online.

I am aware you have now received a full response in relation to this
request, on 10 January 2011.  I am, however, aware that the response was
originally due on 26 November 2010.

In terms of the processing of your request and the MPS failing to respond
within the statutory time frame, there was indeed a breach of the Act.
 Section 10 of the Act states that "subject to subsections (2) and (3), a
public authority must comply with section 1(1) promptly and in any event
not later than the twentieth working day following the date of receipt".
 Section 17(2)(b) of the Act continues to say that if "the public
authority has not yet reached a decision as to the application of
subsection (1)(b) or (2)(b) of section 2, the notice under subsection (1)
must indicate that no decision as to the application of that provision has
yet been reached and must contain an estimate of the date by which the
authority expects that such a decision will have been reached".  

I appreciate that in this instance there was a failure to comply within
the statutory deadline, and that you were not provided with an estimated
date for a full response.  Accordingly I would like to take this
opportunity to apologise for the delays you have experienced and hope to
reassure you that the MPS take compliance with the Act very seriously and
are working hard to promote good practice in regard to the processing of
requests.

The MPS is continually striving to ensure statutory deadlines are met and
enquiries are responded to as soon as possible.  To ensure good practice,
I have contacted and advised the Directorate concerned that applicants
should be regularly updated in good time if there is a possibility their
request deadline will not be met for any reason.

The Information Manager at HR is fully aware of the department's
obligations under the FOIA, and there are measures in place within the MPS
to ensure that future requests are processed and dealt with within 20
working days, unless there are instances of considering the Public
Interest.  

Since the processing of your request, there have been further amendments
to the approval process for FOIA requests within this Directorate, and as
such, compliance within the unit has improved.

In addition, we have a procedure whereby our central Policy and Support
team contact the information managers every week in order to assist them
with the conclusion of cases that are breaching, or about to breach,
section 10 of the Act.  This is a matter of importance to all who deal
with FOIA in the MPS.  In addition we are examining local procedures to
see if any changes can be made to assist with statutory compliance.

With regard to this specific case, I note from our MetRIC system that the
Information Manager within the Unit sent a response, including the
requested information, to your whatdotheyknow.com account on 14 December
2010, whereby the case was closed.  However, it was not until your enquiry
dated 8 January 2011, that the MPS were made aware this response had not
sent.  Despite three individuals trying to resend this response, it was
not until the Directorate of Information Gateway service was contacted to
'unblock' the response that it could be sent.  This occurred on the 10th
January - when your response was finally released.  We apologise for any
inconvenience such delay caused.

Therefore, as you have now received a final response to your request, the
MPS will take no further action on this case review.  

I apologise again for any inconvenience caused by our failure to process
your request by the statutory deadline.  The issues you have raised have
been recorded and they will enable us to provide a more efficient and
effective service in the future.

COMPLAINT RIGHTS

If you are dissatisfied with this response please read the attached paper
entitled Complaint Rights which explains how to contact the Information
Commissioner with your complaint.

Should you have any further enquiries concerning this matter, please
contact me at the address at the top of this letter, quoting the reference
number above.

Yours sincerely

Shannon Aldridge
Quality and Assurance Advisor
COMPLAINT RIGHTS

Are you unhappy with how your request has been handled or do you think the
decision is incorrect?

You have the right to require the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) to
review their decision.

Prior to lodging a formal complaint you are welcome and encouraged to
discuss the decision with the case officer that dealt with your request.  

Ask to have the decision looked at again –

The quickest and easiest way to have the decision looked at again is to
telephone the case officer that is nominated at the end of your decision
letter.

That person will be able to discuss the decision, explain any issues and
assist with any problems.

Complaint

If you are dissatisfied with the handling procedures or the decision of
the MPS made under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act) regarding
access to information you can lodge a complaint with the MPS to have the
decision reviewed.

Complaints should be made in writing, within forty (40) working days from
the date of the refusal notice, and addressed to:

FOI Complaint
Public Access Office
PO Box 57192
London
SW6 1SF
[email address]

In all possible circumstances the MPS will aim to respond to your
complaint within 20 working days.
The Information Commissioner

After lodging a complaint with the MPS if you are still dissatisfied with
the decision you may make application to the Information Commissioner for
a decision on whether the request for information has been dealt with in
accordance with the requirements of the Act.

For information on how to make application to the Information Commissioner
please visit their website at www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk.
 Alternatively, phone or write to:

Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Phone:  01625 545 700

The Metropolitan Police Service is here for London - on the streets and in
your community, working with you to make our city safer.

Consider our environment - please do not print this email unless
absolutely necessary.

NOTICE - This email and any attachments may be confidential, subject to
copyright and/or legal privilege and are intended solely for the use of
the intended recipient. If you have received this email in error, please
notify the sender and delete it from your system.  To avoid incurring
legal liabilities, you must not distribute or copy the information in this
email without the permission of the sender. MPS communication systems are
monitored to the extent permitted by law.  Consequently, any email and/or
attachments may be read by monitoring staff. Only specified personnel are
authorised to conclude any binding agreement on behalf of the MPS by
email. The MPS accepts no responsibility for unauthorised agreements
reached with other employees or agents.  The security of this email and
any attachments cannot be guaranteed. Email messages are routinely scanned
but malicious software infection and corruption of content can still occur
during transmission over the Internet. Any views or opinions expressed in
this communication are solely those of the author and do not necessarily
represent those of the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS). The MPS has a
strict staff conduct policy. Any email that causes you concern should be
reported via the Contacts section on the official MPS Website at
[1]www.met.police.uk

References

Visible links
1. http://www.met.police.uk/