DWP: Is a Jobseeker, with an existing Claimant Commitment in place, required by law and / or DWP policy to sign a revised Claimant Commitment at the request of a Jobcentre WorkCoach?

R Davis made this Freedom of Information request to Department for Work and Pensions This request has been closed to new correspondence. Contact us if you think it should be reopened.

The request was partially successful.

Dear Department for Work and Pensions,

Is a Jobseeker, with an existing Claimant Commitment in place that the Claimant has been fully compliant with, required by either law and / or DWP policy to sign a revised Claimant Commitment at the direction of a Jobcentre WorkCoach and / or manager?

Please provide access to or copies of in PDF format, any statute or DWP policy that supports your response.

Yours faithfully,

R Davis

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Operations FOI Requests, Department for Work and Pensions

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R Davis
 
Please see copy of your FoI request attached
 
 
 
 
DWP Freedom of Information Request Team
 
 
 

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Dear Operations FOI Requests,

Thank you for this reply. There is one single paragraph in the two Annexes that were provided within your response that is relevant to the initial FOI request:

"Claimant Commitment DMA Referrals

101. Where a realistic Claimant Commitment cannot be agreed between the claimant and the Work Services Coach, every effort should be made to resolve any issues locally, before making a referral to the Labour Market Decision Maker."

In the instance, that this situation occurs, please:

1 - Define the word "realistic" as used in the above quoted paragraph
2 - Please provide a copy of all of the policy and/or internal guidance that a "Labour Market Decision Maker" would refer to in order to be able to make a decision on such a referred dispute, which highlights what they need to consider in order to come to decision, their range of possible decisions, and their range of possible outcomes.

Yours sincerely,

R Davis

Operations FOI Requests, Department for Work and Pensions

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Operations FOI Requests, Department for Work and Pensions

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R Davis
 
Please see copy of your FoI request attached
 
 
 
 
DWP Freedom of Information Request Team
 
 
 

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Dear Operations FOI Requests,

Thank you for your late response. I am sorry that, having failed to comply with the FoI response time requirements, that you did not deem it appropriate to apologise for responding late.

I have now read sections 21840 - 21980 of Volume 4, Chapter 21 of the Decision Maker's Guide, and nowhere does it state or guide anyone reading it; "...which highlights what they need to consider in order to come to decision, their range of possible decisions, and their range of possible outcomes" - i.e. what guides a decision maker to reach a conclusion, and specifically a sanction in a given set of circumstances.

Therefore, this response does not answer my original question. Please provide this information.

Yours sincerely,

R Davis

Operations FOI Requests, Department for Work and Pensions

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Doug Paulley left an annotation ()

I have removed the annotations on this request and prevented further annotations from being made. I remind everybody that annotations are to enable the requester to obtain the information they are seeking, or to act upon the information received. Any other annotations are liable for removal.
--
Doug - volunteer, WhatDoTheyKnow.com

Operations FOI Requests, Department for Work and Pensions

2 Attachments

 
Dear R Davis
 
Please find attached our response to your recent Freedom of Information
request.
 
 
 
Yours sincerely
 
DWP Central Freedom of Information Team
 
 
 
 

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Dear Operations FOI Requests,

Thank you for this additional response, and additional, if rather "lightweight" document to further repond to my initial question. Unfortunately, it doesn't provide the information requested either.

The only reference/s in the new document that begin to answer my question are:

"If you are unable to find an answer to a particular question regarding policy within this guide you must contact the Jobcentre Plus Live Support Advice Line" - please therefore provide a copy of the internal policy guidance, labour market doubt guidance, entitlement doubt and sanction doubt guidance that all of your staff operating on the "Jobcentre Plus Live Support Advice Line" use to respond to staff questions and queries about these "doubts" and whether "good reason" is acceptable or not?

Please clarify the meanings of the terms/acronyms used in the newly attached document:

1 - DMG
2 - LMDMA
3 - DMA
4 - LMDM
5 - DMAS

If any of these terms refer to a role that is involved in Decision Making and Sanction "doubts", please provide a list of all training & policy documentation that these staff members would have access to, and would be expected to refer to, in order to make fair and just decisions in relation to labour market "doubts"?

Whilst I appreciate your effort to answer this question, please confirm whether the document entitled "Considering JSA Labour Market Doubts" which was attached to your last response, is an abbreviated or otherwise shortened document? It appears to be far to short to constitute technical policy guidance for decision-making staff.

Yours sincerely,

R Davis

Operations FOI Requests, Department for Work and Pensions

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Operations FOI Requests, Department for Work and Pensions

25 Attachments

 
 
R Davis
 
Please see copy of your FoI request attached
 
 
 
 
DWP Freedom of Information Request Team
 
 
 

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Operations FOI Requests, Department for Work and Pensions

30 Attachments

 
 
 
 
DWP Freedom of Information Request Team
 
 
 

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Dear Operations FOI Requests,

Thank you for this more helpful and substantive response.

I have one final question:

Can you please confirm that no other staff training material, internal policy guidance, labour market doubt guidance, entitlement doubt guidance, sanction doubt guidance, DWP rules or any other documentation relating to the topics of:

* Entitlement Doubt
* Sanction Doubt
* Labour Market Doubt

exists, that has not already been provided and was attached to your previous response? If there are additional documentation that relate to these topics and the staff guidance therein, please advise their names and attach them for reference.

Yours sincerely,

R Davis

Operations FOI 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. 
 
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Operations FOI Requests, Department for Work and Pensions

25 Attachments

 
Dear R Davis
 
Please find attached our response to your recent Freedom of Information
request.
 
 
 
Yours sincerely
 
DWP Central Freedom of Information Team
 
 
 
 

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Dear Operations FOI Requests,

Thank you for your further reply.

Having briefly reviewed the attachments to your latest reply, and compared them to those (x2) of the 1st October 2015, they appear to be the same as those contained within the first of the former.

You can read the complete series of replies here:

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/d...

Can you advise if this is so please?

Yours sincerely,

R Davis

Operations FOI 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.
  
For further information on making Freedom of Information requests please click on the link below.

https://www.gov.uk/make-a-freedom-of-inf...

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Operations FOI Requests, Department for Work and Pensions

1 Attachment

 
Dear Mr Davis
 
Please find attached our response to your recent Freedom of Information
request.
 
 
Yours sincerely
 
DWP Central Freedom of Information Team
 
 
 
 

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