External Secondments - Simone Ferreira & Natasha Oakley

Gopio made this Freedom of Information request to The Financial Conduct Authority This request has been closed to new correspondence. Contact us if you think it should be reopened.

The request was refused by The Financial Conduct Authority.

Dear The Financial Conduct Authority,

Currently, Simone Ferreira (former FCA Head of Department, Risk Advisory, Risk & Compliance Oversight) and Natasha Oakley (former FCA Head of Department, Strategy & Analysis, Transformation) are on an external secondment at the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) as interim Chief of Staff and the Bank of England (BOE) as Head of Talent Acquisiton & Development respectively.

Please provide answers and information for the following;

(1) The date which Simone Ferreira applied for her external secondment as well as the start date and end dates of the external secondment.

(2) The date which Natasha Oakley applied for her external secondment as well as the start date and end dates of the external secondment.

(3) The name(s) of the individual Director and/or Executive Director who approved and signed off on the external secondment applications for both Simone Ferreira and Natasha Oakley.

(4) Confirmation as to whether the FCA is continuing to pay the salaries and/or bonuses and/or pension contributions and/or any other FCA benefits of Simone Ferreira and Natasha Oakley - whether in full or in part - for the duration of their external secondments to the FOS and BOE.

(5) All internal emails and/or other relevant documents that show the application process, business reasons, approval and sign off etc for both external secondees.

Please note: as both individuals were FCA Heads of Departments (HODs) and were above Manager level the s40 personal information exemption of FOIA would not apply in this scenario. Similarly any names provided in answer to part (3) of my request are also individuals who as a Director and/or Executive Director are also above Manager level.

Please aim to fulfil this FOIA request within the statutory deadline of 20 working days, failure to do so will constitute an illegal offence under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Thank you.

Kind Regards,

J Alom

Freedom of Information, The Financial Conduct Authority

Thank you for e-mailing the Financial Conduct Authority's Information
Disclosure Team.

This is an automatic acknowledgement to tell you that we have received
your email safely.

Please do not reply to this email.

We will be in touch in due course.

This communication and any attachments may contain personal information.
For more information about how and why we use personal information and who
to contact with any queries about this, please see our privacy notices:
FCA Privacy Notice (https://www.fca.org.uk/data-protection) and PSR
Privacy Notice
(https://www.psr.org.uk/cookies-privacy-a...).

This communication and any attachments contain information which is
confidential and may be subject to legal privilege. It is for intended
recipients only. If you are not the intended recipient you must not copy,
distribute, publish, rely on or otherwise use it without our consent. Some
of our communications may contain confidential information which it could
be a criminal offence for you to disclose or use without authority. If you
have received this email in error please notify [email address]
immediately and delete the email from your computer. Further information
on the classification and handling of FCA information can be found on the
FCA website
(http://www.fca.org.uk/site-info/legal/fc...).

The FCA (or, if this email originates from the Payment Systems Regulator
Limited, the FCA on behalf of the Payment Systems Regulator Limited / the
Payment Systems Regulator Limited) reserves the right to monitor all email
communications for compliance with legal, regulatory and professional
standards.

This email is not intended to nor should it be taken to create any legal
relations or contractual relationships. This email has originated from the
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), or the Payment Systems Regulator
Limited.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is registered as a limited company
in England and Wales No. 1920623. Registered office: 12 Endeavour Square,
Stratford, London, E20 1JN, United Kingdom

The Payment Systems Regulator Limited is registered as a limited company
in England and Wales No. 8970864. Registered office: 12 Endeavour Square,
Stratford, London, E20 1JN, United Kingdom

Switchboard 020 7066 1000

Web Site http://www.fca.org.uk (FCA); http://www.psr.org.uk (the Payment
Systems Regulator Limited)

Dear The Financial Conduct Authority,

You should have responded to this request yesterday on 28 March 2022 but failed to do so.

Please provide a full and substantial response to my request by COB today 29 March 2022.

Yours faithfully,

J Alom

Freedom of Information, The Financial Conduct Authority

Thank you for e-mailing the Financial Conduct Authority's Information
Disclosure Team.

This is an automatic acknowledgement to tell you that we have received
your email safely.

Please do not reply to this email.

We will be in touch in due course.

This communication and any attachments may contain personal information.
For more information about how and why we use personal information and who
to contact with any queries about this, please see our privacy notices:
FCA Privacy Notice (https://www.fca.org.uk/data-protection) and PSR
Privacy Notice
(https://www.psr.org.uk/cookies-privacy-a...).

This communication and any attachments contain information which is
confidential and may be subject to legal privilege. It is for intended
recipients only. If you are not the intended recipient you must not copy,
distribute, publish, rely on or otherwise use it without our consent. Some
of our communications may contain confidential information which it could
be a criminal offence for you to disclose or use without authority. If you
have received this email in error please notify [email address]
immediately and delete the email from your computer. Further information
on the classification and handling of FCA information can be found on the
FCA website
(http://www.fca.org.uk/site-info/legal/fc...).

The FCA (or, if this email originates from the Payment Systems Regulator
Limited, the FCA on behalf of the Payment Systems Regulator Limited / the
Payment Systems Regulator Limited) reserves the right to monitor all email
communications for compliance with legal, regulatory and professional
standards.

This email is not intended to nor should it be taken to create any legal
relations or contractual relationships. This email has originated from the
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), or the Payment Systems Regulator
Limited.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is registered as a limited company
in England and Wales No. 1920623. Registered office: 12 Endeavour Square,
Stratford, London, E20 1JN, United Kingdom

The Payment Systems Regulator Limited is registered as a limited company
in England and Wales No. 8970864. Registered office: 12 Endeavour Square,
Stratford, London, E20 1JN, United Kingdom

Switchboard 020 7066 1000

Web Site http://www.fca.org.uk (FCA); http://www.psr.org.uk (the Payment
Systems Regulator Limited)

Freedom of Information, The Financial Conduct Authority

3 Attachments

Our ref:        FOI9104

 

Dear Mr Alom

 

We are sorry to inform you that we are still processing your request
concerning external secondments and will not be able to respond by the
statutory deadline.

 

We will continue to process your request and will provide you with a
further update on our progress by no later than 26 April 2022.  If we are
able to respond sooner, we will of course do so.

 

Please accept our apologies for the delay and any inconvenience this may
cause and thank you for your understanding and patience.

 

Kind regards,

 

Information Disclosure Team / Operations Division

[1]Description: cid:image001.png@01D2A7C9.64DDD390

12 Endeavour Square

London

E20 1JN

 

[2]www.fca.org.uk

 

Follow us:

 

[3]Description: https://g.twimg.com/Twitter_logo_blue.pn...
image003

 

 

 

This communication and any attachments may contain personal information.
For more information about how and why we use personal information and who
to contact with any queries about this, please see our privacy notices:
FCA Privacy Notice (https://www.fca.org.uk/data-protection) and PSR
Privacy Notice
(https://www.psr.org.uk/cookies-privacy-a...).

This communication and any attachments contain information which is
confidential and may be subject to legal privilege. It is for intended
recipients only. If you are not the intended recipient you must not copy,
distribute, publish, rely on or otherwise use it without our consent. Some
of our communications may contain confidential information which it could
be a criminal offence for you to disclose or use without authority. If you
have received this email in error please notify [email address]
immediately and delete the email from your computer. Further information
on the classification and handling of FCA information can be found on the
FCA website
(http://www.fca.org.uk/site-info/legal/fc...).

The FCA (or, if this email originates from the Payment Systems Regulator
Limited, the FCA on behalf of the Payment Systems Regulator Limited / the
Payment Systems Regulator Limited) reserves the right to monitor all email
communications for compliance with legal, regulatory and professional
standards.

This email is not intended to nor should it be taken to create any legal
relations or contractual relationships. This email has originated from the
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), or the Payment Systems Regulator
Limited.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is registered as a limited company
in England and Wales No. 1920623. Registered office: 12 Endeavour Square,
Stratford, London, E20 1JN, United Kingdom

The Payment Systems Regulator Limited is registered as a limited company
in England and Wales No. 8970864. Registered office: 12 Endeavour Square,
Stratford, London, E20 1JN, United Kingdom

Switchboard 020 7066 1000

Web Site http://www.fca.org.uk (FCA); http://www.psr.org.uk (the Payment
Systems Regulator Limited)

References

Visible links
2. http://www.fca.org.uk/
3. https://twitter.com/TheFCA
4. https://www.linkedin.com/company/financi...

Freedom of Information, The Financial Conduct Authority

3 Attachments

Our ref:        FOI9086

 

Dear Mr Alom

 

Please accept our apologies but we referred to the wrong case reference in
the below email and the correct reference is shown above.

 

Yours sincerely

 

 

Information Disclosure Team / Operations Division

[1]Description: cid:image001.png@01D2A7C9.64DDD390

12 Endeavour Square

London

E20 1JN

 

[2]www.fca.org.uk

 

Follow us:

 

[3]Description: https://g.twimg.com/Twitter_logo_blue.pn...
image003

 

 

 

From: Freedom of Information <[FCA request email]>
Sent: 29 March 2022 10:19
To: '[FOI #837072 email]'
<[FOI #837072 email]>
Subject: FOI9104 - Right to know request

 

Our ref:        FOI9104

 

Dear Mr Alom

 

We are sorry to inform you that we are still processing your request
concerning external secondments and will not be able to respond by the
statutory deadline.

 

We will continue to process your request and will provide you with a
further update on our progress by no later than 26 April 2022.  If we are
able to respond sooner, we will of course do so.

 

Please accept our apologies for the delay and any inconvenience this may
cause and thank you for your understanding and patience.

 

Kind regards,

 

Information Disclosure Team / Operations Division

[5]Description: cid:image001.png@01D2A7C9.64DDD390

12 Endeavour Square

London

E20 1JN

 

[6]www.fca.org.uk

 

Follow us:

 

[7]Description: https://g.twimg.com/Twitter_logo_blue.pn...
image003

 

 

 

This communication and any attachments may contain personal information.
For more information about how and why we use personal information and who
to contact with any queries about this, please see our privacy notices:
FCA Privacy Notice (https://www.fca.org.uk/data-protection) and PSR
Privacy Notice
(https://www.psr.org.uk/cookies-privacy-a...).

This communication and any attachments contain information which is
confidential and may be subject to legal privilege. It is for intended
recipients only. If you are not the intended recipient you must not copy,
distribute, publish, rely on or otherwise use it without our consent. Some
of our communications may contain confidential information which it could
be a criminal offence for you to disclose or use without authority. If you
have received this email in error please notify [email address]
immediately and delete the email from your computer. Further information
on the classification and handling of FCA information can be found on the
FCA website
(http://www.fca.org.uk/site-info/legal/fc...).

The FCA (or, if this email originates from the Payment Systems Regulator
Limited, the FCA on behalf of the Payment Systems Regulator Limited / the
Payment Systems Regulator Limited) reserves the right to monitor all email
communications for compliance with legal, regulatory and professional
standards.

This email is not intended to nor should it be taken to create any legal
relations or contractual relationships. This email has originated from the
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), or the Payment Systems Regulator
Limited.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is registered as a limited company
in England and Wales No. 1920623. Registered office: 12 Endeavour Square,
Stratford, London, E20 1JN, United Kingdom

The Payment Systems Regulator Limited is registered as a limited company
in England and Wales No. 8970864. Registered office: 12 Endeavour Square,
Stratford, London, E20 1JN, United Kingdom

Switchboard 020 7066 1000

Web Site http://www.fca.org.uk (FCA); http://www.psr.org.uk (the Payment
Systems Regulator Limited)

References

Visible links
2. http://www.fca.org.uk/
3. https://twitter.com/TheFCA
4. https://www.linkedin.com/company/financi...
6. http://www.fca.org.uk/
7. https://twitter.com/TheFCA
8. https://www.linkedin.com/company/financi...

Freedom of Information, The Financial Conduct Authority

Our Ref: FOI9086, FOI9104, FOI9109, FOI9133, FOI9172, FOI9174

 

ICO Ref: IC-163279-Z0Y4 (FOI9086), IC-164391-R6Q8 (FOI9109)  

 

Dear Mr Alom,

 

Freedom of Information: Right to know request

 

Thank you for your emails dated between 26 February and 2 April 2022, the
contents of which are provided in Annex A.

 

Please accept our sincere apologies for the delay in responding. We have
now processed your emails in line with the provisions of the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 (FOIA).

 

We have considered your requests and believe them to be vexatious. As
such, we have refused your requests under section 14(1) of FOIA. Please
note that we are also likely to treat any further requests on the same or
similar topics we receive from you as vexatious and, if this is the case,
we will not respond to them.

 

Your right to complain under FOIA 

 

If you are unhappy with this response, you have the right to request an
internal review.  To do so, please contact us within 40 working days of
the date of this response at [1][email address]. 

 

If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you also
have a right of appeal to the Information Commissioner by phone or on
their website at: 

 

Telephone: 0303 123 1113 

 

Website: [2]www.ico.org.uk 

 

Yours sincerely 

 

Information Disclosure Team 

Financial Conduct Authority 

 

Annex A

 

•      FOI9086

 

In your email of 26 February 2022, you asked the following:

 

Currently, Simone Ferreira (former FCA Head of Department, Risk Advisory,
Risk &  Compliance Oversight) and Natasha Oakley (former FCA Head of
Department, Strategy & Analysis, Transformation) are on an external
secondment at the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) as interim Chief of
Staff and the Bank of England (BOE) as Head of Talent Acquisiton &
Development respectively.

 

Please provide answers and information for the following;

 

(1) The date which Simone Ferreira applied for her external secondment as
well as the start date and end dates of the external secondment.

 

(2) The date which Natasha Oakley applied for her external secondment as
well as the start date and end dates of the external secondment.

 

(3) The name(s) of the individual Director and/or Executive Director who
approved and signed off on the external secondment applications for both
Simone Ferreira and Natasha Oakley.

 

(4) Confirmation as to whether the FCA is continuing to pay the salaries
and/or bonuses and/or pension contributions and/or any other  FCA benefits
of Simone Ferreira and Natasha Oakley - whether in full or in part - for
the duration of their external secondments to the FOS and BOE.

 

(5) All internal emails and/or other relevant documents that show the
application process, business reasons, approval and sign off etc for both
external secondees.

 

 

• FOI9104

 

In your email of 5 March 2022, you asked the following:

 

Under the Freedom of Information Act please provide all relevant
information and answer the following questions:

 

1)  How does the FCA, both internally and externally, in the exercise of
its functions, have due regard to eliminating discrimination, harassment
and victimisation?

 

2)  How does the FCA, both internally and externally, in the exercise of
its functions, have due regard to fostering good relations between persons
who share relevant protected characteristics and persons who do not share
them?

 

3)  How does the FCA, both internally and externally, in the exercise of
its functions, tackle prejudice and promote understanding between two
persons who share relevant protected characteristics and persons who do
not share them?

 

4)  How transparent should the FCA be when it comes to sharing data in
relation to diversity, ethnicity and gender etc. externally with the
public, as well as internally with its own employees?

 

5)  What is the FCA's stance on bullying and harassment and would the FCA
consider a form of psychological abuse commonly known a 'gaslighting',
within the workplace, a form of bullying?

 

6)  What is the FCA's stance on race and sex discrimination as per the
definition of the Equality Act 2010?

 

7)  What is the FCA's stance on victimisation as per the definition of the
Equality Act 2010?

 

8)  How does the FCA protect employees who have carried out 'protected
acts' from being subject to victimisation and being caused detriment by
other employees?

 

9)  What is the FCA's stance on mental health and wellbeing, especially in
relation to common mental health issues such as depression and anxiety?

 

10)  What is the FCA's stance on social mobility especially in connection
to BAME employees and those from a lower socio-economic background?

 

• FOI9109

 

In your email of 7 March 2022, you asked the following:

 

Refinement of the 2 aggregated requests below.

 

Please continue with the refined request and for Q7 only provide
information for the year 2020/21.

 

Request 1:

 

(1)  Does the FCA's Risk Advisory department formally and/or informally
review and/or provide any input and/or advice in relation to requests made
to the FCA under the Freedom of Information Act and the Data Protection
Act?

(2)  Do any other team and/or individuals within the FCA's Risk &
Compliance Oversight function review and/or provide any formal and/or
informal input and/or advice in relation to requests made to the FCA under
the Freedom of Information Act and the Data Protection Act?

(3)  If the answer to parts (1) and (2) of my request is "Yes", how many
FOIA  requests and Data Subject Access Requests (DSAR) had been reviewed
by the FCA's Risk Advisory department and/or any team and/or individuals
within the FCA's Risk & Compliance Oversight function for the years: 
2018/19, 2019/2020 and 2020/2021?

(4)  If the answer to part (2) of my request is "Yes", please can you
confirm which teams and/or individuals these are? Please only provide
names if individuals are above manager and technical specialist level.

(5)  Please provide a copy of the most recent FCA's Risk Appetite document
and/or any other information and documents concerning the FCA's Risk
Framework.

 

Request 2:

 

Furthermore to my FOIA request, please also confirm the following:

 

(6)  Does the FCA's Press Office and/or the FCA's CEO Office formally
and/or informally review and/or provide any input and/or any advice prior
to the release of results from Freedom of Information requests and Data
Subject Acess Requests?

(7)  If the answer to part (6) is "Yes" please confirm the number of FOIA
requests and DSARs the FCA's Press Office and/or the FCA's CEO Office had
intervened with for the years 2018/19, 2019/20, 2020/21.

 

 

• FOI9133

 

In your email of 17 March 2022, you asked the following:

 

Please confirm and provide information in relation to the following:

 

(1) The job description, responsibilities, duties and/or the formal and
informal remit of the FCA's Equal Opportunities Officer.

 

(2) Information in relation to the process undertaken by the FCA to
appoint its Equal Opportunities Officer including who the Equal
Opportunities Officer is appointed by?

 

(2) Who was the FCA's Equal Opportunities Officer for the year:

 

* 2013/14

* 2014/15

* 2015/16

* 2016/17

* 2017/18

* 2018/19

* 2019/20

* 2020/21

 

Please provide names only if the individual is/was above Manager level.

 

(3) Who is the current FCA Equal Opportunities Officer as at 14 March
2022?

 

(4) Which FCA Employee Handbook policy(ies) does the FCA Equal
Opportunities Officer own and/or is responsible for in relation to its
implementation and/or adherance?

 

• FOI9174

 

In your email of 1 April 2022, you asked the following:

 

Please provide information and confirm the following in relation to the
amount of time it takes for FCA HR to investigate and conclude internal
complaints:

 

(1)  What is the average amount of time it takes for the FCA's Employee
Relations team to investigate and conclude a formal Equality Complaint
submitted via the FCA's internal grievance/complaints procedure?  Please
include information for both Stage 1 and Stage 2 appeals.

 

(2)  What is the shortest amount of time it has taken for the FCA's
Employee Relations team to investigate and conclude a formal Equality
Complaint submitted via the FCA's internal grievance/complaints
procedure?  Please include information for both Stage 1 and Stage 2
appeals.

 

(3)  What is the longest amount of time it has taken for the FCA's
Employee Relations team to investigate and conclude a formal Equality
Complaint submitted via the FCA's internal grievance/complaints
procedure?  Please include information for both Stage 1 and Stage 2
appeals.

 

(4)  How does the FCA actively promote and encourage individuals within
the Employee Relations team and those selected by them, to adhere to the
ACAS Code and ACAS Best Practice Guidelines when conducting workplace
equality complaint and grievance investigations, as well as in relation to
the general end-to-end disciplinary process?

 

Please note: I am not asking for any personal information but purely
numerical figures with regard to the measurement of the time it takes to
investigate and conclude internal grievance and equality complaints. 
Please do not attempt to apply the s40 personal information or third-party
data privacy exemptions.

 

Furthemore, regardless of any internal factors and issues e.g lack of
resource, lack of training, lack of technical knowledge, lack of
cooperation from the data source, high volumes of requests etc. please
ensure that this request is fulfilled within the statutory deadline of
20-working days.

 

 

• FOI9172

 

In your email of 2 April 2022, you asked the following:

 

Please provide the FCA's organisational chart displaying the names of
every personnel at Manager level and above (Heads of Departments,
Directors, Executive Directors etc.), as well as the names of departments
and divisions as at 01 April 2022.

 

The last time I had requested an org chart, something which should've been
readily accessible from your Pulse intranet, it took yourselves 56-working
days (nearly 3x the statutory time limit of 20-working days), plus
communication from the ICO off the back of a complaint, in order for you
to provide as something as simple as an organogram. By the time you'd
provided the information it was out of date and did not reflect the fact
that many FCA personnel had left the organisation and/or had made internal
moves.

 

Please ensure you provide this org chart as at 01 April 2022 within
20-working days regardless of any internal factors (whether it be high
volumes of cases, lack of resources, lack of training and technical
knowledge and/or lack of cooperation from the data source) which are
currently impeding service levels and of the FCA fulfilling a person's
legal information rights from a public authority body under the Freedom of
Information Act.

 

Furthermore, please ensure you keep your org charts constantly and
consistently up to date as I will be requesting an FCA org chart for the
start of every quarter going forward.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This communication and any attachments may contain personal information.
For more information about how and why we use personal information and who
to contact with any queries about this, please see our privacy notices:
FCA Privacy Notice (https://www.fca.org.uk/data-protection) and PSR
Privacy Notice
(https://www.psr.org.uk/cookies-privacy-a...).

This communication and any attachments contain information which is
confidential and may be subject to legal privilege. It is for intended
recipients only. If you are not the intended recipient you must not copy,
distribute, publish, rely on or otherwise use it without our consent. Some
of our communications may contain confidential information which it could
be a criminal offence for you to disclose or use without authority. If you
have received this email in error please notify [email address]
immediately and delete the email from your computer. Further information
on the classification and handling of FCA information can be found on the
FCA website
(http://www.fca.org.uk/site-info/legal/fc...).

The FCA (or, if this email originates from the Payment Systems Regulator
Limited, the FCA on behalf of the Payment Systems Regulator Limited / the
Payment Systems Regulator Limited) reserves the right to monitor all email
communications for compliance with legal, regulatory and professional
standards.

This email is not intended to nor should it be taken to create any legal
relations or contractual relationships. This email has originated from the
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), or the Payment Systems Regulator
Limited.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is registered as a limited company
in England and Wales No. 1920623. Registered office: 12 Endeavour Square,
Stratford, London, E20 1JN, United Kingdom

The Payment Systems Regulator Limited is registered as a limited company
in England and Wales No. 8970864. Registered office: 12 Endeavour Square,
Stratford, London, E20 1JN, United Kingdom

Switchboard 020 7066 1000

Web Site http://www.fca.org.uk (FCA); http://www.psr.org.uk (the Payment
Systems Regulator Limited)

References

Visible links
1. file:///C:/Users/sali3/AppData/Roaming/OTLocal/PRODRM/Workbin/3E7676D.0/[email address]
2. http://www.ico.org.uk/

Dear The Financial Conduct Authority,

I am writing to request an internal review of The Financial Conduct Authority's handling of my FOI request 'External Secondments - Simone Ferreira & Natasha Oakley'. Please pass this on to the team which conducts internal reviews as I wish to appeal your application of s14(1) of which I do not agree with.

Firstly, I have noticed that you’ve failed to follow the ICO’s good practice guidelines and have not provided the reasoning for your decision in refusing to respond to my FOIA request.

Furthermore, I believe my request to have serious purpose and value especially given the fact that the FCA are a public authority body and that the information being requested meets certain considerations for example, understanding decisions, and the processes undertaken behind your decision making, as well as transparency within the organisation.

I do not believe that my request places an unreasonable burden on the FCA especially given the fact that it is a large public authority body with around 4,000 employees, an annual funding requirement of over £600m and an overdraft facility of over £100m. The information being requested should be readily available to search and extrapolate from your Salesforce CRM (which is used throughout the organisation and by various business areas incl. the Supervision Hub, Supervision, Enforcement, Whistleblowing, HR etc), internal emails, and/or other relevant internal documents relating to policies, procedures and guidance.

I am stating unequivocally that my motive for obtaining this information is primarily to understand decision making processes, holding a public authority body to account, in addition to ensuring transparency. My motive is not to upset or annoy yourselves, nor harass or cause distress to the organisation and/or its staff members including the Information Disclosure Team nor any of your internal data source providers, nor is my motive to hinder your operations or discharging your overall statutory duties under the Financial Services and Markets Act.

It is quite disturbing that you have stated that “[you] will also likely treat any further requests on the same or similar topics as vexatious and, if this is the case, [you] will not respond to them”. This to me seems like you have labelled myself, as an individual requester as vexatious, rather than the actual request itself, especially since you have deemed a total of 7 different FOIA requests all as ‘vexatious’ without giving any good reasoning whatsoever. I also fear that because of this stance you have now taken of pre-emptively treating future requests of mine as ‘vexatious’ without any individual case-by-case analysis and reasoning, nor providing any information as to what you mean by ‘same or similar’, that you are in effect attempting to block my lawful rights under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and deter me from requesting information from yourselves - a significant public authority body - which could be in the public interest. I cannot see how this approach is fair or proportionate.

I have not made requests on a similar and/or the same matter previously, and furthermore I deem my request for information to be focussed and relevant. These are not trivial or frivolous matters but can be seen as matters of great importance with regards to how this particular public authority body operates within various business areas.

I also strongly object to how you replied back to one of my FOIA and within that response you have referred to six of my other different and separate FOIA requests – all with six different reference numbers - with the same exemption rather than correctly replying back with your exemption(s) individually which should’ve been the process. WhatDoTheyKnow.com is a very useful platform to make FOIA requests as it provides the convenience to track and update multiple FOIA requests, ensure a full audit trail etc, in addition to providing the public the ability to follow requests which they themselves be interested in. For future reference, please can I ask that you respond to each of my individual request as you have received them.

I would also like to bring to your attention how you've approached and treated my FOIA request specifically with regards to how you have not met the statutory 20-working days time limit, hence contravening s10(1) of FOIA. I am also very keenly interested in your definition and approach to ‘processing’ of my FOIA requests, since you had sent me previous correspondence on multiple occasions and with regard to multiple FOIA requests and had commented that “[you] are still processing [my] requests” – to me, it has on every occasion given me the impression that when you state ‘processing’, that my FOIA request is being actively progressed, by which the Information Disclosure Team communicates with the relevant business area/data source provider(s), and that consequently they are then searching, obtaining, extrapolating the data before being passed onto the relevant team for any (relevant) redaction, and formatting etc. before finally responding to myself. However, on this occasion it seems like you have given me the impression that you’re ‘processing’ i.e. actively progressing my FOIA request, but then you ultimately respond back applying the s14(1) exemption and labelling my request as ‘vexatious’ – this begs me to ask the question why was this FOIA request not analysed and concluded as being ‘vexatious’ within the actual 20-working day statutory time limit?

Please may I ask that you carry out a thorough internal review and that I receive a substantial response within 20 days.

Yours faithfully,

J Alom

Freedom of Information, The Financial Conduct Authority

Thank you for e-mailing the Financial Conduct Authority's Information
Disclosure Team.

This is an automatic acknowledgement to tell you that we have received
your email safely.

Please do not reply to this email.

We will be in touch in due course.

This communication and any attachments may contain personal information.
For more information about how and why we use personal information and who
to contact with any queries about this, please see our privacy notices:
FCA Privacy Notice (https://www.fca.org.uk/data-protection) and PSR
Privacy Notice
(https://www.psr.org.uk/cookies-privacy-a...).

This communication and any attachments contain information which is
confidential and may be subject to legal privilege. It is for intended
recipients only. If you are not the intended recipient you must not copy,
distribute, publish, rely on or otherwise use it without our consent. Some
of our communications may contain confidential information which it could
be a criminal offence for you to disclose or use without authority. If you
have received this email in error please notify [email address]
immediately and delete the email from your computer. Further information
on the classification and handling of FCA information can be found on the
FCA website
(http://www.fca.org.uk/site-info/legal/fc...).

The FCA (or, if this email originates from the Payment Systems Regulator
Limited, the FCA on behalf of the Payment Systems Regulator Limited / the
Payment Systems Regulator Limited) reserves the right to monitor all email
communications for compliance with legal, regulatory and professional
standards.

This email is not intended to nor should it be taken to create any legal
relations or contractual relationships. This email has originated from the
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), or the Payment Systems Regulator
Limited.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is registered as a limited company
in England and Wales No. 1920623. Registered office: 12 Endeavour Square,
Stratford, London, E20 1JN, United Kingdom

The Payment Systems Regulator Limited is registered as a limited company
in England and Wales No. 8970864. Registered office: 12 Endeavour Square,
Stratford, London, E20 1JN, United Kingdom

Switchboard 020 7066 1000

Web Site http://www.fca.org.uk (FCA); http://www.psr.org.uk (the Payment
Systems Regulator Limited)

Freedom of Information Appeals, The Financial Conduct Authority

3 Attachments

Our Ref:  FOI9086

 

Dear Mr Alom,

 

Freedom of Information: Right to know request

Thank you for your email of 25 April 2022.  This is regarding the
information you have requested under the Freedom of Information Act 2000,
with the above reference.  

 

We are now considering the points you have raised and will contact you
again as soon as possible.  If it is likely to take more than 20 working
days following the date of receiving your email to respond in full, we
will write to you again.

Thanking you.

Yours sincerely

 

Information Disclosure Team / Operations Directorate

 

[1]Description: cid:image001.png@01D2A7C9.64DDD390

12 Endeavour Square

London

E20 1JN

 

Tel:    +44 (0)20 7066 1000

[2]www.fca.org.uk

 

Follow us:

 

[3]Description: https://g.twimg.com/Twitter_logo_blue.pn...
image003

 

 

This communication and any attachments may contain personal information.
For more information about how and why we use personal information and who
to contact with any queries about this, please see our privacy notices:
FCA Privacy Notice (https://www.fca.org.uk/data-protection) and PSR
Privacy Notice
(https://www.psr.org.uk/cookies-privacy-a...).

This communication and any attachments contain information which is
confidential and may be subject to legal privilege. It is for intended
recipients only. If you are not the intended recipient you must not copy,
distribute, publish, rely on or otherwise use it without our consent. Some
of our communications may contain confidential information which it could
be a criminal offence for you to disclose or use without authority. If you
have received this email in error please notify [email address]
immediately and delete the email from your computer. Further information
on the classification and handling of FCA information can be found on the
FCA website
(http://www.fca.org.uk/site-info/legal/fc...).

The FCA (or, if this email originates from the Payment Systems Regulator
Limited, the FCA on behalf of the Payment Systems Regulator Limited / the
Payment Systems Regulator Limited) reserves the right to monitor all email
communications for compliance with legal, regulatory and professional
standards.

This email is not intended to nor should it be taken to create any legal
relations or contractual relationships. This email has originated from the
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), or the Payment Systems Regulator
Limited.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is registered as a limited company
in England and Wales No. 1920623. Registered office: 12 Endeavour Square,
Stratford, London, E20 1JN, United Kingdom

The Payment Systems Regulator Limited is registered as a limited company
in England and Wales No. 8970864. Registered office: 12 Endeavour Square,
Stratford, London, E20 1JN, United Kingdom

Switchboard 020 7066 1000

Web Site http://www.fca.org.uk (FCA); http://www.psr.org.uk (the Payment
Systems Regulator Limited)

References

Visible links
2. http://www.fca.org.uk/
3. https://twitter.com/TheFCA
4. https://www.linkedin.com/company/financi...

Freedom of Information Appeals, The Financial Conduct Authority

4 Attachments

  • Attachment

    image001.png

    11K Download

  • Attachment

    image002.png

    1K Download

  • Attachment

    image003.png

    1K Download

  • This attachment has been hidden. We have removed the internal review response from public view on the grounds it contains the personal information which we consider would not be fair to publish. Personal factors relating to an individual the public body appear to have assumed was the requester were considered during the review and are set out in the response. We were informed that a replacement response would be provided. Our ref GDPR/BR/20220525-1 If you are the requester, then you may sign in to view the attachment. Please contact us if you have any questions.

Our ref: FOI9086             

Dear Mr Alom

Freedom of Information: Right to know request

I refer to your email received on 25 April 2022 asking the Financial
Conduct Authority (“the FCA”) to review its decision of 22 April 2022
provided in response to your information request under the Freedom of
Information Act 2000, with the above reference.  Please find attached the
outcome of the FCA's review.

Yours sincerely

 

Information Disclosure Team / Cyber and Information Resilience Department
/ Operations

[1]Description: cid:image001.png@01D2A7C9.64DDD390

12 Endeavour Square

London

E20 1JN

 

Tel:    +44 (0)20 7066 1000

[2]www.fca.org.uk

 

Follow us:

 

[3]Description: https://g.twimg.com/Twitter_logo_blue.pn...
image003

 

 

 

This communication and any attachments may contain personal information.
For more information about how and why we use personal information and who
to contact with any queries about this, please see our privacy notices:
FCA Privacy Notice (https://www.fca.org.uk/data-protection) and PSR
Privacy Notice
(https://www.psr.org.uk/cookies-privacy-a...).

This communication and any attachments contain information which is
confidential and may be subject to legal privilege. It is for intended
recipients only. If you are not the intended recipient you must not copy,
distribute, publish, rely on or otherwise use it without our consent. Some
of our communications may contain confidential information which it could
be a criminal offence for you to disclose or use without authority. If you
have received this email in error please notify [email address]
immediately and delete the email from your computer. Further information
on the classification and handling of FCA information can be found on the
FCA website
(http://www.fca.org.uk/site-info/legal/fc...).

The FCA (or, if this email originates from the Payment Systems Regulator
Limited, the FCA on behalf of the Payment Systems Regulator Limited / the
Payment Systems Regulator Limited) reserves the right to monitor all email
communications for compliance with legal, regulatory and professional
standards.

This email is not intended to nor should it be taken to create any legal
relations or contractual relationships. This email has originated from the
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), or the Payment Systems Regulator
Limited.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is registered as a limited company
in England and Wales No. 1920623. Registered office: 12 Endeavour Square,
Stratford, London, E20 1JN, United Kingdom

The Payment Systems Regulator Limited is registered as a limited company
in England and Wales No. 8970864. Registered office: 12 Endeavour Square,
Stratford, London, E20 1JN, United Kingdom

Switchboard 020 7066 1000

Web Site http://www.fca.org.uk (FCA); http://www.psr.org.uk (the Payment
Systems Regulator Limited)

References

Visible links
2. http://www.fca.org.uk/
3. https://twitter.com/TheFCA
4. https://www.linkedin.com/company/financi...