JobCentre Bans

Response to this request is long overdue. By law, under all circumstances, Department for Work and Pensions should have responded by now (details). You can complain by requesting an internal review.

Paul of the Woods Family

Dear Department for Work and Pensions,

Can you tell me under what legislation gives DWP the authority to ban claimants from Job Centre premises?

What right of appeal do claimants who believe the ban is unfair and without foundation have?

Is the DWP aware that banning claimants without a fair hearing is an offence under the Human Rights Act?

"Article 6 - Right to a fair trial

A fair and public hearing (or trial) You have the right to a fair and public hearing if:

you are charged with a criminal offence and have to go to court or
a public authority is making a decision that has a decisive impact upon your civil rights or obligations."

"Article 7: No punishment without law

1. No one shall be held guilty of any offence on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a criminal offence under national law at the time when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the criminal offence was committed."

"Article 14: Protection from discrimination

Discrimination occurs when you are treated less favourably than another person in a similar situation and this treatment cannot be objectively and reasonably justified.

The Human Rights Act prohibits discrimination on a wide range of grounds including ‘sex, race, colour, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, association with a national minority, property, birth or other status’."

Yours faithfully,

Paul of the Woods Family

DWP freedom-of-information-requests, Department for Work and Pensions

This is an automated confirmation that your request for information has
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If your email is a Freedom of Information request you can normally
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References

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DWP CAXTON HOUSE EXTERNAL HR, Department for Work and Pensions

1 Attachment

Dear Paul
 
please find attached a response to your recent Freedom of Information
request (ref 4143)
 
 
 
many thanks
Department for Work and Pensions | HR Central FOI Team, Caxton House,
London
 
 
 

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Paul of the Woods Family

Dear DWP CAXTON HOUSE EXTERNAL HR,

Thank you for your reply.

1) Please confirm, that the banning of claimants is not covered by any specific legislation.

2) How can a claimant be 'punished' by a ban, when no offence in law has been committed or proved?

3) You stated that, "The department has a process of complaint, review and reconsideration that can be applied to banning orders, should the claimant believe the ban is unfair and without foundation". Therefore, can you supply me with the procedure for this process, and this process should obviously include (to adhere to the HRA Article 6 - right to a fair trial) an independent and fair public hearing / tribunal to occur.

4) You stated that. "In terms of Article 7 – The banning of a claimant from Jobcentre premises is not a punitive action; alternative arrangements are put in place to allow continued access to full department services. " How does a claimant who has been banned without foundation access the JobCentre's computers to search for work? How does a claimant get advice and support from JCP advisers if they cannot enter the building? If the ban is without foundation, and there has been no incidents of 'unacceptable behavior' by the banned claimant, then there can be no risk to the DWP employees and the public, and therefore a ban in such a case is punitive, unlawful and discriminatory. It is a form of bullying.

5) If the DWP has banned a claimant without any evidence of wrongdoing , and then treated that claimant differently from other claimants without such evidence. Then that is quite clearly discrimination. Can you supply me with your policy and procedure and dealing with complaints of discrimination.

Yours sincerely,

Paul of the Woods Family

John Slater left an annotation ()

This is a common tactic used by the DWP. It either invents business processes that it presents and implements as though they were law. It also tries to create links, however tenuous, to legislation that is completely unrelated to what it is doing (for example it has used the Health and Safety argument to try to justify its audio recording policy).

Paul of the Woods Family

Dear DWP CAXTON HOUSE EXTERNAL HR,

Please respond to my above FOI request

Yours sincerely,

Paul of the Woods Family

DWP CAXTON HOUSE EXTERNAL HR, Department for Work and Pensions

1 Attachment

Hi Paul

Please see attached response - apologies if it was missed off the email

Department for Work & Pensions
HR Central FoI Team
Caxton House
London

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Paul of the Woods Family

Dear DWP CAXTON HOUSE EXTERNAL HR,

Yes, got that.

I requested further clarification. You may have missed that:
Dear DWP CAXTON HOUSE EXTERNAL HR,

Thank you for your reply.

1) Please confirm, that the banning of claimants is not covered by any specific legislation.

2) How can a claimant be 'punished' and 'treated differently from other claimants, when no offence in law has been committed or proved?

3) You stated that, "The department has a process of complaint, review and reconsideration that can be applied to banning orders, should the claimant believe the ban is unfair and without foundation" and " the claimant may request that the decision to ban be reviewed. Due process would be followed for any public hearing / tribunal to occur. " Therefore, can you supply me with the procedure for this process, and this process should obviously include (to adhere to the HRA Article 6 - right to a fair trial) an independent and fair public hearing / tribunal to occur.In terms of Article 6 – as described above,

4) You stated that. "In terms of Article 7 – The banning of a
claimant from Jobcentre premises is not a punitive action;
alternative arrangements are put in place to allow continued access to full department services. " How does a claimant who has been banned without foundation access the JobCentre's computers to search for work? How does a claimant get advice and support from JCP advisers if they cannot enter the building? If the ban is without foundation, and there has been no incidents of 'unacceptable behavior' by the banned claimant, then there can be no risk to the DWP employees and the public, and therefore a ban in such a case is punitive, unlawful and discriminatory. It is a form of bullying.

5) If the DWP has banned a claimant without any evidence of
wrongdoing , and then treated that claimant differently from other claimants without such evidence. Then that is quite clearly discrimination. Can you supply me with your policy and procedure and dealing with complaints of discrimination.

Yours sincerely,

Paul of the Woods Family

DWP CAXTON HOUSE EXTERNAL HR, Department for Work and Pensions

Hi Paul - many apologies

This further clarification you have asked for is treated as a new FoI (ref 4631) and you should expect a response by 14th November.

Department for Work & Pensions
HR Central FoI Team
Caxton House
London

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DWP CAXTON HOUSE EXTERNAL HR, Department for Work and Pensions

1 Attachment

Dear Sir
 
Please find attached a response to your Freedom of Information request
(ref 4631)
 
 
 
 
Many thanks
 
Department for Work & Pensions
HR Central FoI Team
 
 
 

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Paul of the Woods Family

Dear DWP CAXTON HOUSE EXTERNAL HR,

In response to No 1 - This information has already been provided

In response to No 2 -" How can a claimant be 'punished' by a ban, when no offence in law has been committed or proved?" the word 'ban' comes from and means 'banishment'. Are you seriously telling me, that you can ban someone, without a reason??

In response to No 3 - You have not supplied the requested information. "Therefore, can you supply me
with the procedure for this process, and this process should obviously include (to adhere to the HRA Article 6 - right to a fair trial) an independent and fair public hearing / tribunal to occur. Please supply me with the official DWP procedure.

In response to No 4 - You have NOT supplied the requested information: "How does a claimant who has been banned without foundation access the JobCentre's computers to search for work? How does a claimant get advice and support
from JCP advisers if they cannot enter the building?

In response to no 5 - You have NOT supplied the requested information - Can you supply me with your policy and procedure and dealing with complaints of discrimination.

Yours sincerely,

Paul of the Woods Family

DWP CAXTON HOUSE EXTERNAL HR, Department for Work and Pensions

Hi Paul

This will be treated as a review of FoI 4631 and you should expect a response by 13/12/14

Department for Work & Pensions
HR Central FoI Team

Dear DWP CAXTON HOUSE EXTERNAL HR,

In response to No 1 - This information has already been provided

In response to No 2 -" How can a claimant be 'punished' by a ban, when no offence in law has been committed or proved?" the word 'ban' comes from and means 'banishment'. Are you seriously telling me, that you can ban someone, without a reason??

In response to No 3 - You have not supplied the requested information. "Therefore, can you supply me with the procedure for this process, and this process should obviously include (to adhere to the HRA Article 6 - right to a fair trial) an independent and fair public hearing / tribunal to occur. Please supply me with the official DWP procedure.

In response to No 4 - You have NOT supplied the requested information: "How does a claimant who has been banned without foundation access the JobCentre's computers to search for work? How does a claimant get advice and support from JCP advisers if they cannot enter the building?

In response to no 5 - You have NOT supplied the requested information - Can you supply me with your policy and procedure and dealing with complaints of discrimination.

Yours sincerely,

Paul of the Woods Family

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DWP CAXTON HOUSE EXTERNAL HR, Department for Work and Pensions

1 Attachment

Dear Paul
 
please find attached a response to you request to carry out a review of
the reply to Freedom of Information request 4631
 
 
 
Department for Work & Pensions
HR Central FoI Team
 
 
 

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Gavin Shaw left an annotation ()

To my knowledge there is "No Law" which allows a person from visiting a public place dealing with public servants, where the person "Banned" pays said Public Servants wages.

As stated earlier, DWP like to create business, failure to create business, is failure to create jobs, failure to create jobs equals failure to to keep public tax payers happy by providing false claims in figures of those accused of benefit fraud.

On the subject of benefit fraud, is the DWP responsible of keeping the tax payers money when those who are caught "Stealing" from the tax payer, not commuting fraud themselves by failing to pay this money back to the public? Regardless of whether each person is paid back in cash or in kind (IE Reduce taxes that help lower the cost of living), but no, that would mean the tax payer has nothing to moan about , so as long as a bank gives you a loan (other peoples money), where you sign to say you would pay it back in x amount of years, to which you don't because the money loaned was not provided by the bank, it was it's members, and the agreement signed is therefore with the members, not the bank, then this is why debt is wiped off. HSBC will not challenge this in a court of law, because they have no evidence to prove you owe THEM money.

Therefore, the same could be said for the DWP, and benefit fraud, where they pocket the money for themselves. Take that to court and ask them to provide proof that the money is owed to the DWP, not the Tax Payer you robbed, and see what they say.

Gavin Shaw left an annotation ()

Jobcentre Plus contacted my local Council "Claiming" my benefit claim had stopped. They provided no reason at all to explain that I had received a sanction, and my claim was still active, not stopped".
6 Months later the council are sending letters ordering me to pay off ARREARS CREATED BY JCP or the THREAT of requiring that I attend Magistrates Court.

I wish I had attended Magistrates Court now and challenged them with the evidence I now have to put against them.

Gavin Shaw left an annotation ()

Council Tax Offices are now staring to use the same tactic as N-Power, that is trying act as the law in order to obtain arrears once your given a final warning.

They simple use stats to show that when force is used, people comply. End result, you either pay, or risk "Court" or don't pay and have foiled their attempt unless they can prove you are responsible to pay said debt in the form of providing a signed document that says you no longer wish to claim council tax.