MG11 Witness Statements

The request was partially successful.

Dear Merseyside Police,

I would like to submit a Freedom of Information request to obtain the following information about the witness statement forms (MG11) used by your constabulary:

Please supply (blank) copies of any witness statement forms that you have used since 01 January 2010.
Please include the 'contact details' section for each version of a witness statement.
Please indicate the time period when the witness statement(s) was/were in use.

Yours faithfully,

M. Nah.

Freedom Of Information, Merseyside Police

Your email to the Merseyside Police Freedom of Information (FOI) in box is
acknowledged.

 

If it contains an initial (new) request under FOI it will be dealt with in
accordance with section 10 of the Act which means that you are entitled to
receive a response no later than 20 working days after the first working
day* on which your request is received.

 

Other arrangements may apply if a fees notice is issued or if the time
period is extended in order that public interest considerations of our
response may take place. Section 10 also allows public authorities to
apply variations to the normal 20 working day timescale in some limited
circumstances.

 

Due to the volume of e-mail correspondence and FOI applications received,
the Force regrets that individual acknowledgement e-mails will not be sent
even if specifically requested.

 

If the correspondence cannot be dealt with as FOI, it will be forwarded
internally and you will be advised of the location. Any related
communication must be direct to the identified location and not the FOI
e-mail address.

 

*The ‘working day’ is defined as any day other than a Saturday, a Sunday,
Christmas Day, Good Friday or a day which is a bank holiday under the
Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971 in any part of the United Kingdom.
The first reckonable day is the working day after the working day of
receipt.

Although every effort will be made to ensure a response is provided within
statutory deadlines, due to current circumstances delays may be
unavoidable. We apologise for any inconvenience and will endeavour to
process your request as quickly as is practicable.

 

============================================================
This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended
solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed.
If you have received this email in error please notify the sender as soon
as possible. This footnote confirms that all reasonable steps have been
taken to ensure that this email message has been swept for the presence of
computer viruses. The views expressed in this communication may not
necessarily be the views of Merseyside Police. All communications,
including telephone calls and electronic messages to and from Merseyside
Police may be subject to monitoring and recording.
============================================================

Freedom Of Information, Merseyside Police

2 Attachments

Dear Mr. Nah,  

 

Response Letter - FOI Application DJ 2020 - 0768  MERPOL (please quote in
all correspondence)

 

I write in connection with your request for information which was received
by Merseyside Police on 20/08/2020. I note that you seek access to the
following information:

 

(Paraphrased) Information in respect of the national form MG11.

 

Following receipt for your request searches were conducted within the
Merseyside Police to locate information relevant to your request. I can
confirm that the information that you requested is held by Merseyside
Police.

 

The searches located information relevant to your request which is shown
on the attached response table.

 

I have today been authorized by the PNC & Data Access Manager, the senior
decision maker in this case, to disclose the located information to you,
as attached. Please find attached above, the response table with
information.

 

Complaint Rights

 

Your attention is drawn to the information following this response, which
details your rights review and of complaint.           

 

Should you have any further inquiries concerning this matter, please write
or e-mail me, at the below address, quoting the reference number above.

 

Yours faithfully

 

D Jackson

Disclosure Analyst

Merseyside Police

Data Access Unit (FOI)

PO BOX 59

LIVERPOOL L69 1JD

Fax: 0151 777 1675

E-mail:  [Merseyside Police request email]

 

Schedule(s) of disclosed information:   Please see attachment at the top
of the e-mail.

 

 

show quoted sections

Dear Freedom Of Information,

You have stated that the MG11 form you have supplied has been in use since June 2020 which is only a few months ago.
Do you not hold copies of previous versions of the MG11 forms used prior to this date?
What is your retention policy for retaining versions of documents you have recently used n your operations?

Yours faithfully,

M. Nah.

Freedom Of Information, Merseyside Police

Your email to the Merseyside Police Freedom of Information (FOI) in box is
acknowledged.

 

If it contains an initial (new) request under FOI it will be dealt with in
accordance with section 10 of the Act which means that you are entitled to
receive a response no later than 20 working days after the first working
day* on which your request is received.

 

Other arrangements may apply if a fees notice is issued or if the time
period is extended in order that public interest considerations of our
response may take place. Section 10 also allows public authorities to
apply variations to the normal 20 working day timescale in some limited
circumstances.

 

Due to the volume of e-mail correspondence and FOI applications received,
the Force regrets that individual acknowledgement e-mails will not be sent
even if specifically requested.

 

If the correspondence cannot be dealt with as FOI, it will be forwarded
internally and you will be advised of the location. Any related
communication must be direct to the identified location and not the FOI
e-mail address.

 

*The ‘working day’ is defined as any day other than a Saturday, a Sunday,
Christmas Day, Good Friday or a day which is a bank holiday under the
Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971 in any part of the United Kingdom.
The first reckonable day is the working day after the working day of
receipt.

Although every effort will be made to ensure a response is provided within
statutory deadlines, due to current circumstances delays may be
unavoidable. We apologise for any inconvenience and will endeavour to
process your request as quickly as is practicable.

 

============================================================
This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended
solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed.
If you have received this email in error please notify the sender as soon
as possible. This footnote confirms that all reasonable steps have been
taken to ensure that this email message has been swept for the presence of
computer viruses. The views expressed in this communication may not
necessarily be the views of Merseyside Police. All communications,
including telephone calls and electronic messages to and from Merseyside
Police may be subject to monitoring and recording.
============================================================

Freedom Of Information, Merseyside Police

2 Attachments

Dear Mr. Nah,  

 

Response - FOIA Application - DJ 2020 - 0803 MERPOL (please quote in all
correspondence)

 

I write in connection with your request for information which was received
by Merseyside Police.

 

I note that you seek access to the following information:

 

(Paraphrased): Information in respect of Form MG11 and the retention
policy for such documents.

 

Following receipt for your request searches were conducted within the
Merseyside Police to locate information relevant to your request. I can
confirm that some of the information that you requested is held by
Merseyside Police.

 

 

The searches located some records relevant to your request.

 

Decision.

 

I have today decided to:

 

Disclose information related to your second request in full;

 

Disclose information related to your first application pursuant to the
exemption of some information  provisions of section 21, Freedom of
Information Act, 2000.

 

Your request for information, in relation to the exempt information, has
been considered and Merseyside Police is not obliged to supply the
information that you have requested.

 

Section 17, Freedom of Information Act, 2000, requires Merseyside Police,
when refusing to provide such information (because the information is
exempt) to provide you the applicant with a notice which:

(a) States that fact,

(b) Specifies the exemption(s) in question and

(c) States (if that would not otherwise be apparent) why the exemption
applies.

 

In respect of the requests, where appropriate, under the duty in section
16 of the Act, the duty to be helpful, I have provided information, shown
as additional information or in the response section which I believe will
be of assistance to you.

 

Please find attached information relating to your request in the schedule
above.

  

Making a complaint or an appeal

 

Your attention is drawn to the sheet attached below which details your
rights of complaint.

 

Should you have any further inquiries concerning this matter, please write
or e-mail me, on the below address, quoting the reference number above.

 

Yours faithfully

 

D Jackson

Disclosure Analyst

Merseyside Police

Data Access Unit

PO BOX 59

LIVERPOOL L69 1JD

Fax: 0151 777 1677

E-mail:  [Merseyside Police request email]

 

Schedule(s) of disclosed information:      Attached at top of e-mail

  

 

show quoted sections

Dear Freedom Of Information,

I did not seek information about the national standard form published by the College of Policing, but requested copies of blank MG11 forms used by your constabulary since 2010 to the current date. As you have indicated there are occasional differences in the content or design of the 'contact details section' associated with the witness statements used by various police forces. I wanted to establish what was the content and design of the forms used by Merseyside Police from 2010 to the current date.

I am confused by your responses please confirm that you have supplied me with all the available information that you hold in relation to my original FOI request. Thank you.

Yours sincerely,

M. Nah.

Freedom Of Information, Merseyside Police

Your email to the Merseyside Police Freedom of Information (FOI) in box is
acknowledged.

 

If it contains an initial (new) request under FOI it will be dealt with in
accordance with section 10 of the Act which means that you are entitled to
receive a response no later than 20 working days after the first working
day* on which your request is received.

 

Other arrangements may apply if a fees notice is issued or if the time
period is extended in order that public interest considerations of our
response may take place. Section 10 also allows public authorities to
apply variations to the normal 20 working day timescale in some limited
circumstances.

 

Due to the volume of e-mail correspondence and FOI applications received,
the Force regrets that individual acknowledgement e-mails will not be sent
even if specifically requested.

 

If the correspondence cannot be dealt with as FOI, it will be forwarded
internally and you will be advised of the location. Any related
communication must be direct to the identified location and not the FOI
e-mail address.

 

*The ‘working day’ is defined as any day other than a Saturday, a Sunday,
Christmas Day, Good Friday or a day which is a bank holiday under the
Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971 in any part of the United Kingdom.
The first reckonable day is the working day after the working day of
receipt.

Although every effort will be made to ensure a response is provided within
statutory deadlines, due to current circumstances delays may be
unavoidable. We apologise for any inconvenience and will endeavour to
process your request as quickly as is practicable.

 

============================================================
This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended
solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed.
If you have received this email in error please notify the sender as soon
as possible. This footnote confirms that all reasonable steps have been
taken to ensure that this email message has been swept for the presence of
computer viruses. The views expressed in this communication may not
necessarily be the views of Merseyside Police. All communications,
including telephone calls and electronic messages to and from Merseyside
Police may be subject to monitoring and recording.
============================================================

Freedom Of Information, Merseyside Police

1 Attachment

Dear Mr. Nah,

 

I refer to your e-mail of 5^th September 2020.

Please find attached addition blank templates for form MG11, where there
is information which has changed, even if only slightly. There are no
other blank templates available.

 

I trust that this meets your requirements.

 

Yours faithfully

 

D. Jackson

Disclosure Analyst

Merseyside Police

Data Access Unit

PO Box 59

LIVERPOOL

L69 1JD

============================================================
This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended
solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed.
If you have received this email in error please notify the sender as soon
as possible. This footnote confirms that all reasonable steps have been
taken to ensure that this email message has been swept for the presence of
computer viruses. The views expressed in this communication may not
necessarily be the views of Merseyside Police. All communications,
including telephone calls and electronic messages to and from Merseyside
Police may be subject to monitoring and recording.
============================================================

Dear Freedom Of Information,

Thank you for supplying further forms, however it is still not clear which periods of time the MG11 forms were in use. Please could you clarify?

Yours sincerely,

M. Nah.

Freedom Of Information, Merseyside Police

Your email to the Merseyside Police Freedom of Information (FOI) in box is
acknowledged.

 

If it contains an initial (new) request under FOI it will be dealt with in
accordance with section 10 of the Act which means that you are entitled to
receive a response no later than 20 working days after the first working
day* on which your request is received.

 

Other arrangements may apply if a fees notice is issued or if the time
period is extended in order that public interest considerations of our
response may take place. Section 10 also allows public authorities to
apply variations to the normal 20 working day timescale in some limited
circumstances.

 

Due to the volume of e-mail correspondence and FOI applications received,
the Force regrets that individual acknowledgement e-mails will not be sent
even if specifically requested.

 

If the correspondence cannot be dealt with as FOI, it will be forwarded
internally and you will be advised of the location. Any related
communication must be direct to the identified location and not the FOI
e-mail address.

 

*The ‘working day’ is defined as any day other than a Saturday, a Sunday,
Christmas Day, Good Friday or a day which is a bank holiday under the
Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971 in any part of the United Kingdom.
The first reckonable day is the working day after the working day of
receipt.

Although every effort will be made to ensure a response is provided within
statutory deadlines, due to current circumstances delays may be
unavoidable. We apologise for any inconvenience and will endeavour to
process your request as quickly as is practicable.

 

============================================================
This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended
solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed.
If you have received this email in error please notify the sender as soon
as possible. This footnote confirms that all reasonable steps have been
taken to ensure that this email message has been swept for the presence of
computer viruses. The views expressed in this communication may not
necessarily be the views of Merseyside Police. All communications,
including telephone calls and electronic messages to and from Merseyside
Police may be subject to monitoring and recording.
============================================================

Jackson Dennis, Merseyside Police

Dear Mr. Nah,

 

The templates that have been provided are those that can be accessed as a
blank template from Force systems. The FOI response table [DJ2020-0768]
states that there is no information held in relation to when the forms
were used. As the forms are accessible from Force systems and meet the
legislative requirement, they are available for use.

 

This application is now considered complete and closed. If you are not
satisfied with the information supplied, you must make use of the internal
review process.

 

D. Jackson

Disclosure Analyst

Merseyside Police

Data Access Unit

PO Box 5p9

LIVERPOOL

L69 1JD

 

 

============================================================
This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended
solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed.
If you have received this email in error please notify the sender as soon
as possible. This footnote confirms that all reasonable steps have been
taken to ensure that this email message has been swept for the presence of
computer viruses. The views expressed in this communication may not
necessarily be the views of Merseyside Police. All communications,
including telephone calls and electronic messages to and from Merseyside
Police may be subject to monitoring and recording.
============================================================

Dear Merseyside Police,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Merseyside Police's handling of my FOI request 'MG11 Witness Statements'.

In response to my FOI request you have provided me with some pages from one or more blank copies of MG11 witness forms - it is not clear when the MG11 form(s) were used during the period 2010 to 2020. You have not given any indication about when these forms were in use and when asked about the matter you claimed that you do not hold any information that would allow you to tell me how long the MG11 forms had been in use. Please review how you have handled my request for information. Please explain why you do not have any records of the version history for the MG11 forms you use and are thus unable to tell me how long your the current version of your MG11 form has been in use.

Yours faithfully,

M. Nah.

Freedom Of Information, Merseyside Police

Your email to the Merseyside Police Freedom of Information (FOI) in box is
acknowledged.

 

If it contains an initial (new) request under FOI it will be dealt with in
accordance with section 10 of the Act which means that you are entitled to
receive a response no later than 20 working days after the first working
day* on which your request is received.

 

Other arrangements may apply if a fees notice is issued or if the time
period is extended in order that public interest considerations of our
response may take place. Section 10 also allows public authorities to
apply variations to the normal 20 working day timescale in some limited
circumstances.

 

Due to the volume of e-mail correspondence and FOI applications received,
the Force regrets that individual acknowledgement e-mails will not be sent
even if specifically requested.

 

If the correspondence cannot be dealt with as FOI, it will be forwarded
internally and you will be advised of the location. Any related
communication must be direct to the identified location and not the FOI
e-mail address.

 

*The ‘working day’ is defined as any day other than a Saturday, a Sunday,
Christmas Day, Good Friday or a day which is a bank holiday under the
Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971 in any part of the United Kingdom.
The first reckonable day is the working day after the working day of
receipt.

Although every effort will be made to ensure a response is provided within
statutory deadlines, due to current circumstances delays may be
unavoidable. We apologise for any inconvenience and will endeavour to
process your request as quickly as is practicable.

 

============================================================
This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended
solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed.
If you have received this email in error please notify the sender as soon
as possible. This footnote confirms that all reasonable steps have been
taken to ensure that this email message has been swept for the presence of
computer viruses. The views expressed in this communication may not
necessarily be the views of Merseyside Police. All communications,
including telephone calls and electronic messages to and from Merseyside
Police may be subject to monitoring and recording.
============================================================

Freedom Of Information, Merseyside Police

Dear M. Nah

I acknowledge receipt of your email (received on 08/09/2020), requesting
that Merseyside Police review the responses to your requests for
information.

I note that the  you request that the internal review covers the
application numbered DJ 2020 – 0803. The reference for the internal review
is IB 2020 0807

I understand that you have raised a query regarding:

In response to my FOI request you have provided me with some pages from
one or more blank copies of MG11 witness forms - it is not clear when the
MG11 form(s) were used during the period 2010 to 2020. You have not given
any indication about when these forms were in use and when asked about the
matter you claimed that you do not hold any information that would allow
you to tell me how long the MG11 forms had been in use.
Please review how you have handled my request for information. Please
explain why you do not have any records of the version history for the
MG11 forms you use and are thus unable to tell me how long your the 
current version of your  MG11 form has been in use.

An internal review will be undertaken surrounding the FOI responses by the
Force - this will be considered independently by the Information Assurance
Co-ordinator. The review will be conducted in accordance with the
Merseyside Police review procedure and every effort will be made to have a
response to you no later than the 6th October, 2020 (20 working days from
receipt of internal review request, as advocated by the ICO).

Although every effort will be made to ensure a response is provided within
statutory deadlines, due to current circumstances delays may be
unavoidable.  The Information Commissioner has recognised that the current
situation may cause delay in being able to provide FOI applications within
the statutory time scales.  Please see:
https//ico.org.uk/about-the-ico/news-and-events/ico-blog-on-its-information-rights-work/

However, if it becomes clear that the review will not be completed by this
date you will be contacted.

I trust that the above information is of assistance to you.

Yours Faithfully,

Mr C Collins
Data Access Analyst
CJ PNC & Data Access
Website: [1]http://www.merseyside.police.uk

Please consider the environment - do you really need to print this email?
For more information about the use and disclosure of personal data, see
our privacy notice

============================================================
This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended
solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed.
If you have received this email in error please notify the sender as soon
as possible. This footnote confirms that all reasonable steps have been
taken to ensure that this email message has been swept for the presence of
computer viruses. The views expressed in this communication may not
necessarily be the views of Merseyside Police. All communications,
including telephone calls and electronic messages to and from Merseyside
Police may be subject to monitoring and recording.
============================================================

References

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

Boyham Ian Frank, Merseyside Police

2 Attachments

Dear M. Nah,

 

Further to the Data Access Analyst’s email of 08/09/20 acknowledging
receipt of your request for Merseyside Police to conduct an internal
review of your Freedom of Information, I confirm that I have completed my
review.

 

You requested: (summary) Information in respect of Form MG11 and the
retention policy for such documents.

 

Decision

I have decided to uphold the original decision for the reasons specified
in the original response table (attached) and also attached email sent to
you after the initial FOI response. I can refer you, if it assists your
query, to the bottom left hand corner of the forms you have been sent,
which provide a ‘version date’.

 

Section 17, Freedom of Information Act, 2000, requires Merseyside Police,
when refusing to provide such information (because the information is
exempt) to provide you the applicant with a notice which:

(a) states that fact,

(b) specifies the exemption(s) in question and

(c) states (if that would not otherwise be apparent) why the exemption
applies.

 

Complainant Rights:

Should you disagree with this decision you have a further right of appeal
to the Information Commissioner, the contact details for whom are below.

 

The Office of the Information Commissioner

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire SK9 5AF

More information is available from the Information Commissioner's website

[1]http://www.ico.org.uk

 

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Ian.

 

 

Ian Boyham
Information Assurance Coordinator
Merseyside Police
Direct Line Tel: +441517778317

P Please consider the environment - do you really need to print this
email?

For more information about the use and disclosure of personal data, see
our [2]privacy notice

============================================================
This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended
solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed.
If you have received this email in error please notify the sender as soon
as possible. This footnote confirms that all reasonable steps have been
taken to ensure that this email message has been swept for the presence of
computer viruses. The views expressed in this communication may not
necessarily be the views of Merseyside Police. All communications,
including telephone calls and electronic messages to and from Merseyside
Police may be subject to monitoring and recording.
============================================================

References

Visible links
1. http://www.ico.org.uk/
2. https://www.merseyside.police.uk/hyg/fpn...