Minutes Taken in Meetings with Commercial Organisations

The request was partially successful.

Dear Sir or Madam,

Please could I ask you to direct this Freedom of Information Request to the Head of the UK Home Civil Service, Sir Gus O'Donnell, KCB?

Over the course of the last 18 months, myself and other campaigners for trustworthy telecommunication services have requested minutes of the meetings between various Government departments and BT/Phorm, during which the proposed use or legality of Phorm's products was discussed.

Phorm are exceptionally controversial. BT conducted covert trials of their systems in 2006 and 2007, secretly profiling the private and confidential communications of tens of thousands of BT customers, and the corresponding web sites they used.

The CPS are investigating complaints of criminal offences, and the EC have initiated legal proceedings against the UK Government.

20,000 people signed a petition asking the Prime Minister to Stop ISP's from breaching customers privacy using such products.

Given the above, I am concerned that not one Government Department yet contacted (Home Office and BERR in particular, among others) has yet recorded or disclosed the attendance, minutes, notes, or agenda items from any meeting with the companies concerned.

Please could you therefore disclose to me

- What records are Civil Service staff expected to keep when Civil Servants/Ministers meet with companies or lobbyists?

- What disciplinary measures apply to Civil Servants who consistently neglect to record meetings with companies or lobbyists?

- What instructions have been given to Home Office, BERR or other Government departments concerning the recording of meetings between Civil Servants/Ministers and Phorm/BT?

- What instructions have been given to Home Office, BERR or other Government departments concerning the disclosure of such meetings?

Yours faithfully,

P John

Cabinet Office

CABINET OFFICE REFERENCE: FOI264947

Dear Mr John,

Thank you for your request for information. Your request was received on
01/05/2009 and is being dealt with under the terms of the Freedom of
Information Act 2000.

In some circumstances a fee may be payable and if that is the case, I will
let you know the likely charges before proceeding.

If you have any queries about this letter, please contact me. Please
remember to quote the reference number above in any future communications.

Yours sincerely,

FOI Team
Cabinet Office
E: [1][Cabinet Office request email]

The Cabinet Office computer systems may be monitored and communications
carried on them recorded, to secure the effective operation of the system
and for other lawful purposes.

show quoted sections

Communications via the GSi may be automatically logged, monitored and/or
recorded for legal purposes.

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[Cabinet Office request email]

Cabinet Office

1 Attachment

Please see response to your recent FOI request.

Paul Ballinger
Propriety and Ethics Team
Cabinet Office
Rm 118
70 Whitehall
London SW1A 2AS

email: [1][email address]

Making the Civil Service Work Better

The Cabinet Office computer systems may be monitored and communications
carried on them recorded to secure the effective operation of the system
and for other lawful purposes.

show quoted sections

Communications via the GSi may be automatically logged, monitored and/or
recorded for legal purposes.

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]