Not eligible for ESA or JSA - Research and Guidance
Dear Department for Work and Pensions,
I refer you to the FOI request at www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/claimants... "Claimants not eligible for ESA or JSA" where part of your response was “a person cannot be in a position where they are ineligible for Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and not fit enough to meet the conditions required for claiming Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA).”
You will be aware from the original request and from stories such as http://www.gloucestercitizen.co.uk/Chris... of allegations that it is in practice possible to be ineligible for ESA and not fit enough to meet the conditions required for claiming JSA.
Given the seriousness of such allegations both for claimants and the reputation of welfare policy it seems likely to me that you will have carried out research to determine how many claimants have in practice been erroneously denied (or dissuaded from claiming) JSA as alleged. Please send me full documentation of that research. If you have not done that research, please send me copies of all correspondence relating to the decision not to carry out the research. If that would exceed the £600 limit, please restrict your search by eliminating regional and local offices
Further, if you have issued any memos, policies or guidance intended to help staff avoid erroneously denying claimants JSA (or advising that they might not be eligible) as alleged, please send me copies.
Yours faithfully,
Mr Harris
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Dear Mr Harris,
Thank you for your Freedom of Information request. Please find enclosed our reply.
If you have any queries about this letter please contact me quoting the reference number above.
Yours sincerely,
DWP Central FoI Team
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Your right to complain under the Freedom of Information Act
If you are not happy with this response you may request an internal review by e-mailing [DWP request email] or by writing to DWP, Central FoI Team, Caxton House, Tothill Street, SW1H 9NA. Any review request should be submitted within two months of the date of this letter.
If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review you may apply directly to the Information Commissioner’s Office for a decision. Generally the Commissioner cannot make a decision unless you have exhausted our own complaints procedure. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: The Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow Cheshire SK9 5AF www.ico.gov.uk
Dear Department for Work and Pensions,
Thank you for your response to my FOI request. Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.
I am writing to request an internal review of Department for Work and Pensions's handling of my FOI request 'Not eligible for ESA or JSA - Research and Guidance'.
I’m asking for review as your response appears incomplete.
I asked for copies of guidance and you have sent me the guidance issued to DWP staff for claimants moving from ESA to JSA. While useful, it only covers the case where the claimant asks to be referred back to ESA.
You told A C Smithson: “a person cannot be in a position where they are ineligible for Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and not fit enough to meet the conditions required for claiming Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA)”.
Please send me the staff guidance that makes this important message crystal clear.
In the light of the above, please check if your answer to me saying that you have no research is correct. Are you sure you have no research to show that the position you gave to Mr Smithson is being correctly applied by staff?
A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/n...
Yours faithfully,
Mr Harris
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.
Should you have any further queries in connection with this request do
please contact us.
For further information on the Freedom of Information Act within DWP
please click on the link below.
[1]http://www.dwp.gov.uk/freedom-of-informa...
References
Visible links
1. http://www.dwp.gov.uk/freedom-of-informa...
Dear Mr Harris,
Thank you for your Freedom of Information review request. Please find enclosed our acknowledgment of its receipt.
If you have any queries about this letter please contact me quoting the reference number above.
Yours sincerely,
DWP Central FoI Team
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Your right to complain under the Freedom of Information Act
If you are not happy with this response you may request an internal review by e-mailing [DWP request email] or by writing to DWP, Central FoI Team, Caxton House, Tothill Street, SW1H 9NA. Any review request should be submitted within two months of the date of this letter.
If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review you may apply directly to the Information Commissioner’s Office for a decision. Generally the Commissioner cannot make a decision unless you have exhausted our own complaints procedure. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: The Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow Cheshire SK9 5AF www.ico.gov.uk
Please see the attached reply to your Freedom of Information request
Yours sincerely
DWP Strategy FoI team
Dear DWP Strategy Freedom of Information,
Thank you for this, lots of information :-)
Please can you tell give me the publication history of the document "ESA to JSA Transitions" ?
Thank you
Yours sincerely,
Mr Harris
Mr Harris left an annotation ()
Oops! On re-reading the original DWP response, I find they did say they have no research. Apologies!
Please find attached our response to your Freedom of Information request
DWP Freedom of Information Team.
Dear Operations FOI Requests,
Thank you very much for your detailed reply.
It's a shame that DWP hasn't done any research into the issue but do feel free to suggest the idea to appropriate colleagues.
Yours sincerely,
Mr Harris
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Mr Harris left an annotation ()
They have now provided most of the information. They haven't provided information about any research they have done into the issue. This might mean there is no research - it's not clear.