Police Injury Pensions Policy
Dear Sir or Madam,
Freedom of Information Act request.
I am requesting certain documents that you may have detailing force policy and procedure in the management and review of police injury award pensions prior to the year 2004.
To help you in your search and to direct my enquiry as clearly as possible I am quoting below a paragraph from Home Office Circular 46/2004, Annex C:
'This Guidance is being issued to help ensure a fairer, more cohesive approach to the payment of injury benefits to ill-health retired officers who have reached the compulsory retirement age with their Force. A recent survey found that practice in this area was diverse. Some forces automatically reduced degree of disablement benefits to the lowest banding when this age had been reached - others continued to pay benefits at the same rate until the death of the Officer concerned.'
The above quote identifies two categories of forces - A) one group that automatically reduced degree of disablement benefits to the lowest banding when compulsory retirement age had been reached and a second group B) that continued to pay benefits at the same rate until the death of the Officer concerned.
I am attempting to identify and obtain a copy of documents that show which category ( A or B) your force would have been included in prior to receipt of HOC 46/2004.
It may be that your response would be sufficient if you simply tell me which group your force was in, but if there was a written policy or procedural document setting out details, then I should like a copy.
You can send copied documents in any standard digital format.
Your assistance in this matter is very much appreciated.
Yours sincerely,
Ms N. McCall
Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA)
Thank you for your email received today in which you make a request for
information that Northumbria Police may hold.
We are in the process of dealing with your request and expect to revert to
you shortly. A response should be provided by 27/02/09.
Yours sincerely
Jan Mcewan
Information Compliance Unit
NORTHUMBRIA POLICE PRIVACY AND CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE
The information contained in this message and any attachment(s) is confidential and intended only for the attention of the named organisation or individual to whom it is addressed. The message may contain information that is covered by legal, professional or other privilege. No mistake in transmission is intended to waive or compromise any such privilege. This message has been sent over public networks and the sender cannot be held responsible for its integrity.
If you are not the intended recipient be aware that any disclosure, copying, distribution or action taken in reliance of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited, and is contrary to the provisions of the Copyright Designs and Patents Act, 1998 and of the Data Protection Act, 1998.
Any views expressed are those of the sender and, unless specifically stated, do not necessarily represent the view of Northumbria Police.
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If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender by e-mail at once and delete the message immediately.
For more information about Northumbria Police please visit our website - http://www.northumbria.police.uk
Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA)
Thank you for your email received today in which you make a request for
information that Northumbria Police may hold.
We are in the process of dealing with your request and expect to revert to
you shortly. A response should be provided by 27/02/09.
Yours sincerely
Jan Mcewan
Information Compliance Unit
NORTHUMBRIA POLICE PRIVACY AND CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE
The information contained in this message and any attachment(s) is confidential and intended only for the attention of the named organisation or individual to whom it is addressed. The message may contain information that is covered by legal, professional or other privilege. No mistake in transmission is intended to waive or compromise any such privilege. This message has been sent over public networks and the sender cannot be held responsible for its integrity.
If you are not the intended recipient be aware that any disclosure, copying, distribution or action taken in reliance of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited, and is contrary to the provisions of the Copyright Designs and Patents Act, 1998 and of the Data Protection Act, 1998.
Any views expressed are those of the sender and, unless specifically stated, do not necessarily represent the view of Northumbria Police.
We cannot accept any liability for any loss or damage sustained as a result of software viruses. It is your responsibility to carry out such virus checking as is necessary.
If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender by e-mail at once and delete the message immediately.
For more information about Northumbria Police please visit our website - http://www.northumbria.police.uk
Dear Sir or Madam,
I am awaiting a response from you to a request I made.
Under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act you should have responded no later than the 26th Feb.
Would you please check and see if you are now in a position to respond, and advise me accordingly.
Yours sincerely,
Ms. N. McCall
Provision of Information held by Northumbria Police under the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 (the" Act")
With regard to your email in which you make a request for information that
Northumbria Police may hold.
I regret that Northumbria Police will not be able to complete its response
to you by the date originally stated. We are still researching the
information held and considering whether any exemptions under the Act may
apply.
I can now advise you that the new date for the provision of the information
is 27/03/09.
Please accept our apologies and be assured that every effort will be made
to ensure that a response will be provided to you within this new
timescale.
Your attention is drawn to the attachment which contains your complaint
rights.
(See attached file: FOI Complaint Rights.doc)
Yours sincerely
Jan Mcewan
Information Compliance Unit
From: "Ms. N. McCall" <[FOI #6901 email]> on
28/02/2009 09:41
To: [Northumbria Police request email]
cc:
Subject: Re: Freedom of Information request - Police Injury Pensions
Policy
Dear Sir or Madam,
I am awaiting a response from you to a request I made.
Under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act you should have
responded no later than the 26th Feb.
Would you please check and see if you are now in a position to
respond, and advise me accordingly.
Yours sincerely,
Ms. N. McCall
Dear Jan Mcewan,
Thank you for the update.
I regret that your proposed new date by which you say you will be ready to supply the information I requested seems unnecessarily distant.
As a simple answer, A or B, identifying what your policy was prior to receipt of HOC 46/2004 it should not have taken you 20 working days to provide a response. Suggesting that you now need even longer is not acceptable.
The FOI Act states that public authorities must comply with section 1(1) promptly and in any event not later than the twentieth working day following the date of receipt. You are therefore in breach of the law's requirements.
Your suggestion of an extended deadline to respond was offered without explanation of the circumstances that might have necessitated the delay. I cannot accept that it has taken you longer than 20 working days to contemplate possible exemptions and to research the answer. If you do have a valid reason for further delay could you please provide it.
Yours sincerely,
Ms. N. McCall
CI for your consideration please
Due date - was 02/03/09 extended to 27/03/09
Requester - -[email address]
Info provided by - HR
CRU Advice - If you hold any recorded information which answers this
request we see no harm in disclosing it to the applicant.
I have attached for your information a copy of recent advice we have issued
in respect of a request on the same subject.
Provision of information held by Northumbria Police made under the Freedom
of Information Act 2000 (the 'Act')
Thank you for your email dated 29 January 2009 in which you made a request
for access to certain information which may be held by Northumbria Police.
I offer apologies on behalf of Northumbria Police for the delay in
responding to your request and in doing so advise that owing to
circumstances beyond our control we were unable to provide the data that
you requested within the required time-scale.
As part of the process of considering a Freedom of Information (FOI)
request, the Police Service submit all enquiries to a central referral unit
who coordinate a corporate response to similarly requested FOI enquiries.
As there are forty three police forces submitting information for
consideration, there are occasions when a backlog of work is created.
I accept that your enquiry required a relatively simple answer, however the
staff charged with conducting FOI enquiries are tasked with following a set
procedure which includes the central submission as described above. In this
instance they have followed this procedure which relied upon the central
referral unit providing a response to us within the set time period
determined by the FOI Act and which unfortunately did not allow us to reply
to you within the required time-scale.
It is with this in mind that your criticism has been noted and Northumbria
Police will seek to redress this issue for future FOI enquiries to ensure
that delays are not encountered.
In response to your enquiry:
We have now had the opportunity to fully consider your request and I
provide the following response for your attention.
You asked:
I am requesting certain documents that you may have detailing force policy
and procedure in the management and review of police injury award pensions
prior to the year 2004.
To help you in your search and to direct my enquiry as clearly as possible
I am quoting below a paragraph from Home Office Circular 46/2004, Annex
C:
This Guidance is being issued to help ensure a fairer, more cohesive
approach to the payment of injury benefits to ill-health retired officers
who have reached the compulsory retirement age with their Force. A recent
survey found that practice in this area was diverse. Some forces
automatically reduced degree of disablement benefits to the lowest banding
when this age had been reached - others continued to pay benefits at the
same rate until the death of the Officer concerned.
The above quote identifies two categories of forces - A) one group that
automatically reduced degree of disablement benefits to the lowest banding
when compulsory retirement age had been reached and a second group B) that
continued to pay benefits at the same rate until the death of the Officer
concerned.
I am attempting to identify and obtain a copy of documents that show which
category ( A or B) your force would have been included in prior to receipt
of HOC 46/2004.
It may be that your response would be sufficient if you simply tell me
which group your force was in, but if there was a written policy or
procedural document setting out details, then I should like a copy.
Response:
We can confirm that prior to 2004 Northumbria Police were in group B
Our Human Resource department have been unable to trace the relevant
document, so unfortunately we are unable to provide you with a copy of the
policy as requested.
The information we have supplied to you is likely to contain intellectual
property rights of Northumbria Police. Your use of the information must be
strictly in accordance with the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 (as
amended) or such other applicable legislation. In particular, you must not
re-use this information for any commercial purpose.
How to complain
If you are unhappy with our decision or do not consider that we have
handled your request properly and we are unable to resolve this issue
informally, you are entitled to make a formal complaint to us under our
complaints procedure which is attached.
(See attached file: FOI Complaint Rights.doc)
If you are still unhappy after we have investigated your complaint and
reported to you the outcome, you may complain directly to the Information
Commissioner’s Office and request that they investigate to ascertain
whether we have dealt with your request in accordance with the Act.
Yours sincerely
Keith Harm Sgt 22
Acting Data Protection and Disclosure Advisor
Direct Dial: 01661 869389
NORTHUMBRIA POLICE PRIVACY AND CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE
The information contained in this message and any attachment(s) is confidential and intended only for the attention of the named organisation or individual to whom it is addressed. The message may contain information that is covered by legal, professional or other privilege. No mistake in transmission is intended to waive or compromise any such privilege. This message has been sent over public networks and the sender cannot be held responsible for its integrity.
If you are not the intended recipient be aware that any disclosure, copying, distribution or action taken in reliance of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited, and is contrary to the provisions of the Copyright Designs and Patents Act, 1998 and of the Data Protection Act, 1998.
Any views expressed are those of the sender and, unless specifically stated, do not necessarily represent the view of Northumbria Police.
We cannot accept any liability for any loss or damage sustained as a result of software viruses. It is your responsibility to carry out such virus checking as is necessary.
If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender by e-mail at once and delete the message immediately.
For more information about Northumbria Police please visit our website - http://www.northumbria.police.uk
Apologies - amended one. Please disregard previous as this was draft
submitted for approval.
Jan
From: Freedom of Information Mailbox on 05/03/2009 09:43
Sent by: Jan McEwan
To:
cc:
Subject: Freedom Of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) request 1064/09 - Police
Injury Awards Pensions
Provision of information held by Northumbria Police made under the Freedom
of Information Act 2000 (the 'Act')
Thank you for your email dated 29 January 2009 in which you made a request
for access to certain information which may be held by Northumbria Police.
I offer apologies on behalf of Northumbria Police for the delay in
responding to your request and in doing so advise that owing to
circumstances beyond our control we were unable to provide the data that
you requested within the required time-scale.
As part of the process of considering a Freedom of Information (FOI)
request, the Police Service submit all enquiries to a central referral unit
who coordinate a corporate response to similarly requested FOI enquiries.
As there are forty three police forces submitting information for
consideration, there are occasions when a backlog of work is created.
I accept that your enquiry required a relatively simple answer, however the
staff charged with conducting FOI enquiries are tasked with following a set
procedure which includes the central submission as described above. In this
instance they have followed this procedure which relied upon the central
referral unit providing a response to us within the set time period
determined by the FOI Act and which unfortunately did not allow us to reply
to you within the required time-scale.
It is with this in mind that your criticism has been noted and Northumbria
Police will seek to redress this issue for future FOI enquiries to ensure
that delays are not encountered.
In response to your enquiry:
We have now had the opportunity to fully consider your request and I
provide the following response for your attention.
You asked:
I am requesting certain documents that you may have detailing force policy
and procedure in the management and review of police injury award pensions
prior to the year 2004.
To help you in your search and to direct my enquiry as clearly as possible
I am quoting below a paragraph from Home Office Circular 46/2004, Annex
C:
This Guidance is being issued to help ensure a fairer, more cohesive
approach to the payment of injury benefits to ill-health retired officers
who have reached the compulsory retirement age with their Force. A recent
survey found that practice in this area was diverse. Some forces
automatically reduced degree of disablement benefits to the lowest banding
when this age had been reached - others continued to pay benefits at the
same rate until the death of the Officer concerned.
The above quote identifies two categories of forces - A) one group that
automatically reduced degree of disablement benefits to the lowest banding
when compulsory retirement age had been reached and a second group B) that
continued to pay benefits at the same rate until the death of the Officer
concerned.
I am attempting to identify and obtain a copy of documents that show which
category ( A or B) your force would have been included in prior to receipt
of HOC 46/2004.
It may be that your response would be sufficient if you simply tell me
which group your force was in, but if there was a written policy or
procedural document setting out details, then I should like a copy.
Response:
We can confirm that prior to 2004 Northumbria Police were in group B
Our Human Resource department have been unable to trace the relevant
document, so unfortunately we are unable to provide you with a copy of the
policy as requested.
The information we have supplied to you is likely to contain intellectual
property rights of Northumbria Police. Your use of the information must be
strictly in accordance with the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 (as
amended) or such other applicable legislation. In particular, you must not
re-use this information for any commercial purpose.
How to complain
If you are unhappy with our decision or do not consider that we have
handled your request properly and we are unable to resolve this issue
informally, you are entitled to make a formal complaint to us under our
complaints procedure which is attached.
(See attached file: FOI Complaint Rights.doc)
If you are still unhappy after we have investigated your complaint and
reported to you the outcome, you may complain directly to the Information
Commissioner’s Office and request that they investigate to ascertain
whether we have dealt with your request in accordance with the Act.
Yours sincerely
Keith Harm Sgt 22
Acting Data Protection and Disclosure Advisor
Direct Dial: 01661 869389
NORTHUMBRIA POLICE PRIVACY AND CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE
The information contained in this message and any attachment(s) is confidential and intended only for the attention of the named organisation or individual to whom it is addressed. The message may contain information that is covered by legal, professional or other privilege. No mistake in transmission is intended to waive or compromise any such privilege. This message has been sent over public networks and the sender cannot be held responsible for its integrity.
If you are not the intended recipient be aware that any disclosure, copying, distribution or action taken in reliance of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited, and is contrary to the provisions of the Copyright Designs and Patents Act, 1998 and of the Data Protection Act, 1998.
Any views expressed are those of the sender and, unless specifically stated, do not necessarily represent the view of Northumbria Police.
We cannot accept any liability for any loss or damage sustained as a result of software viruses. It is your responsibility to carry out such virus checking as is necessary.
If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender by e-mail at once and delete the message immediately.
For more information about Northumbria Police please visit our website - http://www.northumbria.police.uk
Dear Keith Harm,
Many thanks for your prompt and most helpful reply.
I did not know that forces were channelling FOIA requests through a central referral unit and knowledge of this goes a long way to understanding the difficulties you faced in responding within the time required by the legislation.
Yours sincerely,
Ms. N. McCall
Ms. N. McCall left an annotation ()
If you are a former officer on an injury pension and would like to make contact with an email-based self help group of others then send a message to Eddie at whatsyourforcedoing[AT]yahoo.co.uk Be sure to mention the whatdotheyknow web site.
The results of the research into a vital aspect of Home Office Circular Annex C is now available on line at http://no10petition.blogspot.com/
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Ms. N. McCall left an annotation ()
Note: In collaboration with another researcher I shall be making the results of my FOIA requests public. We plan to put everything on a web site so that it is available for everyone who is interested in Home Office Circular 46/2004 and the police injury award pensions debate.
I will announce the publication in another annotation here.
There is a petition on the No 10 Downing Street web site that you may like to sign. It calls on the Home Office to rescind guidance issued in Circular 46/2004.
The petition is at:
http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/HOC-46-...
Nancy