Safeguarding

[Name Removed] made this Freedom of Information request to Home Office This request has been closed to new correspondence. Contact us if you think it should be reopened.

The request was partially successful.

Dear Home Office,

Please supply the following data (please note this request is specific to the Home Office Ministerial Department):

- If a person contacted the Home Office with concerns that highlighted a need to conduct safeguarding, what actions would the Home Office take?
- Please confirm who is ultimately responsible for the safeguarding unit at the Home Office and what their title is (please note that the safeguarding unit in question corresponded via the Direct Communications Unit based at 2 Marsham Street).

Yours faithfully,

[Name Removed] [Name Removed]son

Dear Home Office,

If you could also include a copy of the Home Office Ministerial Department Safeguarding Policy with your reply, I'd appreciate it.

Yours faithfully,

[Name Removed] [Name Removed]son

FOI Requests, Home Office

1 Attachment

Mr. Johnson,

Thank you for contacting the Home Office with your request (below/attached).

This has been assigned to a caseworker (case ref 50986). We will aim to send you a full response by 07/12/2018 which is twenty working days from the date we received your request.

If you have any questions then please do not hesitate to contact us.

Thank you,

P. Zebedee
FOI Requests
Home Office

show quoted sections

FOI Responses, Home Office

1 Attachment

Please find the attached letter about your Freedom of Information request.

 

 

Home Office

2 Marsham Street, London, SW1P 4DF

[1]www.gov.uk/home-office

 

 

show quoted sections

References

Visible links
1. http://www.gov.uk/home-office

Dear Home Office,

If you do a search on the internet for Safeguarding, I'm sure you'll be able to get clarification for what I am referring to when using the term Safeguarding. Apologies if my expectations are too high, but it's somewhat concerning to me that you would like me to clarify that.

In addition, the Home Office (and its departments) publish documents in respect of Safeguarding. It's about preventing vulnerable people from being abused, whether physically, psychologically or sexually. I guess public bodies such as yourselves typically believe people need safeguarding against other members of public, but in fact the opposite is true too, sometimes people need safeguarding against public bodies.

For example (which is fitting given Grenfell), if you left a disabled person high up in a tower block with serious fire risks I guess the local authority would have failed to safeguard that person against harm. Another fitting example, would be if you knew about someone at risk of committing terrorist acts, but just decided not to act, then again there is always the term proxy - apologies may have gone a bit off track here, so perhaps it's better to get off the track so to speak.

If you need further clarification of what safeguarding means, I suggest you speak to somebody more senior, perhaps they can send you on a course - if so make sure you get a certificate and do all your modules.

Yours faithfully,

[Name Removed] [Name Removed]son

FOI Requests, Home Office

Mr Johnson,

Thank you for contacting the Home Office with your request.

This has been assigned to a caseworker (case ref 50999). We will aim to send you a full response by 10/12/2018 which is twenty working days from the date we received your request.

If you have any questions then please do not hesitate to contact us.

Thank you,

J Douglas
FOI Requests
Home Office

show quoted sections

Dear FOI Requests,

Thanks, so is the case reference: 50986 or 50999? Funny, I have a mate where the Police and Home Office have given them duplicate references, for the same thing, maybe that's a common occurance these days.

Yours faithfully,

[Name Removed] [Name Removed]son

FOI Responses, Home Office

1 Attachment

Please find attached our response to your Freedom of Information request.

 

 

Home Office

2 Marsham Street, London, SW1P 4DF

[1]www.gov.uk/home-office

 

 

show quoted sections

References

Visible links
1. http://www.gov.uk/home-office

Dear Home Office,

By safeguarding I mean taking steps to ensure vulnerable adults and/or children do not suffer harm or abuse and that if such people are at risk, the necessary steps are taken to mitigate those risks. If you require further information about what safeguarding is, please escalate this to your manager.

Please supply the requested information.

Yours faithfully,

[Name Removed] [Name Removed]son

FOI Requests, Home Office

Mr. Johnson,

Thank you for contacting the Home Office with your request.

This has been assigned to a caseworker (case ref 51227). We will aim to send you a full response by 21/12/2018 which is twenty working days from the date we received your request.

If you have any questions then please do not hesitate to contact us.

Thank you,

P. Zebedee
FOI Requests
Home Office

show quoted sections

Dear FOI Requests,

The date you suggest is not 20 working days from the original request. Please supply the data in the legally specified timeline. To delay the response on the basis the Home Office didn't understand what 'safeguarding' is, is ridiculous.

Yours sincerely,

[Name Removed] [Name Removed]son

FOI Requests, Home Office

Mr. Johnson,

The due date factors in St. Andrew's Day, which is a Public Holiday in Scotland.

Thank you,

P. Zebedee
FOI Requests
Home Office

show quoted sections

Dear FOI Requests,

What has a 1 day public holiday in Scotland got to do with the fact the request was made (to the British Home Office) on the 8th November?

20 working days after the 8th of November is not the date you specified. If I add an extra day because of St Andrews day in Scotland (which in itself would be ridiculous) it's still doesn't take us to the 21st December 2018.

Even allowing a few days extra, should result in a response being supplied no later than the 7th December, otherwise you are breaking the law that governs freedom of information requests.

Is there a reason you are deliberately trying to delay the response until just before the Christmas period?

Yours sincerely,

[Name Removed] [Name Removed]son

FOI Responses, Home Office

1 Attachment

Please see the attached letter about your Freedom of Information request.

 

 

Home Office

2 Marsham Street, London, SW1P 4DF

[1]www.gov.uk/home-office

 

 

 

show quoted sections

Dear Home Office,

Thanks for this reply.

The date is not correct, as what you sought clarification on is clearly unreasonable and wasn't needed. The Home Office and its employees should be well aware what the term 'safeguarding' meant.

I suggest that you are being deliberately obstructive, seeking unreasonable clarification of a term that you and your department should clearly have understood, in order to unreasonably delay the response to just prior to the Christmas period. I do not accept the reasoning given in the last correspondence.

The legislation that allows you to delay a reply because you need clarification, is designed to facilitate reasonable and necessary clarification requests. You seeking clarification of what is meant by 'safeguarding' should not apply as it is reasonable for anyone to believe the Home Office has thorough understanding of what 'safeguarding' is.

Yours faithfully,

[Name Removed] [Name Removed]son

FOI Requests, Home Office

Dear Mr Johnson,

 

Thank you for contacting the Home Office. Can you confirm if you are
requesting an internal review of your FOI request and if so provide your
case reference number in order for us to deal with your email response.  

 

Thank you,

 

N McKenzie

Home Office

 

 

show quoted sections

Dear FOI Requests,

No, I am not currently seeking an internal review of my request.

I am highlighting that to delay a response on the grounds clarification was required, when the clarification sought was clearly unnecessary and unreasonable isn't acceptable and appears to be a deliberate attempt to delay providing a response, until just prior to the Christmas period.

Yours sincerely,

[Name Removed] [Name Removed]son

FOI Requests, Home Office

Dear Mr. Johnson,

 

 

Thank you for contacting the Home Office. Please provide your case
reference number in order that we can investigate your query.

 

Thank you,

 

N McKenzie

Home Office

 

 

 

show quoted sections

Dear FOI Requests,

You've supplied multiple reference numbers, including:

50986 or 50999

So perhaps you should review the request and confirm what the reference number is.

In addition, I do not accept that you seeking clarification of what 'safeguarding' is, is a reasonable request to clarify. I don't accept that, as it's a term Home Office employees should be well versed with. Therefore the response is now overdue.

Yours sincerely,

[Name Removed]

FOI Requests, Home Office

Dear Mr. Johnson,

FOI Requests 50986 & 50999 are both listed as completed according to our records.

A response was sent to you on 16/11/2018 requesting clarification. If you do not provide clarification in response we cannot deal with your FOI request.

No further action will be taken unless you provide clarification to enable us to deal with your request.

Thank you,

N McKenzie
Home Office

show quoted sections

Dear FOI Requests,

The information is due an has not been supplied.

You sought clarification and it was provided, see the full history of the request here:

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/s...

I provided clarification. I also pointed out that the clarification that had been sought appears to be unreasonable, given safeguarding is a term the Home Office should be well aware of.

Please supply the information requested.

Yours sincerely,

[Name Removed] [Name Removed]son

FOI Responses, Home Office

1 Attachment

Please find attached our response to your Freedom of Information request.

 

 

Home Office

2 Marsham Street, London, SW1P 4DF

[1]www.gov.uk/home-office

 

show quoted sections

References

Visible links
1. http://www.gov.uk/home-office