Scott Review of The Charity Commission

The request was refused by Department for Communities (Northern Ireland).

Dear Department for Communities (Northern Ireland),

Please publish the Scott Review of the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland

My previous request appears at the link below;

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

In the prolonged absence of a Minister, and as it does not seem that the report is likely to be published soon, and as the information contained within it has now been defined as "within the public interest", I believe it is within the power of the Department through the Permanent Secretary to have the review published.
You may accept this request as a normal line of business enquiry, if you think that might help.

Yours faithfully,

Trevor McKee

Seaman, Liam, Department for Communities (Northern Ireland)

1 Attachment

Dear Mr McKee

 

Please see enclosed acknowledgement of your FOI request DfC 2017-0313.

 

Regards

 

Liam

 

Dear Department for Communities (Northern Ireland),

Please pass this on to the person who conducts reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Department for Communities (Northern Ireland)'s handling of my request 'Scott Review of The Charity Commission'.

I believe this request can be dealt with through normal line of business. I think that given the department are now actively intervening in the Commissions legal issues, and it is also extending Commissioner contracts, that the release of the report is within the powers of the department without Ministerial permission.
I would be obliged if an answer may issue before the break on the 22nd December, as these matters are of exceptional public importance.

A full history of my request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/s...

Yours faithfully,

Trevor McKee

DfC FOI, Department for Communities (Northern Ireland)

 

 

 

 

Dear Mr McKee

 

Thank you for your email below in relation to your FOI request dated 14
December 2017 (also included below).

 

I would be grateful if you would clarify the reason for your request of an
internal review, given that the department has not yet responded. [1]The
Information Commissioner’s Office guidance states:

 

“Can I complain if a public authority refuses my request or I am
dissatisfied with the way it has been dealt with?

 

Yes. You should first complain to the authority and ask it to conduct an
internal review. For freedom of information complaints we recommend that
you do this as soon as possible and within two months of receiving the
authority’s final response.”

 

Legislatively the department has 20 working days to respond t. The
response deadline is 16 January 2018.

 

Yours sincerely

 

Helen Lindsay

 

Helen Lindsay

Information Management Branch

Department for Communities

Ground Floor Lighthouse Building

1 Cromac Place, Gasworks Business Park

BELFAST,

BT7 2JB

Contact: * [2]helen.lindsay@communities-ni. gov.uk  

( Tel: (028) 90 829117 | ( DD: 38117

 

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

show quoted sections

Dear DfC FOI,

Thank you for your query. I am asking for an internal review as it is the Department who has chose to use the FOI legislation rather than a normal line of business means of supplying the information.
The information was approved at Ministerial level in December 2016, it may be released by the Permanent Secretary in the Minister's absence from office. The information was funded by the Northern Irish Taxpayers, it is information of significant public interest and importance. It is also information that may be used to positively inform proceedings in the High Court, proceedings in which the Department are represented and may benefit from.
If you are suggesting to me that the Department may wish to use the FOI legislation to delay response then that is fine, as long as the information is forthcoming at that point.
In the interim I believe it is within your power to internally review the reason my request was selected to be answered by FOI, rather than line of business, and why the information is not suitable for release using that method.

Yours sincerely,

Trevor McKee

Seaman, Liam, Department for Communities (Northern Ireland)

1 Attachment

Dear Mr McKee

 

Please see attached response to your Freedom of Information request
regarding the Review of the Charity Commission.

 

Regards

 

Liam

 

Dear Department for Communities (Northern Ireland),

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

I am writing to request an internal review of Department for Communities (Northern Ireland)'s handling of my FOI request 'Scott Review of The Charity Commission'.

1. The report is not in draft form. The Minister signed it of on the 16th December 2016.
2. The report is only speculatively considering an alteration in how the Department discharges the functions of the Commission, hence there is no need for a safe space for any discussions to take place.
3. There is also a legitimate public interest in the subject the information relates to. The report will have a widespread and significant impact on the public, for example changes to the registration of charities will to a certainty have a public interest in furthering debate on the issue.
4. The report will include recommendations on how the Commission discharges its judicial functions. There is a substantial body of public opinion that the department is keeping a "secret law" in that the Commission are allowed to continue to operate unlawfully with the full knowledge of the Department. Charities need to know what law is being discharged, and what oversight is in place.
5. There is a plausible suspicion of wrongdoing on the part of the Commission. There is significant litigation in train to which the Department are involved in. The information requested would shed light on this. This request serves the wider public interest rather than my private interests. There is a plausible basis for the
suspicion of wrongdoing in the Charity Commission, the High Court and Tribunal actions prove the case.
6. The Department should release the information as only then can the public see the evidence and make up its own mind. The Department may wish to obscure information as a means to divert attention away from the fact that the report is highly critical of the Charity Commission. This is not a legitimate reson not to release the information.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/s...

Yours faithfully,

Trevor McKee

O'Hara, Damian, Department for Communities (Northern Ireland)

1 Attachment

  • Attachment

    FOI Internal Review DFCIR2018 0005 Acknowledgement Review of CCNI.DOCX.docx

    207K Download View as HTML

Mr McKee,

 

Please find attached an acknowledgement of your request for an internal
review.

 

Regards

 

Damian O'Hara| Information Management Branch | Department for Communities

Ground Floor | Lighthouse Building | 1 Cromac Place |Gasworks Business
Park | Ormeau Road |BELFAST | BT7 2JB

Contact: * damian.o'[email address] | ( Tel: (028) 90 829137
| ( DD: 38137

 

 

show quoted sections

Dear Damian,

Is a reply to issue soon?

Yours sincerely,

Trevor McKee

O'Hara, Damian, Department for Communities (Northern Ireland)

Mr McKee,

 

I have passed your e-mail to the Reviewing Officer.

 

Regards

 

Damian O'Hara| Information Management Branch | Department for Communities

Ground Floor | Lighthouse Building | 1 Cromac Place |Gasworks Business
Park | Ormeau Road |BELFAST | BT7 2JB

Contact: * damian.o'[email address] | ( Tel: (028) 90 829137
| ( DD: 38137

 

 

show quoted sections

Dear Damian,

Please ask the reviewer to consider before his response "The Departments (Northern Ireland) Order 1999" which allows the Department to release the information as requested. To be as clear as I possibly can be, there is no legal barrier to the release of the information.

Yours sincerely,

Trevor McKee

DfC FOI, Department for Communities (Northern Ireland)

1 Attachment

Dear Mr McKee

 

Please find attached response to your request for an Internal Review in
relation to your request below.

 

Yours sincerely

 

Helen

Helen Lindsay

Information Management Branch

Department for Communities

Ground Floor Lighthouse Building

1 Cromac Place, Gasworks Business Park

BELFAST,

BT7 2JB

Contact: * helen.lindsay@communities-ni. gov.uk

 ( Tel: (028) 90 829117 | ( DD: 38117

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

show quoted sections