Leading national charity workfare partner the RSPB

The request was refused by Department for Work and Pensions.

Dear Department for Work and Pensions,

The Court of Appeal recently dismissed an appeal by the Department not to disclose the identities of placement hosts involved in three of the Department's 'workfare' schemes:

http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/...

The RSPB is included in the list of names of 'workfare' beneficiaries that you were ordered by the Court to release.

1. I would like to know the number of workfare participants who, to date, have been placed with the RSPB on each of the following schemes:

Mandatory Work Activity scheme

Work Experience

Work Programme

2. Please state the date that the RSPB first accepted participants on each scheme and, if the RSPB's involvement in any of the schemes has ended, the date their involvement ended.

3. Additionally, I would like participation figures for all other similar DWP workfare schemes from which the RSPB has benefited e.g. Community Work Placements. Specify the name of each scheme and provide accompanying participation figures to date. Also state the date on which the RSPB first accepted workfare participants on each scheme identified and, if appropriate, the date on which their involvement in the scheme ended.

Yours faithfully,

D Moore

DWP freedom-of-information-requests, Department for Work and Pensions

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...
 

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DWP Strategy Freedom of Information, Department for Work and Pensions

Thank you for your Freedom of Information request.

You can expect a reply by 30 September 2016 unless we need to come back to you to clarify your request or the balance of the public interest test needs to be considered.

If you have any queries about this letter please contact me quoting the reference number above.

Yours sincerely

DWP Strategy 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. Please remember to quote the reference number above in any future communications.

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.org.uk/Global/contact_us or telephone 0303 123 1113 or 01625 545745

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DWP Strategy Freedom of Information, Department for Work and Pensions

1 Attachment

Please see the attached reply to your Freedom of Information request.
 

Yours sincerely

DWP Strategy FoI team

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Dear Department for Work and Pensions,

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 'Leading national charity workfare partner the RSPB'.

I do not believe that the cost of dealing with my request would exceed £600.

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

Yours faithfully,

D. Moore

DWP freedom-of-information-requests, Department for Work and Pensions

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...
 

show quoted sections

References

Visible links
1. http://www.dwp.gov.uk/freedom-of-informa...

DWP Strategy Freedom of Information, Department for Work and Pensions

Thank you for your Freedom of Information review request.

Please note that it is our internal target to answer reviews within 20 working days unless I need to come back to you to clarify your request, or the balance of the public interest test needs to be considered which we will keep you informed about.

If you have any queries about this letter please contact me quoting the reference number above.

Yours sincerely

DWP Strategy 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. Please remember to quote the reference number above in any future communications.

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.org.uk/Global/contact_us or telephone 0303 123 1113 or 01625 545745

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DWP Strategy Freedom of Information, Department for Work and Pensions

1 Attachment

Please see the attached reply to your Freedom of Information request
 

Yours sincerely
 
DWP Strategy FoI Team

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D. Moore left an annotation ()

ICO contacted.

D. Moore left an annotation ()

Preliminary assessment received. DWP estimate the cost of dealing with my request to be £104,070. That's a lot!

"I am therefore satisfied that the above estimate is sufficiently reasonable enough to persuade me that section 12 was properly relied on.

Should I not hear from you within 10 working days I shall treat the matter as withdrawn."

I have responded stating that I do not wish to withdraw my request and would prefer the Commissioner to issue a Decision Notice.

D. Moore left an annotation ()

You can view the preliminary assessment here:

https://rspbblog.wordpress.com/

The ICO have acknowledged receipt of my letter requesting a Decision Notice. They have also sent me a copy of the preliminary assessment.

It is almost identical. One change can be found in the penultimate paragraph. In the first preliminary assessment it reads:

"And even if it took a quarter of the time that the Council has estimated, it would still take well in excess of the appropriate limit of 18 hours, under section 12."

In the second:

"And even if it took a quarter of the time that the DWP has estimated, it would still take well in excess of the appropriate limit of 18 hours, under section 12."

The change is small: "Council" has been changed to "DWP".

The inclusion of the word Council suggests to me a reliance on cut and paste. It is strange, however, that the figure for hours was not also changed (18 to 24). The inclusion of the phrase "a quarter of the time" again suggests the use of cut and paste: even a quarter of the figure £104,070 is still enormous and far in excess of the cost limit. Why bother mentioning it?

D. Moore left an annotation ()

The Information Commissioner requires the DWP to provide S16 advice and assistance:

'41 Whilst it advised him to narrow his scope, the DWP now concedes that it should have explained in more detail about the costs involved so as to provide more meaningful assistance, and recommended that;

he limit the scope of his request to 1 of the employment programme,

consider only specific parts of the country,

request a limited timeframe for the information he is looking for.

42. As conceded by the DWP it should have advised the complainant as to how the request could be refined to bring it within the cost limit. '

Dear DWP freedom-of-information-requests,

'Leading national charity workfare partner the RSPB'

Your Ref: FoI 3213

The ICO requires you to provide S16 advice and assistance within 35 calendar days. Please respond via WDTK.

Yours sincerely,

D. Moore

D. Moore left an annotation ()

Here is the Decision Notice. It is dated 29 May 2018, but has yet to appear on the ICO website.

https://rspbblog.wordpress.com/

DWP freedom-of-information-requests, Department for Work and Pensions

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Moore

Please find attached our Section 16 advice as required by the Information Commissioner's decision notice.

Central FOI Team

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