Staffing losses, ill health and stress within Universal Credits (DWP) Offices

The request was refused by Department for Work and Pensions.

Dear Department for Work and Pensions,

Please provide the following information, broken down by each location (town or city) in which Universal Credit has, or continues to operate from, since its inception until the date at which this FOI request is reviewed for response:

a) How many staff currently work within Universal Credit?
b) How many staff have previously worked within Universal Credit (but have since left the line of business or department entirely).

In addition, how many DWP staff working within Universal Credit have:

c) Resigned
d) Been dismissed
e) Asked to retire (at state pension age)
f) Asked to take early-retirement
g) Been successful in level-transfer to another Line of Business or Civil Service Department.
h) Been successful in promotion to another Line of Business or Civil Service Department.
i) Been absent due to stress
j) Been absent due to any other illness
k) Have reported stress or injury relating to their role in Universal Credit
For comparison please provide a comparative figure for the Dept. of Work and Pension (as a whole) for each of the above categories (c-k) indicating where the requested statistics are higher or lower than the department as a whole.

Finally please provide level of staffing absence based upon working days lost for:
l) DWP as a whole department
m) Each Universal Credit office or location

Yours faithfully,
Andy ODonnell

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

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Dear DWP freedom-of-information-requests,

Thank you for your auto-acknowledgement of my request dated 12th February.
Please provide an update on your response and timescales to consider a response.

Yours sincerely,
Andy ODonnell

DWP HR PQ & FOI Focal Point, Department for Work and Pensions

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Odonnell,

Please find attached the response to your Freedom of Information query.

DWP Freedom of Information

Dear Department for Work and Pensions,

Please provide the following information, broken down by each location (town or city) in which Universal Credit has, or continues to operate from, since its inception until the date at which this FOI request is reviewed for response:

a) How many staff currently work within Universal Credit?
b) How many staff have previously worked within Universal Credit (but have since left the line of business or department entirely).

In addition, how many DWP staff working within Universal Credit have:

c) Resigned
d) Been dismissed
e) Asked to retire (at state pension age)
f) Asked to take early-retirement
g) Been successful in level-transfer to another Line of Business or Civil Service Department.
h) Been successful in promotion to another Line of Business or Civil Service Department.
i) Been absent due to stress
j) Been absent due to any other illness
k) Have reported stress or injury relating to their role in Universal Credit
For comparison please provide a comparative figure for the Dept. of Work and Pension (as a whole) for each of the above categories (c-k) indicating where the requested statistics are higher or lower than the department as a whole.

Finally please provide level of staffing absence based upon working days lost for:
l) DWP as a whole department
m) Each Universal Credit office or location

Yours faithfully,
Andy ODonnell

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Dear DWP HR PQ & FOI Focal Point,

Thank you for your response and explanation.

I understand that not all of the data requested may be available centrally or to the detail which was requested. However, since DWP is indisputably a large government department which relies upon a centralised HR service there is an expectation that some of this data is readily available at this source. I also understand that local management structures are in-place within each site who may already collate this information, for the local unit, as part of the senior managers role of governance, far reducing the numbers of managers in question.

Under the terms of the FOI act I understand there are two duties: i) to let the requester know whether you hold the information, and ii) to provide the information.

Regarding the former, the ICO advises "If you are refusing all or part of the request, you will normally still have to confirm whether you hold (further) information".

I would appreciate if you could confirm this aspect and provide any information that is readily available to partially meet the request, or if none is available as suggested above to please confirm.

In regards the latter aspect of ICO advice, I do understand the potential implications of cost and offer an alternative which would hopefully assist in reducing this burden:

1) Limiting the request to 3 specific Universal Credit sites: Preston, Blackpool & St Austell.
2) A simplified set of data:
1. How many staff in these sites have left DWP since UC work began.
2. Break these numbers down, into: resigned; dismissed; retired; any other reason.
3. Provide DWP depts. overall figures for the same data for comparison.

Thank you for considering this request.

Yours sincerely,
Andy ODonnell

DWP HR PQ & FOI Focal Point, Department for Work and Pensions

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Odonnell,

Please find attached the response to your latest query.

DWP Freedom of Information

Dear DWP HR PQ & FOI Focal Point,

Thank you for your response and explanation.

I understand that not all of the data requested may be available centrally or to the detail which was requested. However, since DWP is indisputably a large government department which relies upon a centralised HR service there is an expectation that some of this data is readily available at this source. I also understand that local management structures are in-place within each site who may already collate this information, for the local unit, as part of the senior managers role of governance, far reducing the numbers of managers in question.

Under the terms of the FOI act I understand there are two duties: i) to let the requester know whether you hold the information, and ii) to provide the information.

Regarding the former, the ICO advises "If you are refusing all or part of the request, you will normally still have to confirm whether you hold (further) information".

I would appreciate if you could confirm this aspect and provide any information that is readily available to partially meet the request, or if none is available as suggested above to please confirm.

In regards the latter aspect of ICO advice, I do understand the potential implications of cost and offer an alternative which would hopefully assist in reducing this burden:

1) Limiting the request to 3 specific Universal Credit sites: Preston, Blackpool & St Austell.
2) A simplified set of data:
1. How many staff in these sites have left DWP since UC work began.
2. Break these numbers down, into: resigned; dismissed; retired; any other reason.
3. Provide DWP depts. overall figures for the same data for comparison.

Thank you for considering this request.

Yours sincerely,
Andy ODonnell

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DWP HR PQ & FOI Focal Point, Department for Work and Pensions

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Odonnell,

Please find attached the response to your query.

DWP Freedom of Information

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