Finding the appropriate address to send an FOIA request in the vast Department for Work and pensions, government within a government is not straightforward. They presume that people will contact their local DWP offices for information in the first place, which is not approrpriate for this particular FOIA request.
A good point is that they have now instituted a Secure Sockets Layer web email contact form, but with a fair amount of hunting around their Publication Scheme pages the IAD Information Centre postal address was found, and the Public Enquiry Office email address were found. The wpls@dwp.gsi.gov.uk email address allegedly for enquiries about the Longitudinal Study is the one which has managed to ignore our emails over the last year asking when the website would be updated with the information which they promised to publish
"Quarterly publication of the uses
To ensure that DWP are accountable to the public for all work on the data, an internet and paper-based list of uses (existing and new) will be published every 3 months. "
Similarly the details about the Ethics Committee which does not seem to have been set up, for a year now, hence our request.
The update of the Longitudinal Study list of uses web page this week, poses a few more questions, i.e. what is all this "REMOVED" stuff about ?
Read a copy of what was sent as a FOIA request:
IAD Information Centre, Dept for Work and Pensions, Room BP5201, Benton Park View, Longbenton, NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE, NE98 1YXCopies sent by email to: wpls@dwp.gsi.gov.uk
and peo@dwp.gsi.gov.uk (Public Enquiry Office)Microsoft Word format attachment: dwp_foia_1.doc
Sunday 9th January 2005
Freedom of Information Act 2000
Formal Request for InformationDear Sir or Madam
Please provide me with the following information:
1) All emails, minutes of meetings and reports pertaining to the establishment of the Department for Work and Pensions - Inland Revenue Longitudinal Study Ethics Committee.2) Details of the REMOVED Business Cases published on the List of Uses webpage i.e.
Case Number - Team name
08 Neighbourhood Statistical Team
10 IAD Operational Research
19 Jobseeker Analysis Division
26 Disability and Carers Directorate
29 IAD Operational Research
32 Jobseeker Analysis Division
38 Economy and Labour Market Division (ELMD)and the reasons (with references to the Freedom of Information Act 2000) for not publishing these.
3) Details of any of the Department for Work and Pensions IT security incidents involving people or machines or systems with direct or indirect access to the combined Inland Revenue and DWP datasets which have been or are made available for the Longitudinal Study.
References: Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study - Background Information
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/longitudinal_study/ic_longitudinal_study.asp Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study - Safeguards
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/longitudinal_study/ic_longitudinal_study_safeguards.asp Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study - List of Uses
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/longitudinal_study/ic_longitudinal_study_uses.asp
Please provide the information ideally by publishing it on your public world wide website, or alternatively by email.In the unlikely event that this information is not already available in a standard electronic format, then please explain the reasons why, when you provide the information in another format.
If you are proposing to make a charge for providing the information requested, please provide full details in advance, together with an explanation of any proposed charge
If you decide to withhold any of the information requested you should clearly explain why you have done so in your response, by reference to the Freedom of Information Act 2000 legislation. If your decision to withhold is based upon an evaluation of the public interest, then you should clearly explain which public interests you have considered, and why you have decided that the public interest in maintaining the exception(s) outweighs the public interest in releasing the information.
I look forward to receiving the information requested as soon as possible and in any event within 20 working days of receipt. i.e. by Monday 7th February 2005
Thank you in advance for your assistance.
If you require any clarification of this request please contact me as soon as possible.
Yours sincerely
The Public Enquiry Office email address peo@dwp.gsi.gov.uk has an Out of Office reply set, which promises a response within 20 working days.
thank you for this website.the only comment i need to pass on is about my wife who has been calling for an appointment for interview for NATIONAL INSURANCE NUMBER for about three weeks.the phone lines will pnly ring till voice mail.we live in southeast london. we fall under the control of JOBCENTRE PLUS in tooting bec london
please i will like if she can get this sorted out
thank you very much,
mr akinsola
I'm looking for information about my position vis-a-vis paying tax in the U.S.A. on my U.K pension.
DO you have any answer?
No clues at all !
Why would you think that this Freedom of Information Act request site might do so ?
We would object strongly if personal financial information like that was ever to be made available to third parties making FOIA requests, it is, and should, be exempt from disclosure.
Have been trying to ring Tooting office regarding my National Insurance number for the past four weeks. The line just rings and then goes to engaged signal. There seems to be no other way I can contact someone, please can you help.
Jillian Morgan
Sorry - No ! Private information on individuals is exempt from the Freedom of Information Act, you cannot even request information about yourself under it, you have to make a Data Protectiona Act request.
Why not try a different, presumably Inland Revenue or Department for Work and Pensions office ?