Having been chided by the estimable Julian Todd, for not making use of the ver improving WhatDoTheyKnow.com FOIA request submission and tracking website, we have decided to try our luck in sending in an FOIA request through that website, rather than directly via email.
See the Spy Blog article The next Home Office data security and privacy disaster ? Sharing all our financial details with private sector "specified anti-fraud organisations"
Will we get an idea of what the alleged data handling security and privacy safeguards are supposed to be, before the new powers to circumvent the Common Law Duty of Confidentiality which used to protect our financial and medical details, which come into force on 1st October ?
The text of our WhatDoTheyKnow.com - FOIA request:
Watching Them, Watching Us
12 September 2008
Home Office, Direct Communications Unit, 2 Marsham Street, London
SW1P 4DF, Switchboard 020 7035 4848 Fax: 020 7035 4745 Textphone:
020 7035 4742, E-mail: public.enquiries@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk
Website: www.homeoffice.gov.ukvia : http://www.whatdotheyknow.com
Friday 12th September 2008
Dear Sirs,
Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, please disclose:
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The latest version or draft of the Statutory Code of Practice which
"The Secretary of State must prepare, and keep under review"
according to theSerious Crime Act 2008 section 71 Code of practice for disclosure
of information to prevent fraudhttp://www.opsi.gov.uk/ACTS/acts2007ukpg...
===========
Please provide the information, ideally by publishing it on your
public world wide website, or alternatively by email.Ideally this should *not* be in the form of a "copy and paste"
locked Adobe .pdf file, or similar, attachment.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, for a Qualified Exemption, then you should clearly
explain which public interest(s) you have considered, and why you
have decided that the public interest in maintaining the
Exemption(s) outweighs the public interest in releasing the
information.If you decide to conduct a Balance of Public Interest evaluation,
you need to estimate any additional time which might be required,
and to inform me of this in your Substantive Reply, within the
mandatory statutory limit of 20 working days for you to respond to
this Freedom of Information Act request.Under Section 16 the Freedom of Information Act, you have a duty to
provide help and advice, as to how this current request may need to
be modified, if necessary.I look forward to receiving the information requested as soon as
possible, and in any event, within the statutory 20 working days
from receipt of this email i.e. no later than Monday 13th October
2008Yours Sincerely,
[pseudonym]
[pseudonymous email address]
N.B. My Name and Address may be available on request, but neither
of these are required at this stage under the Freedom of
Information Act, according to Guidance and legally binding Decision
Notices from the Information Commissioner's Office.