FOI Team
Cabinet Office
Room 3.32
1 Horse Guards Road
London
SW1A 2HQE-mail: foi-team@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
Sunday 19th July 2015
Dear Sir or Madam,
Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, please disclose the
following information:-----------------------
With reference to the new Freedom of Information Act Commissionhttps://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/freedom-of-information-new-commission
1) What is the financial budget allocated to this Commission, between its announcemnet in July and when it is meant to report in November 2015 ?
2) How much money is the Chair and each member of the FOI Commission to be paid ?
3) Is this an hourly rate or a fixed term contract ?
4) Are travel and subsistance expenses to be paid seperately ?
5) How many hours or days will the Chair and members of the FOI Commission be expected to work between now and November ?
6) Is the Cabinet Office providing office and secretarial support, or is the FOI Commission establishing their own independent secretariat ?
7) What are the public contact details of the FOI Commission, so that members of the public can supply them with evidence of how the Freedom of Information Act works or fails in practice ?
--------------------
Please provide the requested 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, 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 the statutory 20 working days
from receipt of this email i.e. no later than Monday 10th August 2015.Yours faithfully,
[name]
[address]
[tailored email address for this FOIA request]
July 2015 Archives
Complaints, FOI & DPA Team
HM Revenue & Customs
3rd Floor Annex S1177
PO Box 198
NEWCASTLE
NE98 1ZZE-mail: foi.request@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk
CC: [previous FOIA response civil servants]Sunday 19th July 2015
Dear Sir or Madam,
Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, please disclose the
following information:-----------------------
Copies of the full text of the 80 "Writs of Assistance" which are currently available for use by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern lreland, the under Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 section 161
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1979/2/section/161or other equivalent legal powers in force prior to the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979, in the reign of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
N.B. This is NOT a request for any sensitive details of any any ongoing investigations.
--------------------Please provide the requested 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, 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 the statutory 20 working days
from receipt of this email i.e. no later than Monday 10th August 2015.Yours faithfully,
[name]
[address]
[tailored email address for this FOIA request]
A reply (not quite within the Statutory 20 working days) from Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs regarding the number of Writs of Assistance, used to search premises, which, astonishingly, last for the indeterminate period
of the "reign of the current monarch" plus 6 months !.
Writs of Assistance are issued at the commencement of a Monarch's reign; they are not issued on an annual basis HMRC currently has 80 Writs of Assistance for use in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern lreland
The FOIA response:
[name]
Email: [email address]
HM Revenue & Customs
Complaints, FOI & DPA Team
s1177
PO Box 198
Newcastle
NE98 1ZZ
Phone 03000 567151
Fax 03000 577655
Web hmrc.gov.ukEmail [email address]@hmrc gsi.gov.uk
Our ref
Your ref
Date: 9 July 2015FOI nnnn/15
Dear [name]
Request for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA)
I refer to your request, which was received on 6 June 2015, for the following information
"1) How many "Writs of Assisfance" has Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (or Customs and Excise) obtained under the Customs and Excise Management Act
1979 section 161http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1979/2/section/161
or other equivalent legal powers in force prior to the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979, in the reign of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth ll. ldeally this figure should be broken down by annual totals since 1979
N.B. This is NOT a request for any sensitive details of any ongoing investigations."
I do apologise for the delay in replying.
I am answering under the terms of the Freedom of lnformation Act 2OOO (FOIA) Writs of Assistance are issued at the commencement of a Monarch's reign; they are not issued on an annual basis HMRC currently has 80 Writs of Assistance for use in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern lreland
lf you are not happy with this reply you may request a review by writing to HMRC FOI Team, Room 1C123, 100 Parliament Street, London SWIA 2BQ or e-mailing foi.review@hmrc.qsi.oov.uk You must request a review within 2 months of the date of this letter. lt would assist our review if you set out which aspects of the reply concern you and why you are dissatisfied.
lf you are not content with the outcome of an internal review, you may apply direcfly to the lnformation Commissioner for a decision. The lnformation Commissioner will not consider a case unless you have exhausted the internal review procedure provided by HMRC. He can be contacted at The lnformation Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 SAF.
Yours sincerely
[name of civil servant]
(by e-mail)
Who wants to know more details about these indeterminate length General Warrants ?
Why are 80 warrants needed ? Are they geographically based e.g. one for each Port or Airport ?
Why are these intrusive powers not independently reviewed e.g. annually ?
How can indeterminate length non-judicial authorisations for intrusive search powers be valid under the Human Rights Acts ?
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