The Government's response to our request for the publication of the, now out of date, Office of Government Commerce Gateway Reviews regarding the initial stages of the Home Office's Identity Cards scheme were not satisfactory.
The next step under the new and untested Freedom of Information Act procedures is to request an internal review. It is potentially a promising sign that the OGC "will make every effort to respond to you by Thursday 24th March 2005", i.e. within a month.
This does leave enough time before the presumed date of the General Election, for the next stage of complaint escalation, an appeal to the Information Commissioner to review the case and issue a legally binding Decision Notice.
Subject: RE: OGC response to your FOI request (ref nnnnn) - request for an Internal Review - inc nnnnnn
Date: Thu, 24 Feb 2005 12:21:26 -0000Dear Mr XXX
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT REQUEST REFERENCE NO: nnnnnn
I am writing to acknowledge your complaint dated 23rd February 2005 which was received by OGC on 24th February 2005 regarding the way in which OGC has handled your request.
I note you seek access to the following information:
- The two pre-Stage Zero and the actual Stage Zero Gateway Reviews of the Identity Cards Programme project being run by the Home Office. The Gateway Review Zero was completed a year ago in January 2004
My understanding is that the issues you have raised are:
- You feel that the information sent to you constitutes less than the preamble and introduction to the Home Office's published consultation document, and less then the oral evidence given to the Home Affairs committee.
- You would like us to check that we are positive that the public interest of transparency does not allow us to disclose the full documents, with any necessary redaction to protect personal data.
Your complaint has been passed to our Customer Services Manager and the review will be conducted in accordance with OGC's review procedure. We will make every effort to respond to you by Thursday 24th March 2005. We will contact you if it becomes clear that the review will not be completed by this date.
In the meantime, if you have any further enquiries concerning this matter, please contact the Service Desk on telephone number 0845 000 4999 or e-mail ServiceDesk@ogc.gsi.gov.uk, quoting the reference number above.
Kindest Regards,
AAA BBB
Service Desk Team Leader
Corporate Services Directorate
Office of Government Commerce
Rosebery Court
St Andrews Business Park
Norwich
NR7 0HSFor all Service Desk Enquiries:
Tel: 0845 000 4999 / GTN: 3040 4999
email: ServiceDesk@ogc.gsi.gov.uk
Thanks to Steve Wood's UK Freeodom of Information blog for alerting us to the Association of Chief Police Officer's FOIA guidance(.pdf)
This official FOI policy for the Police
"Candour and Frankness
Claims that disclosure would prejudice the
supply of frank and candid information in the future can only be considered where there is a very particular factual basis to support this view. The possibility of future publicity through disclosure may deter immediate release and should provide an incentive to improve the quality of the information/record prior to disclosure."
contrasts strongly with the weak arguements deployed by the Office for Government Commerce above for not disclosing the Gateway Reviews in any meaningful way.