Email sent – Thu 02/06/2016 06:55
To – Liam.O’Neill@hseni.gov.uk
Dear Sirs
I have now appealed your FOIA decision against me to the ICO
and I fully appreciate that I have exceeded the time limit for such appeals but
I am now of the opinion the HSENI are acting in consort with others to cover up
serious crimes on the Co Tyrone Screggagh Wind Turbine collapse.
Christopher Graham, the
Information Commissioner is on record stating that any heavily redacted
response from a Public Authority would reflect wrongdoing by that PA.
The original HSENI report has been redacted to an unacceptable
degree, say, 80% of the report has been redacted.
The ICO will contact you in due course.
For your information, action and files
With thanks
Yours sincerely
Alan M Dransfield
On Fri, Jan 29, 2016 at 4:03 PM, O’Neill, Liam <Liam.O’Neill@hseni.gov.uk>
wrote:
Dear Mr Dransfield,
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000 (FOIA)
I refer to your request for information which is being
considered under the above Act.
You asked us for ‘copies of the CV’s for Mr Neeson and Mr Wright
the two investigating officers responsible for the Safety Report on the
collapsed Wind Turbine in Co Tyrone NI in Jan 2015’.
I can confirm
that HSENI does not hold curriculum vitae (CV) for members of its staff but it
does hold information which would normally be in a cv such as qualifications.
I can advise that
on joining HSENI to be a health and safety inspector, candidates must have a
primary degree, normally a Bachelor of Science. During the first stage of their
employment in HSENI inspectors must achieve the Postgraduate Diploma in
Occupational Safety and Health. In addition, inspectors undertake specialist
training in different aspects of the work. Whilst this does not directly answer
your request for the CVs of Mr Wright and Mr Neeson, I believe it explains the
minimum generic qualifications held by inspectors in HSENI.
You should also
be aware that HSENI has obligations to protect other information, in this case
the personal information of employees, under the Data Protection Act 1998
(DPA). The exemption provided for at section 40 (2) of the FOIA states :
Section 40 (2) FOIA
Any information
to which a request for information relates is also exempt information if –
(a) it
constitutes personal data which do not fall within subsection (1), and
(b) either the
first or the second condition below is satisfied.
HSENI
believes that other information held about inspectors to be personal data and,
in some instances sensitive personal data. We have also considered whether if
disclosure would breach any of the data protection principles in respect of
section 40(3)(a)(i) of the FOIA detailed below,
Section 40 (3)
The first
condition is –
(a)
in
a case where the information falls within any of the paragraphs (a) to (d) of
the definition of “data” in section 1(1) of the Data Protection Act 1998, that
the disclosure of the information to a member of the public otherwise than
under this Act would contravene –
(i) any of the data protection principles.
The first
principle in the Data Protection Act states:
“1. Personal data
shall be processed fairly and lawfully and, in particular, shall not be
processed unless – (a) at least one of the conditions in Schedule 2 is met.”
HSENI do not feel
that employees would reasonably expect their personal information to be
disclosed and that any such disclosure contravenes the principle of ‘fairness’
contained in the first Data Protection Principle, therefore the exemption
provided by Section 40(2) and (3) of the Freedom of Information Act is engaged.
This is an
absolute exemption and not subject to the Public Interest Test.
If you have any queries about this email, please contact me
quoting the reference number above in any future communications. If you are
dissatisfied with the way in which HSENI has handled your request, please go to
http://www.hseni.gov.uk/about-hseni/content-foi.htm
which explains the actions that are available to you.
Yours sincerely
Liam O’Neill
Information Manager
Tel:
028 9054 7088 (ext: 47088)
Mob: 07979365934
