Sunday, July 25, 2010

Declan replies to the Independent Case Examiner

From the infamous Haringey Council (see previous blog) back to the Department for Work and Pensions! Declan currently has Jobcentre Plus of the Department for Work and Pensions before the Information Commissioner (see blog of 21 June “Department for Work and Pensions double breaches the Data Protection Act: Letter to the Information Commissioner”), as well as the Independent Case Examiner for refusing him access to a Starting a Business course that would enable him register NAC as a company limited by guarantee.


The Independent Case Examiner (click to enlarge)

Yesterday the Independent Case Examiner, John Hanlon, got back to him, or at least one of his foot soldiers did (page 1 of the letter is archived here, page 2 here). For the record, this is Declan's reply, to be dispatched by registered post first thing tomorrow morning:


Dear Mr Hanlon

Jobcentre Plus (ICE Ref No: DWP00123/10)

Thank you for your letter dated 23 July 2010 regarding my complaint that Jobcentre Plus has failed to take timely and appropriate action to consider my request for access to a Starting a Business course. You have asked me to reply.

As I have already tried to explain, Business Link, to which I was referred by Jobcentre Plus on 11 March 2010, does not offer a traditional, classroom based, tutor led Starting a Business course. It offers only workshops and the web-based course to which you refer. I do not feel that your letter has adequately dealt with the issues I have raised.

Please would you clarify your finding in this case.

Yours sincerely

Declan Heavey

Next it's back to our MP, Lynne Featherstone (Lib Dem), who may be able to refer this complaint to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman. Only last month Featherstone wrote to Declan to advise that she has written to the Home Secretary about the blocking and manipulation of our email (her letter is archived here). Of course, that too continues unabated, to the extent that Gmail for us has been a virtual right-off for months now (see blog of 21 April “Interception of communications: Declan writes to our MP”).

It just so happens that tomorrow morning we have our “First Step Meeting” with A4e, which is contracted to deliver Flexible New Deal on behalf of Jobcentre Plus. Our nearest A4e branch is ten minutes away, in fact it is almost beside the Jobcentre, and yet we have been allocated an A4e branch two bus journeys away. This is quite concerning: why would the Jobcentre send us to another area? So great, I have just uploaded the new NAC website! There is loads of work still to do on it with the transferral and adjustment of material from the old NAC site and the like, but not having something up in time for this meeting tomorrow morning has not been an option all week.

A4e will surely not tell us that provisions of the Jobseekers Act 1995, particularly our right to an adjudication officer if we are not happy with a proposed Flexible New Deal contract, no longer apply to us - not that we can do nothing about it if they do. But who knows? It was, after all, the Department for Work and Pensions which put us to the street for more than 2 1/2 years (see blog of 9 May “Declan calls for Department for Work and Pensions evidence”).

Saturday, July 17, 2010

The Infamous Haringey Council

In yesterday's blog “Declan appeals Haringey Council's eviction notice”, I published an excerpt from Declan's appeal against Haringey Council's decision to pay our landlady 60% of her rent from next week. Haringey Council is infamous in the UK for the shocking case of Baby P. The 17-month-old boy suffered eight months of abuse and beatings at the hands of his mother's sadistic boyfriend. Baby P died in August 2007 despite being on the child protection register and being seen 60 times by health and social workers.


The 17-month-old boy known as Baby P died in August 2007; he had been seen 60 times by care workers.