If the British Government is serious about Suicide Prevention then it is time to do something about it and not just talk about it!
Every day the DWP procrastinates and delays, more people are driven to self harm and harming others including their children it seems!
When, for example, a Paying Parent takes their own life, the UK’s Child Maintenance Service undertakes a process relating to the case management. There is then initiated, we understand, an Internal Process Review (IPR) but the DWP refuses to release the results of these IPRs. We know that at least one took place between the 1st January 2022 to 31st March 2022 and that there were 100s of deaths of Paying Parents in the same period. So we requested under the Freedom of Information Act the release of the 1 case they informed us of and they have refused as they have obstructed EVERY FOI REQUEST TO DATE. The DWP has had YEARS TO PUBLISH THIS INFORMATION so we are calling on the Government to Inquire into the the findings of each and every IPR to establish what actions, policies and procedures contributed to the Paying Parents taking their own lives.
SEE THE DWP’S DELAY TACTICS BELOW. ALL THE TIME MORE PEOPLE ARE STRESSED, HARMED, HARM OTHERS AND NO DOUBT CONTINUE TO CONSIDER OR CARRY OUT SUICIDE!
“DWP Response
In response to your internal review request, we can confirm that the handling of your original request and response has now been appropriately reviewed by someone unconnected with the handling of your original request.
As a result of this review, we are satisfied that the original FoI response was handled properly, and that the outcome of your request was correct. Your complaint is, therefore, not upheld and the reason for this is as follows:
The requested recorded information for the period 1 January 2022 to 31 March 2022 is exempt under Section 22(1) of the Freedom of Information Act, as it is intended to be included in a future publication.
As required by the FoI Act, the use of this qualified exemption requires the public interest for and against disclosure to be assessed.
We have considered each of the arguments you have put forward in your request for an internal review and acknowledge that there is a public interest in the details of Internal Process Reviews (IPRs) and of any customer characteristics that may relate, albeit indirectly, to them. By releasing the recorded information, transparency as to the types of cases investigated by IPRs could be increased.
However, when considering arguments against disclosure, there is clearly a strong public interest in allowing the DWP, to publish information in a format and at a time that presents the greatest opportunity for the public to receive the information in the context in which it was recorded. Furthermore, as documents created for an internal DWP audience, they contain information and acronyms not easily understood by a public audience, without a framework built around the contents.
It is a part of the effective conduct of public affairs that the general publication of information is a conveniently planned and managed activity within the reasonable control of public authorities.
On balance DWP is satisfied that in this instance the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosure. Therefore, the information you seek on outcomes for internal investigations initiated following notification of suicide cases, for the period 1 January 2022 to 31 March 2022, will not be released at this time.”
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