Mike here presents his account of the case he presented to the Information Tribunal against the claim of the DWP and the Information Commissioner that his FOIA request was ‘vexatious’. He refutes their allegations. Neither the Information Commissioner nor the DWP turned up at the tribunal. In certain courts, if the opposing party does not turn up, then the case is awarded to the person who has. You hope the same principle will apply here, with the non-appearance of the Information Commissioner and the DWP tacit admission by them that they were wrong. However, this is Britain in the 21st Century, and so it cannot be taken for granted. We hope, however, that this will be the case, and that Mike or Samuel Miller, who originally requested the information, will receive it before too long.
Seen to be done: The tribunal took place at the Law Courts in Cardiff (pictured), in public – which allowed friends of Vox Political to hear the case.
The Information Commissioner’s Office and the Department for Work and Pensions have highlighted the weakness of their own case for hiding the number of people who have died while claiming sickness and disability benefits – by failing to turn up at a tribunal on the subject.
They had the opportunity to explain why mortality statistics for people claiming Employment and Support Allowance since November 2011 have been suppressed, at a tribunal in the Law Courts, Cardiff, yesterday (April 23).
But, rather than be grilled on the reasons for their decision by a judge, a specialist in this area of law, and a ‘lay’ person (representing the opinions of right-thinking members of the public), they chose to stay away.
The tribunal had been…
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