05 April 2011
Freedom of Information Unit 2nd Floor Royal Mail Sheffield Pond Street SHEFFIELD S98 6HR
Mr Christopher Daniel 55 Tufton Street LONDON SW1P 3QL
foi@royalmail.com www.royalmail.com
Dear Mr Daniel, RE: Freedom of Information Request Our Reference: KFEN-8ESKXQ I am writing in response to your recent request for information received 9 March 2011 which has been considered under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. You requested the following information:
1. The number of Full Time Equivalent (FTE) employees classified as surplus in the financial years 2004-05; 2005-06; 2006-07; 2007-08; 2008-09; 2009-10; 2010-11 to date; or as many of those years as possible. 2. A list of all employees who have been classified as surplus for six months or during 2004-05 to present period; with the number of months they have been classified and their pay grade. 3. If available, please provide any internal guidance relating to the surplus staff scheme. I can confirm Royal Mail does hold some information which falls within scope of points one and two of your request however we believe this information to be exempt from disclosure under section 43(2) of the Act – Commercial Interests. The information, if released is likely to be misconstrued. The disclosure of this information would therefore place Royal Mail at a disadvantage to competitors who are not required to publish or disclose comparable information about their own workforces. In light of this we believe that the information, if disclosed, would be likely to prejudice the commercial interests of Royal Mail.
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Cont… Section 43(2) is subject to the ‘public interest test’ under the Act. We recognise that there is public interest in the performance of Royal Mail and the provision of a universal postal service. However, the information in question would not inform the public of performance in this respect and more meaning information is already published under the terms of Royal Mail’s licence about the performance of regulated services. Furthermore, because Royal Mail Group is a publically owned company, there is real and direct public interest in its commercial performance and ability to operate on a level playing field with competitors in the communications market. Therefore in our view the overriding public interest lies in maintaining this exemption and withholding the information. Finally in response to point three of your request, the policies surrounding managing the surplus framework for managerial and administration/operation grades have been attached as Annex 1 to this letter. I hope the information that has been provided is useful to you. If for any reason you are not satisfied with this response, you do have the right to request a review. If you wish to do so please set out in writing your grounds of appeal and send to the Head of Information Compliance, Royal Mail Group, Company Secretary's Office, 100 Victoria Embankment, LONDON, EC4Y 0HQ. An internal panel will then review the request, and you will be advised of the outcome If, having requested an internal review by Royal Mail, you are still not satisfied with our response you also have a right of appeal to the Information Commissioner at: Information Commissioner’s Office Wycliffe House Water Lane WILMSLOW SK9 5AF www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk Yours sincerely
Kate Fearn Freedom of Information Support Officer Freedom of Information Unit Enc: Managing the Surplus Framework Policy Managing the Surplus Framework Policy CWU Grades
Royal Mail Group Ltd is registered in England and Wales. Registered number 4138203. Registered office: 100 Victoria Embankment, London, EC4Y 0HQ. © Royal Mail Group Ltd 2011– Page 2 of 2