OPEN LETTER TO

This is an open letter to Gregg McClymont MP (Cumbernauld Kilsyth & Kirkintilloch East) Stephen McConnachie Jobcentre plus area manager Lanarkshire and East Dunbartonshire and Darra Singh Director Jobcentre Plus

None of you inspire me with confidence first Gregg McClymont MP for an MP you along with  Stephen McConnachie and Darra Singh have all been missing the main point of my complaint is that I HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH MAKING ANY MALICIOUS PHONE CALL TO THE DWP BENEFIT FRAUD LINE LAST YEAR

What I nam after is answers is for the DWP to confirm if my name and address was used in a phone call
to the DWP BENEFIT FRAUD LINE last year

This should be a simple task the answer should be yes or no is there a recording of this phone call the
answer should be yes or no

Was Paul Smith asked along to his local job centre to be interviewed  yes or no and if the answers to these
three questions are yes then Paul Smith 2M0DXR licensed Radio Amateur was at some stage of the
interview was left alone in the interview room by the person conducting it

With the complaint report left in the desk right before his very eyes for him to scan it to obtain my name and address from it so as he can go around boasting  on amateur radio what a smart little boy he was to find
out who the name and address of the ALLEGED caller is

Just how many malicious phone calls in a year does the DWP FRAUD LINE get where other peoples names and addresses are used and then some clerk  who feels sorry for the person who has had to come along to be interviewed through a crank phone the person is given the oppertunity to find out who made it and the poor person

Who has been the victim of a malicious phone call where there name and address is used is now being persecuted for no good reason for something that i have not done

The DWP are scared to own up about how many malicios phone calls are made to the benefit fraudline that they would rather hide behind the Data Protection Act so as they avoid running the risk of being prosecuted
for a breach of the data protection laws  thus allowing any person who makes a malicious phone call to the
benefit fraud line immunity from prosection

I think Gregg McClymont MP  Stephen McConnachie and Darra Singh the director jobcentr plus you will find that this matter will not go away until I get the information I want and that the three of you to start to
accept the fact that I HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH MAKING ANY MALICIOUS PHONE CALL
TO THE DWP FRAUD LINE

Colin Watson

colinwatson@amserve.com

THE JOBCENTRE PLUS DIRECTOR"S ANSWER

I followed the advice of Stephen McConnachie district manager for jobcentre plus lanarkshire and
dunbartonshire and e mailed Mr Darra Singh Director of Jobcentre plus 10 March 2011.

Wed 30 March 2011 I received a letter date 28 March 2011 from Isobel Stephen writting on behalf of
the chief executive her answer was less than encouraging

She said that she was sorry that I was dissatisfied with the answer from stephen mcconnachie sent to
gregg mcclymont mp regarding my concerns however having reviewed this response i regret there is little i can usefully add

I can confirm that we take our responsibilities under the DATA PROTECTION ACT  very seriously
and rigorously investigate any potential breaches  however we are also committed to reducing fraud and
error under the data protection laws

We must treat information confidentially therefore we are unable to comment on any specific details of allegations or their outcomes  we are unable to con firm if a speciffic call was made reporting fraud
however  i can assure you that any information given when reporting possible is treated with the strictest confidence

This information is held securely and only staff whose role requires the information to carry out their official
duties have access to it  we also have protocols in place to ensure we comply with the data protection laws
which includes not leaving documentation in unattended rooms with members of the public

I would like to reassure you that following receipt of your letter from your MP  we undertook a thorough
investigation of your allegations i can confirm that at no time have your details have been released by us
also audit trails of our computer systems indicate that access by staff has been supported by an appropriate business need

Isobel Stephen suggests that if i am still not  satisfied i can take this up with an independant case examiner
which i will do so


Colin Watson

Part 4 to follow

Complaint sent to Gregg McClymont MP

The afternoon 7 feb 2011  I sent a letter to Gregg McClymont MP setting out my complaint as set out
in the first blog(THE FACTS) Later in the week I received a letter from Mr McClymont MP dated
9 Feb 2011 informing me that he had written to Stephen McConnachie area manager for JOBCENTRE
PLUS for Lanarkshire and dunbartonshire

In early march I received a copy of a letter dated 2 March 2011 sent to Mr McClymont MP from Stephen McConnachie in his letter he stated  that we remain committed to reducing fraud and error in the benefits system  and all allegations are treated seriously ad amously or leave their own names and addressre carefully considered for investigation.

Members of the the public can report possible fraud cases and are able to choose whether to do so anonymously or leave there pesonal details.as i am sure you will  appreciate due to the data protection laws and the confidentially of  our customers information we are unable to comment on any potential cases or their outcomes

By the same token I can assure you that if a member of the public has given their own details when reporting a possible fraud case we also treat this information in the strictest confidence  this information is held securely and only staff  whose role requires the information to carry out  their official duties have access to it

We also have protocols in place to ensure that we comply with the data protection laws.which includes not leaving documentation unattended in rooms with members of the public

Mr McConnachie goes on to say that he hopes that this reassures me that we take our responsibilities
under the data protection act extremelly seriously if i feel that his answer fails to address the issues that I
have raised through Gregg McClymont MP i can take it further by  contacting Darra Singh Director of
Jobcentre plus

Colin Watson

Part Three  to follow

THE FACTS

I am of the opinion that there was a  breach of the DATA PROTECTION at a job centre in the Glasgow
area in early June 2010 which in my view that the DWP are not willing to admit has happened.

7 Feb 2011 After hearing a Paul Smith 2M0DXR a licenced radio amateur talking on a local amateur
repeater serving the Glasgow area on UHF GB3GL he was in coversation with a Dennis Barrett MM0DNX
Ray Foulds MM0MTO and a Willie Hattie GM4LYV the topic of the conversation was the falling standards
in amateur radio through the changes in the RAE

Paul Smith found this the perfect oppertunity to bring up the subject again about a malicious phone to the
DWP BENEFIT FRAUD LINE  in which my name and address was used and a malicious phone call that
I had no part in or any knowledge of I was suppose to have told the benefit fraud line that I heard Paul Smith
talking on amateur radio and telling another person that he was working will claiming state benefit

The first I became aware of this malicious phone call to the DWP FRAUD LINE was when I was listening
to GB3CS from memory  this was a wed morning and I was listening to the scanner while getting ready to
head out for a hospital appointment at the royal when Paul Smith appeared and openly boasted to another
radio amateur John Brown MM0GCF

Paul Smith openly boasted about his trip to the job centre to be interviewed  the person asked paul if he was
on amateur radio he said yes and Paul Smith has openly stated and boasted about it about how he was left
alone in a room by the person conducting the interview for a few minutes

Paul Smith claims that left before his very eyes was the complaint report on the desk which he was able to
scan and to obtain my name and address as being the alleged complainer which he has repeated a few
times

After repeating this story on Monday 7 Feb 2011 I went up to my local cab office to find out what I could
about this to put a stop to Mr  Smith being able to repeat these remarks I was informed by a gentleman
that this sounds as if there has been a breach of the DATA PROTECTION ACT and suggested that I
raise this matter with Gregg McClymont MP

Colin Watson