Correspondence regarding a PPP weekly message

You asked

An e-mail chain was started on 13 July 2020 when a Director signed off an e-mail with the phrase "black lives matter".

Please release all e-mails involved in the matter.

I would also like to know what, if any, disciplinary action ONS is, or intends to, take against those involved.

We said

Thank you for your request.

The Deputy National Statistician Iain Bell engages with his Division in various ways, including a weekly email message to all staff members within his Division.

This personal message reflects on events that occurred over the past week and looks forward to the next. The message includes matters concerning the office and personal events that Iain would like to share. It can also contain honourable mentions of staff achievements within the office.

On 8 June 2020 one such email was issued, in which Iain expressed his thoughts on the recent events in America and the following anti-racism protests worldwide and Iain invited staff to join a discussion about these issues. This took place on 26 June 2020 and was an informal discussion with individuals offering personal accounts and experiences of discrimination throughout their lives.

On 13 July 2020, an email was circulated by a staff member that openly copied in all Population and Public Policy Division staff, challenging the content of the original email. Both this email (named '5 proposals') and the original email are provided in the PDF named 'Doc.1_Original_email_and_5_Proposals_Response_Redacted'.

This provoked a small number of "reply all" emails. These have been provided in the attachment, named 'Doc.2_Responses_to_5_Proposals_Redacted.pdf'.

The final PDF provided, named 'Doc.3_Weekly_message_13_July_2020_Aftermath_Redacted.pdf', is Iain's subsequent weekly message, which was sent to all involved in the 'reply all' email chain.

Any views or opinions expressed in the replies to Iain's email are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of ONS.

Some information in scope of the request has been withheld under s.40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) as it constitutes personal data. All emails that were not a part of the 'reply all' and were sent on an individual basis are being withheld under s.41 of FOIA as these were sent with an expectation of confidence. This is an absolute exemption and so public interest arguments do not need to be considered.

In response to your request 'I would also like to know what, if any, disciplinary action ONS is, or intends to, take against those involved'. Under the exemption for personal data in s.40(2) of the FOIA, ONS can neither confirm nor deny whether such information is held.

To help you better understand our position on these matters we thought it would be helpful to let you know that following this incident ONS has embarked on reviewing mailing list policies and the following statement has been issued.

'The ONS has a duty to reflect the society it serves, and we are working with BAME colleagues to make sure we're offering everyone a fair and inclusive workplace. Impartiality and independence are fundamental principles of the ONS and, in line with the Civil Service Code, we do not support any political or campaigning organisations'.