There is an e-mail link between individual IHT caseworkers and
individual VOA (
IHTM23002) caseworkers.
As a result most routine communication to, or from, the VOA
will be by e-mail or telephone. However, because of the
difficulties with attachments, the initial request on forms VOA 1
and VOA 2 (
IHTM23041) and some final responses
still need to be by paper. Other communications such as reminders
(IHTM23100) and interim reports (IHTM23080) should be by e-mail.
E-mail exchange offers significant time savings, better
communication all round and improved customer service over paper
communication.
The e-mail systems used in IHT and the VOA are not identical
but are compatible. However, because the VOA system is not the same
as ours, there are certain facilities that are not available. For
example, you do not have the option of tracking sent messages or
telling when a message has been read.
The usual rules regarding use of an e-mail facility will
apply. Some general background (
IHTM02221) about these rules can be
found in the Communications (
IHTM02000) section of this manual. But,
please note that the VOA telephone list is accessible in both the
Public Drive and the Intranet (
IHTM23113)
This section concentrates on communication with the VOA by
e-mail. General instructions on communication by telephone (
IHTM02191) can be found in the
Communications section of this manual.
Most communications sent to the VOA, apart from the initial
referral, should either be a direct e-mail message or a brief
covering note and an attachment (commonly form VOA 4 (
IHTM23115)).
(This text has been withheld because of exemptions in the
Freedom of Information Act 2000)
