David Higgins, Esq

Chief Executive

English Partnerships

110 Buckingham Palace Road

London. SW1W 9SA

Yvette Cooper MP

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State

Office of the Deputy Prime Minister

26 Whitehall, London SW1A 2WH

Tel: 020 7944 3083 Fax: 020 7944 4538

E-Mail:

__January 2005

Freedom of Information Act 2000: Authorisation of 'Qualified Persons' for the Purposes of Section 36

As you have recently been made aware Section 36(2) of the Freedom of Information Act relates to information which is exempt information if, in the reasonable opinion of a qualified person, disclosure under the Act would, or would be likely to, prejudice the maintenance of the convention of the collective responsibility of Ministers of the Crown, or inhibit the free and frank provision of advice, or the free and frank exchange of views for the purposes of deliberation or would otherwise prejudice, or would be likely otherwise to prejudice, the effective conduct of public affairs.

The exemption will only apply if the reasonable opinion of a qualified person is that any of the above effects would or would be likely to follow from a disclosure. The qualified person for each public authority falling with section 36(5)(o) of the Act must be authorised by a Minister of the Crown. There are currently no specifically authorised qualified persons in those public bodies of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister that fall within section 36(5)(o) of the Act (ie those bodies that do not fall within any of sub-sections 36(5)(a) to (n) of the Act, for which the Act defines authorised persons). It is thus essential to ensure that such persons are designated as early as possible in 2005.

Under s. 36(5)(o)(iii) I am permitted, as a Minister of the Crown, to authorise any officer or employee of the public authority, where such authorisation may relate either to a specified person or to person or persons falling within a particular class. You as Chief Executive are hereby authorised to assume the role of "qualified person" for the purposes of section 36 of the Freedom of Information Act for all matters with the exception of those relating to the GreenwichPeninsula as from the date of receipt of this letter. The Director (Financial & Commercial) will be the authorised person in relation to matters relating to GreenwichPeninsula projects, and only in respect of those projects. He is being notified by separate letter.

I must make it clear to you that the qualified person may not delegate the power to apply the exemption under s.36, except in the case of those public bodies for which a dual authorisation has been made by a Minister of the Crown.

Yours sincerely

YVETTE COOPER