Senior Policy Adviser
Elections and Democracy
5.19, 102 Petty France
London
SW1H 9AJ
T 020 3334 3823
F 020 3334 3749
E
www.justice.gov.uk
K Hodgkinson
Our Ref: 62408 / 29 December 2009
Dear Mr Hodgkinson,
Freedom of Information request
Thank you for your Freedom of Information request dated 27 November 2009 in which you asked to see copies of any internal briefings or policy papers the Ministry of Justice has held or prepared concerning the supply of the electoral register to the Audit Commission for use in data matching exercises under the new powers inserted into the Audit Commission Act, including those prepared before the powers became law.
I can confirm that the department holds information covered by your request. However, we consider it is subject to the following exemptions in the Freedom of Information Act:
· Section 35 Formulation of government policy.
· Section 42 Legal Professional Privilege
These exemptions are qualified, and therefore subject to the operation of a public interest test. By virtue of section 10(3), when public authorities have to consider the balance of the public interest in relation to a request, they do not have to comply with the request until such time as is reasonable in the circumstances. Due to the need to consider, in all the circumstances of the case, where the balance of the public interest lies in relation to the information covered by your request, we are unable to provide you with a substantive response at this time. I consider that it will take an additional 10 working days in order to reach a decision on where the balance of the public interest lies. Therefore, we plan to let you have a response by 15 January 2010.
As part of our obligations under the FOIA, the MoJ has an independent review process. If you are dissatisfied with this decision, you can write to request an internal review. The internal review will be carried out by someone who did not make the original decision, and they will re-assess how the Department handled the original request. If the original decision was erroneous, a new decision can be substituted in its place.
If you wish to request an internal review, please write or send an email to the Data Access and Compliance Unit within two calendar months of the date of this letter, at the following address:
Data Access and Compliance Unit
Information Directorate
Ministry of Justice
6th Floor, 6.23
102 Petty France
London
SW1H 9AJ
E-mail:
If you remain dissatisfied after an internal review decision, you have the right to apply to the Information Commissioner’s Office under Section 50 of the FOIA. You can contact the Information Commissioner’s Office at the following address:
Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Internet: https://www.ico.gov.uk/Global/contact_us.aspx
Yours sincerely,
Jason Smithwick