Mr James Snowdome

Email: [FOI #1107 email]

Our reference: FOICR 10140/08

15 September 2008

Dear Mr Snowdome

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST

I am sorry that you have not had an earlier reply to your email of 17 July in which you ask for copies of all correspondence between the Identity and Passport Service (IPS) and the operators of the MyLifeMyID website. You have specified that your request includes any contracts, suite design specifications, advice to moderators, and posts to include in the discussion pages. Your email was re directed onto us but unfortunately was not correctly actioned.

Correspondence

Under section 12 of the Freedom of Information Act, IPS is not obliged to comply with any information request where the prescribed costs of supplying you with the information exceed £600. The £600 limit applies to all central government departments and is based on work being carried out at a rate of £25 per hour, which equates to 3½ days work per request. Prescribed costs include those which cover the cost of locating and retrieving information, and preparing our response to you. They do not include considering whether any information is exempt from disclosure, overheads such as heating or lighting, or disbursements such as photocopying or postage.

We hold the information in which you are interested, but have estimated that the cost of answering your request would exceed the £600 limit and we are therefore unable to comply with it. Although your request would at present be too costly to answer, if you refine it so that it falls under the cost limit we will consider it further. You may wish to refine it by either a date, subject or combination of both.

Contract

We believe that the information that you have asked for is already reasonably accessible to you. It can be accessed by logging onto our website at http://www.ips.gov.uk/identity/publications-research.asp

Section 21 of the Freedom of Information Act exempts IPS from complying with the duty to supply you with this information on the grounds that it is already in the public domain. Should you have difficulties in accessing this information by the means listed above please do not hesitate to contact me again.

Site Design Specification

Advice to moderators

Posts included in discussion pages

The information on site design specification, advice to moderators and posts included in discussion pages are not held by us.

If you are dissatisfied with this response you may request an independent internal review of our decision by submitting your complaint to the below address quoting reference: FOICR 10093/08.

Information Rights Team

Information and Record Management Service

Home Office

4^th Floor

2 Marsham Street

London

SW1P 4DF

During the independent review the department's handling of your information request will be reassessed by staff who were not involved in providing you with this response.

Should you remain dissatisfied after this internal review, you will have a right of complaint to the Information Commissioner as established by section 50 of the Freedom of Information Act.

Yours faithfully,

On behalf of James Hall, Chief Executive

Identity and Passport Service

Passport Adviceline: 0300 222 0000 (24 hours a day, seven days a week).

Email us at [email address]. Visit our website at www.ips.gov.uk.

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Headquarters

Parliamentary & Correspondence Management Team

8^th Floor, Globe House

89 Eccleston Square

London

SW1V 1PN

Tel (0300) 222 0000

Fax (0870) 336 9175

Email [email address]

Web www.ips.gov.uk