I refer to your request etc

 

 Under section 8 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, a request for information must comply with three requirements.  It must:

(a) be in writing,

(b) state the name of the applicant and an address for correspondence, and

(c) describes the information requested.

 

After initial consideration, this request appears to comply with requirements (a) and (c) but it does not comply with requirement (b) because you do not provide an address for correspondence. We are entitled to this even if the request is made by e-mail and you ask us for a reply by e-mail, and we are able to comply.

 

Under section 14 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 we are not obliged to comply with a request for information if the request is vexatious, and where we have previously complied with a request for information which was made by any person, we are not obliged to comply with a subsequent identical or substantially similar request from that person unless a reasonable interval has elapsed between compliance with the previous request and the making of the current request.  The Information Commissioner has advised that a request may be regarded as vexatious if it:

• clearly does not have any serious purpose or value;

• is designed to cause disruption or annoyance;

• has the effect of harassing the public authority; or

• can otherwise fairly be characterised as obsessive or manifestly

  unreasonable.

 

Unless we knew your real name and real address it would be more difficult for us to determine whether your request was vexatious or repeated. For instance, unless you are a professional journalist or researcher, your request would be less likely to have any serious purpose or value if you do not live in this District.

 

At the bottom of your e-mail you say that any reply will be published on the Internet. With reference to that, would you please note that the Act does not require us to consent to such publication and therefore, when you have supplied your address for correspondence, any response would be personal to yourself and no consent to publish it, for instance on a web site, is given. Any application for consent to re-use information will be considered under the Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations 2005, but if consent is given a charge may be made to you.  Please feel free, however, to display this response on your website.

 

Since the coming into force of the Act we have processed over 400 separate direct requests from people who wrote letters, sent  e-mails (with their name and address) to xxx@xxxxxx.xxx.xx or used our website.  In the majority of these cases we have been able to supply the information requested within the statutory time limit.  We take seriously our obligation to provide advice and assistance to people who make genuine requests for information. If your request is not vexatious or repeated, then I would invite you to make your request to us direct, complying with section 8 of the Act. I assure you that having regard to the Data Protection Act 1998 we do not divulge the names or addresses of people who make requests for information.     

 

Usual ending