17^th July 2009

Dear Mr. Simpson

Request for Information - reference 3373

I wrote to you on 30^th June 2009 following your request for information. In your request you asked for:

1. All information held by the Welsh Assembly Government on the first British Armed Forces Day (June 27th 2009).

 2. What is it doing to promote Armed Forces Day which celebrates and honour those who have fought for our country and continue to fight for it today.

 3 Has any communication from the Ministry of Defence been received and what guidance is the Welsh Government giving to Welsh schools to celebrate this event?

I am enclosing the information which you requested.

As you are aware the Freedom of Information Act only provides you with a right of access to information and not documentation. In this instance I have provided you copies of all relevant correspondence.

As you are aware, it has taken us some time to provide this information; this was due to the need to ensure that we had caught and considered all the information we hold on Armed Forces Day. We also, as indicated in my correspondence of 30th June, had to consider this information against public tested exemptions, namely s35 (1)(a) “formulation of Government policy”, s29(1)(b) “Financial interests of any UK administration” and s36(2)(c) “effective conduct of public affairs”.

The outcome of these deliberations is we believe, for the information requested, the public interest in making this information available to the public outweighs any public interest in maintaining any of those exemptions.

Any information released under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 or Environmental Information Regulations 2004 will be listed in the Assembly Government's Disclosure Log (at www.information.wales.gov.uk).

If you believe that I have not followed the relevant laws, please contact me to request a first stage review. If, after that, you are still not satisfied you may request a second stage review by the Assembly Government. When dealing with any concerns, we will follow the Assembly Government's Code of Practice on Complaints, which is available on the Internet at www.wales.gov.uk or by post.

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner. Normally, however, you should pursue the matter through our internal procedure before you complain to the Information Commissioner. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:

Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Tel: 01625 545 745
Fax: 01625 524 510

Email: [email address]

Also, if you think that there has been maladministration in dealing with your request then you may make a complaint to the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales who can be contacted at:

Public Services Ombudsman for Wales
Ffordd yr Hen Gae
Pencoed
Bridgend
CF35 5LJ

Tel: 0845 601 0987

If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to get in touch with me: my contact details are below.

Yours sincerely

Paul Parker

Community, Primary Care and Health Service Policy Directorate

Department for Health and Social Services

Telephone: 02920 825404

e-mail: paul.parker@wales.gsi.gov.uk