Our ref: 1862

Wednesday, 22 July 2009

Dear Mr Dodsworth

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000 REQUEST

I refer to your email dated 26 June 2009, in which you requested a report by Guy Sharrock in relation to your case.

The Freedom of Information Act is a public disclosure regime for non personal information, the Act is not a private regime, information disclosed under it is thereafter deemed to be in the public domain, and therefore freely available to the general public upon request.

Section 1 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 creates a statutory right of access to recorded information held by public authorities i.e. the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). This right is to be informed whether the information requested is held by the public authority or not, and if the information exists, for it to be communicated. A public authority must reply to such a request promptly and in any event, not later than twenty working days after receipt.

The individual's right to information is not unqualified and subject to a number of exceptions and exemptions that are contained within the Act. The majority of these exemptions are qualified, that is to say the decision whether to confirm or deny the information's existence or to disclose the requested material, will be subject to a public interest.

I can confirm the CPS does hold the requested information; however we consider the information is exempt from disclosure by virtue of sections 30, 40(1) and 40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act. Please see the attached refusal notice issued under section 17 of the Act.

As I explained in my previous correspondence to you, the Freedom of Information Act is not the appropriate access regime for case file material. If you have concerns or queries regarding the disclosure of material under the provisions of the Criminal Proceedings Investigations Act 1996, you will need to address these to the CPS Area handling your case or seek independent legal advice.

If you are unhappy with the level of service you have received in relation to your request from the Crown Prosecution Service you may ask for an internal review. You should contact the Freedom of Information Unit (Appeals), 50 Ludgate Hill, London, EC4M 7EX, if you wish to ask for a review.

If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:

Information Commissioner's Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

Yours sincerely

Ms Kadir

Information Management Unit

Information Management Unit

Business Information Systems Directorate

50 Ludgate Hill

London

EC4M 7EX

T. 020 796 8000

F. 0207 796 8439

FOIUnit@cps.gsi.gov.uk

www.cps.gov.uk