Dear Mr Main

Freedom of Information Request

Thank you for your e-mail of 5 June in which you requested copies of all correspondence concerning Phorm/121media between the Ministry of Justice and the Home Office between 1 January 2006 and 5 June 2009.

We do hold some relevant information but it is exempt under Section 35 of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). This section of the Act relates to information about the formulation of government policy and is a qualified exemption which means that the public interest in favour of both releasing and withholding the information must be carefully considered.

Although public authorities are required to respond to requests under FOIA within 20 working days following receipt of the request, the Act allows public authorities to extend this time limit when the public interest for and against releasing the information needs to be weighed up (this permission to extend the time limit is in section 10(3) of the Act).

I have not yet reached a decision on the balance of the public interest in this case. As I need some more time to fully consider where the balance of the public interest lies in relation to the information you have requested, I am sorry that I will not be able to respond to your request in full within 20 working days.

I hope to let you have a full response by 24 July. If it is likely that I will not be able to respond by this date, I will write to you again.

As part of our obligations under the FOIA, the Ministry of Justice has an independent review process. If you are dissatisfied with our 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 months of the date of this letter, at the following address:

Data Access and Compliance Unit

Information Directorate

Ministry of Justice

1^st Floor, 6.23

102 Petty France

London

SW1H 9AJ

e-mail: [email address]

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

Miss K Goburdhun