Our ref: FOI/59896/09

Dear Ms Veronica,

Freedom of Information Act Request

I refer to your email of 7 June 2009 requesting the following information:

“According to the Credit Reference Agency Dunn and Bradstreet, yourorganisation has a County Court Judgement registered against it, dated the 16th December 2008.

Can you please tell me:

1. For what reason was this judgement issued? 2. Who is the

complainant in this matter? 3. What is the case number and where

the judgement was issued from? 4. What subsequent action has

been taken, if any”.

I apologise for the delay in responding to your request.

I should explain that if the Department was to hold the information in relation to your request it would certainly be contained in the court records. Information contained in court records is exempt from disclosure under Section 32 of the Freedom of Information Act (Court Records). Section 32 is an absolute exemption and is not qualified by reference to the balance of the public interest in disclosure and non-disclosure. Furthermore, there is no duty to confirm or deny, whether the Department holds the information requested within a court record.

However, you may wish to be aware that information on county court judgments can be obtained from the Registry Trust Limited.

The Trust is an independent organisation established by the Lord Chancellor's Department (now Ministry of Justice) to maintain the information. They hold information on county court money judgments, administration orders; and covers High Court money judgments after April 6^th 2006, and fines registered by Local Justice Centres.

All the information in the registries is public information and anybody may have access. A search of the Register can be completed upon payment of the stipulated search fee on line at: http://www.registry-trust.org.uk.

If you are unhappy with the result of your request for information, you may request an internal review within two calendar months of the date of this letter by writing to Data Access & Compliance Unit, Information Directorate, Ministry of Justice,6^th Floor - Zone B, 102 Petty France, London SW1H 9AJ

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

Data Access & Compliance Unit

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