14 Cavendish Close

Saltford

BS31 3LH

3^rd July 2009

Dear Mr John MEng MBCS,

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION UNDER THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000

FOI266189 - EUROPEAN COMMISSION; FIRST STAGE OF INFRINGEMENT PROCEEDINGS

I refer to your request on 13 June under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 for information relating to the first stage of infringement proceedings regarding Phorm/ 121 Media.
The Cabinet Office has now completed its search for the information you requested and the response to your request is set out below.

Your questions are repeated in italics with the response following each question.

I can confirm that a response was sent to the European Commission on 15 June.

The Home Office was responsible for submitting the response, although there was also some input from other government departments.

The response is subject to exemptions in the Freedom of Information Act. These exemptions are sections 27 and 35. These exemptions are not absolute and a public interest test must be applied to consider where the balance lies between dislosing or witholding the information. After having applied the public interest test, I consider that the public interest in witholding the information outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

Following a paper and electronic search for this information, I can inform you that there is no information held between the Cabinet Office and the European Commission concerning this matter.

Following a paper and electronic search for this information I have identified a few documents which fall within your request. These documents are subject to exemptions in sections 27 and 35 of the Freedom of Information Act. As abovementioned, these exemptions are not absolute and the public interest test must therefore be applied. Having applied the public interest test, I consider that the balance lies in favour of witholding the information. This is because relations with the European Institutions are likely to be prejudiced and the formulation of government policy would be adversely affected by releasing this information at this stage of the infractions proceedings.

If you have any queries about this letter, please contact me. Please remember to quote the reference number above in any future communications.

If you are unhappy with the service you have received in relation to your request or wish to request an internal review, you should write to:

Sue Gray

Director

Cabinet Office

70 Whitehall

London

SW1A 2AS

email: [Cabinet Office request email] 

You should note that the Cabinet Office will not normally accept an application for internal review if it is received more than two months after the date that the reply was issued.

If you are not content with the outcome of your internal review, you may apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision. Generally, the Commissioner cannot make a decision unless you have exhausted the complaints procedure provided by Cabinet Office. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:

The Information Commissioner's Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

Yours sincerely,

Rachel Clark