Information Access Team

Information Management Service

Room No: 4th Floor, Seacole Building, 2 Marsham Street, London, SW1P 4DF

Switchboard 020 7035 4848

E-mail [email address] www.homeoffice.gov.uk

Our Ref 12192

Your Ref

Date 15 July 2009

Dear Mr Doman

I am writing further to my correspondence dated 18 June 2009 concerning your request for information.

We are considering your information request. Although the Freedom of Information Act carries a presumption in favour of disclosure, it provides exemptions which may be used to withhold information in specified circumstances. Some of these exemptions are subject to a public interest test. These exemptions are known as qualified exemptions. The public interest test is used to balance the public interest in disclosure against the public interest in favour of withholding the information under qualified exemptions. Section 10(3) of the Act allows us to exceed the 20 working day response target where reasonably necessary to consider the public interest test fully. This is subject to us telling applicants when we expect to conclude our deliberations and provide a full response.

The information requested must be considered under the exemption[s] contained within section[s] 31 (1)(a) and 31(1) (e) of the Act. These are qualified exemptions relating to the prevention and detection of crime, and the operation of immigration controls. In order to consider the public interest test fully we need to extend the 20 working day response period, and now aim to respond by 7^th August 2009.

Yours sincerely

Martin Riddle

Information Access Consultant

1

WORKING TOGETHER TO PROTECT THE PUBLIC

Mr Stephen Doman

[FOI #13394 email]