Information Access Team
Information Management Service
Room No: Ground Floor, Seacole Building, 2 Marsham Street, London, SW1P 4DF
Switchboard 020 7035 4848
E-mail [email address] www.homeoffice.gov.uk
Mr Stephen Doman
Our Ref 12192
request-13394-
Your Ref
[email address]
Date
18 December 2009
Dear Mr Doman
I am writing further to my earlier correspondence regarding your information
request dated 16 June 2009.
In your request for information you asked the Home Office to list which U.K.
Government or U.K. Government Agencies Databases, e.g. Driving Standards
Agency database, are held under 'Safe Harbor' provisions in the U.S.A.
Additionally you asked what access the U.S.A. Federal and State authorities
have to these databases and how they may lawfully obtain access?
I would like to begin by apologising for the length of time it has taken to complete
this response to your Freedom of Information request. This time was required to
consider what information was held and whether any exemptions applied; and to
compile an answer in response to your request. Whilst we do endeavour to
respond to requests for information within 20 working days, unfortunately it was
not possible in this case. In my earlier letters, I explained that we were
considering the public interest test in relation to the exemption contained within
section 31(1)(a) and 31(1)(e) of the FOI Act. After careful consideration we have
decided that it is not necessary to rely on these provisions, and that we can
answer your questions as far as we are able to.
The Home Office group comprises four constituent parts – Home Office
Headquarters (HO HQ), the United Kingdom Border Agency (UKBA), the Identity
and Passport Service (IPS) and the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB). We are
only able to provide an answer in respect of Home Office Group databases. We
do not hold information about Non Departmental Public Bodies or other
organisations’ databases. You would need to approach other Departments
directly in relation to their own databases.
We have no record of any databases belonging to the Home Office or its
agencies being held under ‘Safe Harbor‘ provisions in the U.S.A. Although the
WORKING TOGETHER TO PROTECT THE PUBLIC
Home Office and its agencies may share information with the U.S.A State or
Federal authorities, when necessary for legitimate purposes, the U.S.A Federal
and State authorities do not hold any Home Office databases under ‘Safe Harbor’
agreements.
Furthermore in answer to your question about how the U.S.A Federal and State
authorities may lawfully obtain access to UK Government databases I can inform
you that any request for access to information within a Home Office database
would be considered on its own merits. Information would only be provided
where strictly necessary, and where it can be shared in compliance with the Data
Protection Act and other relevant legal obligations.
If you have any queries about this response please do not hesitate to contact me.
Should you be dissatisfied with this response, details of our complaints process
can be found in Annex A to this letter.
Yours sincerely
Martin Riddle
Information Access Caseworker
WORKING TOGETHER TO PROTECT THE PUBLIC
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ANNEX A
If you are dissatisfied with this response you may request an independent
internal review of our handling of your request by submitting your complaint
within two months to the below address quoting reference 12192
:
Information Access Team
Information Management Service
Home Office
Ground Floor, Seacole Building
2 Marsham Street
London
SW1P 4DF
Email: [email address]
During the independent review the department’s handling of your information
request wil be reassessed by staff who were not involved in providing you with
this response. Should you remain dissatisfied after this internal review, you wil
have a right of complaint to the Information Commissioner as established by
section 50 of the Freedom of Information Act.
WORKING TOGETHER TO PROTECT THE PUBLIC
