Dear P Foomer,

RE: Freedom of Information Request

Thank you for your emails of the 17^th of August in which you asked for information related to data sharing from the Ministry of Justice (MoJ).

Your request has been handled under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA).

I am sorry to inform you that from my preliminary assessment of your request, it is clear that I will not be able to answer your request. In order to provide you with the information on the scale that you have requested would require a significant amount of time to retrieve.

Section 12 of the FOIA makes provision for public authorities to refuse requests for information where the cost of dealing with them would exceed the appropriate limit, which for central government is set at £600. This represents the estimated cost of one person spending 3.5 working days in determining whether the Department holds the information, locating, retrieving and extracting the information.

As your request is widely framed and the large amount of communications between government departments I estimate that it will take us in excess of 3.5 working days to determine appropriate material within the scope of your request, and locate, retrieve and extract that information.

I have included some background with regards this subject for your reference.

The Government takes data protection seriously. Data protection safeguards are enshrined in the DPA and organisations are required to comply when processing personal data. Following the publication of the Data Handling Review by the Cabinet Office and the Data Sharing Review by Richard Thomas and Dr Mark Walport, Government is implementing the key recommendations of these reviews to improve data management.

There is an appropriate balance that must be struck between the requirement to share data and the understanding that failure to share data also carries risks to vulnerable groups and individuals.

The sharing of personal data between Government departments in a secure and appropriate manner is essential to protect the public and to deliver public services. The ability of Government to share data performs a crucial role in, among other things, protecting children and other vulnerable groups and individuals; protects individuals against crime and disorder; and improves health and education provision.

The ability of Government to share data between departments is essential in providing and improving customer-focussed public service delivery and also ensures individuals get the services they require.

As part of our obligations under the FOIA, the Ministry of Justice has an independent review process. If you are dissatisfied with this decision, you may 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 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, Zone 1C

Post point 1.41

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

John Walker

Information Directorate

Data Access & Compliance Unit

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