Foreign &
 
Commonwealth
 
Office
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Foreign &
 
Commonwealth
 
Office
12 August 2009 
 
The Information Rights Team 
 
Information Management Group 
 
Old Admiralty Building 
Mr Alun Williams 
Room SG120 
 
London SW1 2PA 
mailto:[FOI #14603 email] 
Tel: 0207 008 0123 
 
Fax:  0207 008 1114 
  
E-mail: [email address]  
 
 
 
Dear Mr Williams, 
 
Your Freedom Of Information Request: 0549-09 
 
Thank you for your request for information which we received on 13 July 2009. In your 
request you asked for: 
 
‘’Documents (Meeting minutes, email discussion and memorandums) by officials discussing 
the Welsh Language Act 1993, and the decision not to comply with the law’ . 
 
I can confirm the Foreign and Commonwealth Office does hold information relevant to your 
request.  As the FCO does not have a central department assigned to cover relations with 
the Welsh Office/ Welsh National Assembly this has made it particularly difficult to locate 
information held.  However, we have located some information from 1995 and will need to 
complete our assessment before we can conclude whether or not the information can be 
released. 
 
The FOI Act obliges us to respond to requests promptly, and in any case no later than 20 
working days after receiving your request. However, when a qualified exemption applies to 
the information and the public interest test is engaged, the Act allows the time for response 
to be longer than 20 working days, and a full response must be provided within such time as 
is reasonable in all circumstances of the case. We do, of course, aim to make all decisions 
within 20 working days, including in cases where we need to consider where the public 
interest lies in respect of a request for exempt information. In this case, however, we have 
not yet reached a decision on where the balance of the public interest lies. 
 
In your case we estimate that it will take an additional 20 days to take a decision on where 
the balance of the public interest lies Therefore, we plan to let you have a response by 
8 September 2009. If it appears that it will take longer than this to reach a conclusion, we will 
keep you informed. 
 
 
 
 
 
    
 
 
 
 

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The specific exemption which applies in relation to your request is: Section 28 Relations 
within the United Kingdom and Section 42 Legal Professional Privilege. 
 
If you are unhappy with the service you have received in relation to your request and wish to 
make a complaint or request an review of our decision, you should write to The Information 
Rights Team. Please note any request for an internal review must be submitted within 40 
working days from the date our response was issued. 
 
If you are not content with the outcome your complaint, you may apply directly to the 
Information Commissioner for a decision. Generally, the ICO cannot make a decision unless 
you have exhausted the complaints procedure provided by The Foreign and Commonwealth 
Office. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: The Information Commissioner’s 
Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF. 
 
Please contact me if you have any queries about this letter. 
 
Yours sincerely, 
 
 
 
On behalf of  
The Information Rights Team 
Information Management Group 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
    
 
 
 
 

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