Direct Communications Unit

2 Marsham Street, London SW1P 4DF

Switchboard 020 7035 4848 Fax: 020 7035 4745 Textphone: 020 7035 4742

E-mail: [Home Office request email] Website: www.homeoffice.gov.uk

Reference: T11995/9

Dear Mr Davey,

Thank you for your e-mail of 13/07/2009 in which you ask for disclosure of the names of communication service providers that have received notices under the Data Retention (EC Directive) Regulations 2009. I am writing further to my letter of 26 August to provide you with a final response. I am sorry for not meeting the 16 September date as indicated in that letter.

I can confirm the Home Office has issued Notices to several Communication Service Providers (CSPs) since the Regulations came into effect on 6 April this year.  You asked for further details, specifically for the names of the CSPs that have received the Notices and for the dates on which they were sent.

I am writing to confirm that the Home Office holds the information that you requested. However I am not obliged to disclose it to you. After careful consideration we have decided that this information is exempt from disclosure by virtue of Section 31 and Section 43 of the Freedom of Information Act. These provide that information can be withheld where disclosure would prejudice law enforcement operations and harm commercial interests respectively. The public interest in this instance falls in favour of non-disclosure.

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.

Information Rights Team
Information and Record Management Service
Home Office
4th Floor, Seacole Building
2 Marsham Street
London
SW1P 4DF

Email: [email address]

During the independent review the department's handling of your information request will be reassessed by staff who were not involved in providing you with this response. Should you remain dissatisfied after this internal review, you will have a right of complaint to the Information Commissioner as established by section 50 of the Freedom of Information Act.

I realise that you may be disappointed with this response. However we have considered the application of exemptions with great care in this case, and the Home Office always seeks to provide as much information as it is able to.

Yours sincerely

Andrew Taylor

Annex

Section 31 of the FOIA law enforcement interests

Section 31(1)a refers to the prevention or detection of crime. The European Directive on Data Retention was introduced for the prevention and detection of Serious Crime.

Section 31 of the FOIA provides for the protection for law enforcement interests; its application turns on whether disclosure would be likely to prejudice those interests. The law enforcement organisations have confirmed the release of this information is likely to reduce the utility of retained data and thereby reduce law enforcement's ability to prevent and detect crime.

Paragraphs within section 31 of particular relevance are;

Section 43 of the FOIA provides an exemption from disclosure of information where that information would harm commercial interests. It is possible that releasing this information might change consumer behaviour to the detriment of those companies that have been issued with Notices.

Section 43 provides an exemption from disclosure of information where that information would harm commercial interests.

Releasing the requested information would increase the transparency of how the Home Office has implemented the European Directive. However, this public benefit is not sufficient to balance the detrimental effect upon law enforcement and separately the commercial interests at stake. It is therefore not in the public interest to disclose this material.