Dear Mark

Re: Request for Internal Review (Ref: AJME-7U8ER9)

I am writing in response to your email dated 14 August 2009. In your email you asked Royal Mail Group to provide information in relation to your initial request for information dated 22 July 2009. Royal Mail Group's internal review panel has reviewed your request and I am writing to advise you of their decision.

In your email dated 22 July 2009 you asked to be provided with the following information:

“For the period of June 24, 2008 to June 23, 2009, please send me a list of the names & dates of courses, seminars, or learning programs that employees who have been assigned to handling John Cross's request have enrolled in. Amongst these employees please include managers, supervisors, etc. who may be responsible or delegating tasks.”

In his email of 14 August 2009, Peter Johnson explained that although Post Office Limited does hold information of the description specified in your request, that information was considered to be exempt from disclosure under section 40 of the Freedom of Information Act. Information is exempt under section 40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act if, as their personal data of a third party, its disclosure would breach data protection principles.

In your email dated 14 August, you asked whether the personal data of our employees could `be severed from the information [you] have requested'. After reviewing your request, the review panel agreed that your request did not constitute a valid request for information under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act as set out in section 8(1) of the Act. This is on the basis that you have not provided your full name when making your request. Consequently, Royal Mail Group is not obliged by the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to consider the request further.

The Information Commissioner has published guidance on what constitutes a valid request in respect of the name and address for correspondence. This guidance can be located at the Information Commissioners website at:

http://www.ico.gov.uk/upload/documents/library/freedom_of_information/detailed_specialist_guides/name_of_applicant_fop083_v1.pdf.

If you wish to submit a new request for this, or any information, please provide your full name. Any new request we receive will be treated as a fresh request for information under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act.

I hope that this suitably explains our position. Further information on the Freedom of Information Act is available from the Information Commissioner who can be contacted at:

Information Commissioner's Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

Telephone: 01625 545 700

www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk

Cont…

29 September 2009