Dear Mr Addison

Invitation to narrow down/clarify request

Thank you for your request for “emails available between your department and the RSPB with any reference to wildlife crime, money and/or falcons”, which we received on 12 August 2008, and which falls under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and/or Environmental Information Regulations 2004. You emailed again on 13 August specifying that you were interested in “emails between DEFRA and the RSPB, documents and minutes from any meetings at which they have either given evidence, advice or any contributing information. Also any details of any monetary transactions (any form of money 'passing hands') between both organisations and details of the relationship between both”.

We want to be as open as possible in answering requests, and to help people obtain the information they are looking for. Unfortunately, in this case the amount of information you have requested is very substantial. Gathering it together could therefore be likely to involve a significant cost and diversion of resources from the authority's other work. This could mean that we might have to charge you for the work involved or even have to refuse the request under the exceptions in the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 covering requests that are manifestly unreasonable or formulated in too general a manner. The best way that we can help you is therefore to ask you to consider whether you could narrow down your request to focus on the precise information that you are seeking. You could, for example:

• be more specific about the time period covered by your request for correspondence;

• explain a bit more about the kind of information you are looking for, for example the subject that you are particularly interested in;

• whether your request refers to emails specifically between Defra and the RSPB, and not to wider correspondence such as invitations to meetings of the Partnership for Action Against Wildlife Crime;

• browse through the material that has already been made publicly available on the authority's website www.defra.gov.uk and see if this would help you to identify more precise questions that we might be able to answer at less cost.

In your email of 12 August you requested emails between Defra and the RSPB and in your email of 13 August you requested documents and minutes from any meetings at which they have either given evidence, advice or any contributing information. We would be grateful if you could clarify whether you are interested in emails or documents and minutes and whether they relate to any particular subject.

If you are unable or unwilling to narrow down your request we will, of course, consider it in accordance with our obligations under the Environmental Information Regulations 2004. However we wanted to give you an opportunity to reconsider your request and describe more precisely the information you wish to have. Please let me know how you would like us to proceed.

Yours sincerely

Christine Rumble

Species Policy Advisor

Direct Line 00 44 117 372 6170

Fax 0117 372 8182

Email [email address]

Biodiversity Programme

1/11 Temple Quay House

2 The Square, Temple Quay

Bristol BS1 6EB

Telephone 0044 117 372 6170

Website www.defra.gov.uk