Dear Mr Bacon

I am writing to confirm that we are not yet in a position to respond to your Freedom of Information request of 1 September 2009 for copies of information held under the project performance fields of our ARIES database.

We are obliged under the Freedom of Information Act to respond to requests promptly and, in any case, no later than 20 working days after receiving a request. But, when a qualified exemption applies to the information and the public interest test is engaged, we are allowed to extend this timescale to allow us to consider where the public interest lies. We do try to do this within the 20 working days but, in your case, I'm afraid, we've not yet reached a decision on where the balance of the public interest lies. I estimate that we will be in a position to let you have a response by 14 October 2009. The specific exemptions which apply to your request are Section 27 (International Relations) and Section 36 (Prejudice to the effective conduct of public affairs). 

If you are unhappy with the service we are providing and wish to make a complaint, you should write to Openness Unit at the above address or e-mail [DFID request email]

Yours sincerely

John McGinn

Openness Unit

NOT PROTECTIVELY MARKED

NOT PROTECTIVELY MARKED