Dear Mr Stacey,

Thank you for your request, received on 3^rd September 2009 made under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Please find attached our response.

Re-Use of Information

Any information we provide following your request under the Freedom of Information Act will not confer an automatic right for you to re-use that information, for example to publish it. If you wish to re-use the information that we provide and you do not specify this in your initial application for information then you must make a further request for its re-use as per the Re-Use of Public Sector Information Regulations 2005 www.opsi.gov.uk. This will not affect your initial information request.

If you have any queries about this letter, please contact me.

If you are not content with our response you can request a review by writing to:

Head of Policy

Criminal Records Bureau

PO Box 165

Liverpool

L69 3JD

Yours Sincerely

A Graves

Freedom of Information Team

FOI Reference Number: 12744

Information Requested:

Could you please provide me with an organisational chart, which details the various areas of the CRB, each areas work remit, the details of those responsible for each area, and their contact details.

Response :

Please find attached an `Organisation Chart' detailing the breakdown of each business area and the names of those responsible for each area within CRB.

Section 36(2)(c) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 has been applied to the contact details of those responsible for each work area within the CRB. This exemption is used if the release of the information would otherwise prejudice, or would be likely otherwise to prejudice, the effective conduct of public affairs.

It is the effect that the disclosure of information would have, rather than the type of information itself that is key to the application of section 36. Section 36 is subject to the public interest test, which means that even where prejudice can be demonstrated, it is still necessary to consider whether the public interest in withholding the information outweighs the public interest in disclosure.

We recognise that there is a general public interest in openness and transparency and that there is a clear public interest in the public knowing who the senior officials in the CRB are. By providing the names and contact details of senior officials it makes them more accessible and more accountable for their actions.

However releasing the individual contact details of senior officials can expose them to disruptive amounts of unsolicited contact. Excessive amounts of e-mails and telephone calls from members of the public would distract them from their day to day duties. This could be particularly disruptive if an official were in an operational role and a member of the public wanted to try to discuss a specific case, for which they are not the appropriate contact. For officials who work in areas of controversy the release of such details can potentially be exposed to inappropriate lobbying and pressure from outside. The current system, which routes unsolicited e-mail and telephone contact through a central point ensures that the enquiry can be allocated to the most appropriate person and is more efficient for the department as a whole and the public.

We therefore consider that in this particular request the public interest currently favours withholding the information.

In issuing this response I am not suggesting that you would personally prove a distraction to staff, or would seek to harass them. However, it must be remembered that by disclosing information to one person the CRB is effectively putting it in the wider public domain.

The Directors of the CRB can be contacted at the address below. You may also wish to know the CRB have various contact channels detailed on our website. Please find a link to the relevant page below:

http://www.crb.gov.uk/contact_us.aspx