Monday, 02 November 2009

Dear Mr Walgrove,

FOI Reference No: FOI-20094/5557

I write in connection with your request for information dated 16 Oct 2009 and listed below.

Your request for information has now been considered and the information asked for under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 is as follows:

Please disclose (FOI Act 2000) all documents and notes on this matter.

Why do you use 0845 numbers?

This information has been exempt please see below for explanation.

What is the equivalent geographical number?

This information has been exempt please see below for explanation.

What revenue do you receive per minute and in total from the use of 0845 numbers?

This information has been exempt please see below for explanation.

Are you aware of the revenue collected by your telecom provider, from your callers?

No information held as West Yorkshire Police are not party to this information.

Have you considered the revised COI guidelines? If so, what conclusions did you come to?

Please see the clarification which you provided below.

Do you realise that all calls (local/national) cost the same?

This is not a valid Freedom of Information question. Please note that the Freedom of Information Act 2000 gives the general public an opportunity to ask for information that the local authority is likely to hold, unfortunately this particular question is asking for an explanation and / or opinion which makes it invalid.

Do you realise that 0845 numbers now offer no cost advantage to callers, irrespective or their location, only disadvantages?

This is not a valid Freedom of Information question. Please note that the Freedom of Information Act 2000 gives the general public an opportunity to ask for information that the local authority is likely to hold, unfortunately this particular question is asking for an explanation and / or opinion which makes it invalid.

Are you aware of the cost implications to your callers, when using 0845 numbers?

West Yorkshire Police are aware that there is a cost to users of the 0845 number.

CLARIFICATION Received on the 2^nd November 2009.

Sorry my mistake, please disregard the bit about COI guidelines.

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 creates a statutory right of access to information held by public authorities. A public authority in receipt of a request must, if permitted, state under Section 1(a) of the Act, whether it holds the requested information and, if held, then communicate that information to the applicant under Section 1(b) of the Act.

The right of access to information is not without exception and is subject to a number of exemptions which are designed to enable public authorities to withhold information that is unsuitable for release. Importantly the Act is designed to place information into the public domain, that is, once access to information is granted to one person under the Act, it is then considered public information and must be communicated to any individual should a request be received.

Section 17 of the Act provides:

(1) A public authority which, in relation to any request for information, is to any extent relying on a claim that information is exempt information must, within the time for complying with Section 1(1), give the applicant a notice which:-

(a) states the fact,

(b) specifies the exemption in question, and

(c) states (if that would not otherwise be apparent) why the exemption applies.

DECISION

Your request for information has been considered and I regret to inform you that West Yorkshire Police cannot comply. This letter serves as a Refusal Notice under Section 17 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

REASONS FOR DECISION

The reason that we are unable to provide you with this information is covered by the following exemption(s):

Section 21 - Information accessible to the applicant by other means

The information requested in questions 1, 2 and 3 is available within the Freedom of Information Disclosure Log's on the West Yorkshire Police website. A previous response containing this information can be found in the August 2009 Finance Disclosure log. Please use the link below to access this Log:

http://www.westyorkshire.police.uk/section-item.asp?sid=7&iid=7774

Police forces providing information do not use generic systems, nor are the procedures used for capturing the data the same. It should be noted that for these reasons this forces response to your questions should not be used for comparison purposes with any other response you may receive.

COMPLAINT RIGHTS

If you are not satisfied with how this request has been handled or with the information provided, please read the advice notice attached to this letter. If you do wish to take up your right of complaint, please remember to quote the reference number above in any future correspondence.

Yours sincerely

Janette Mitchell

Freedom of Information Project Officer

pp

Steven Harding

Head of Information Management

The West Yorkshire Police in complying with their statutory duty under sections 1 and 11 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to release the enclosed information will not breach the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. However, the rights of the copyright owner of the enclosed information will continue to be protected by law.  Applications for the copyright owner's written permission to reproduce any part of the attached information should be addressed to The Force Solicitor, West Yorkshire Police Headquarters, PO Box 9, Laburnum Road, Wakefield WF1 3QP.