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E-mail: [Home Office request email] Website: www.homeoffice.gov.uk

[FOI #22262 email]

Mr Michael Bimmler

Reference: T19236/9 Date: 30 November 2009

Dear Mr Bimmler,

Thank you for your e-mail of 30 October about Professor Nutt.

Your request, which is being handled in accordance with Freedom of Information Act 2000, is:

“I would like to request access to the following records:

1) A recent letter by the Home Secretary to Professor David Nutt which I believe to contain the sentence "I cannot have public confusion between scientific advice and policy and have therefore lost confidence in your ability to advise me as Chair of the ACMD.". I would like to request a copy of the full letter.

2) The response letter by Prof Nutt to the letter mentioned above.

3) All internal drafts of this letter and all memoranda, notes, e-mails and other documents which were produced in connection with the preparation of this letter.

4) Any internal advice which suggested that the Home Secretary should ask Prof Nutt to resign.”

In respect of points 1 and 2, please see http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/markeaston/2009/10/nutt_gets_the_sack.html.

In respect of points 3 and 4, we continue to consider your information request. Although the Freedom of Information Act carries a presumption in favour of disclosure, it provides exemptions which may be used to withhold information in specified circumstances. Some of these exemptions are subject to a public interest test. These exemptions are known as qualified exemptions. The public interest test is used to balance the public interest in disclosure against the public interest in favour of withholding the information under qualified exemptions.

When a qualified exemption applies to information requested, section 10(3) of the Act allows us to exceed the 20 working day response target where reasonably necessary to consider the public interest test fully. This is subject to us telling applicants when we expect to conclude our deliberations and provide a full response.

We have determined that the information you have requested falls to be considered under the exemption contained within section 36(2)(b) and (c) (prejudice to effective conduct of public affairs). This is a qualified exemption which, subject to a public interest test and with Ministerial agreement, exempts information from disclosure if it relates to information which is held by a government department whose disclosure would, or would be likely to, inhibit -

(i) the free and frank provision of advice, or

(ii) the free and frank exchange of views for the purposes of deliberation,

or would otherwise prejudice, or would be likely otherwise to prejudice, the effective conduct of public affairs.

In order to consider the public interest test fully, it is necessary to extend the normal 20 working day response period and we aim to respond fully by 18 December.

If it appears that it will take longer than this to reach a conclusion, we will keep you informed.

Should you have any queries about the handling of your information request then please do not hesitate to contact me.

Yours sincerely

Lucy Stevenson

Drug Strategy Unit

[email address]