03 December 2009

Oonagh Lewis

Global Economy Group

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

E-mail: [email address]

Ref: 0944-09

Mr Peter Brett (by email)

Dear Mr Brett,

I write in relation to your Freedom of Information Act request dated 5 November 2009. I can confirm that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) holds information relevant to your request; for the names and roles of FCO officials involved in ACTA negotiations, for the details of any other persons involved in ACTA negotiations on behalf of the UK and for current drafts of some ACTA texts.

With regard to your request for the names and roles of officials and other persons directly involved in these negotiations, s.40 of the Freedom of Information Act permits the withholding of personal information, such as the names of junior officials, as the release of their identity would breach the first data protection principle. The release of such information would be neither fair nor meet condition 6(1) of Schedule 2 of the Data Protection Act 1998, and there appear to be no overriding interests that outweigh the rights afforded by the Act to the junior public servants in question.

Information regarding ACTA is updated as often as possible on the Intellectual Property Office website at: http://www.ipo.gov.uk/pro-crime-acta.htm . This site includes a detailed summary of the key elements under negotiation (http://www.ipo.gov.uk/acta-summary.pdf). I would also wish to clarify that so far only government officials have been involved in the ACTA negotiations on behalf of the UK.

I regret that the draft negotiating texts you have requested are also withheld as they are exempt under the following sections of the Freedom of Information Act:

s.35(1)a (formulation of Government policy) and s.27(2) (international relations).

These are qualified exemptions and are therefore subject to a public interest test. After careful consideration of all the circumstances of the case, the conclusion reached is that the public interest in maintaining these exemptions outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information at this stage.

For your information, these are the arguments taken into account in determining that the ACTA draft negotiating texts should be withheld. There is some general public interest in the disclosure of information since greater transparency makes the Government more accountable to the electorate and increases trust, and also enables the public contribution to policy making to become more effective. However, we consider that there is greater public interest in maintaining the exemption provided for in s.27(2) as we believe that disclosure at this stage of the negotiations would be likely to prejudice the outcome. This in turn would be likely to provoke a negative reaction from the other negotiating parties concerned that might damage the United Kingdom's relations with them and which would damage our ability to protect, promote and secure an outcome in the United Kingdom interests at the negotiations.

Officials must also consider the reputational effects on the Government itself of the premature release of documents or assessments that are "work-in-progress" and would not otherwise be considered fit for publication because they are not fully developed. There is also the danger that disclosure of the process of interdepartmental consideration may undermine the collective responsibility of the Government if premature release of considerations and/or discussions prejudices the full development of policy options or the willingness of ministers and officials to exchange frank views during policy development in future. For these reasons the information requested is withheld by virtue of s.35(1)a.

If you are unhappy with the decisions made in relation to your request from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office you may ask for an internal review. You should contact Oonagh Lewis (details below) if you wish to complain. You have 40 working days to do so.

If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:

Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

If you have any queries about this letter, please contact me. Please remember to quote the reference number above in any future communications.

Yours sincerely,

Oonagh Lewis

Global Economy Group

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

King Charles Street

London SW1A 2AH

Email: [email address]

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