Dear M Wilkinson

Request for information

Thank you for your letter of 7^th December 2009, in which you asked for the following information from the Ministry of Justice (MoJ):

`Please provide me with the number of Warrants issued by Magistrates' Courts to allow TV Licensing staff to enter private homes in the investigation of TV Licensing offences in the last year?'

Your request has been passed to me because I have responsibility for answering requests which relate to Her Majesty's Courts Service and has been handled under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA).

This information is exempt for two reasons firstly, under section 32 of the Freedom of Information Act. Information which is contained in court records is exempt from disclosure under s32 of the Act (Court Records). This exemption is absolute and there is no obligation to consider if it is in the public interest to disclose this information. Furthermore there is no duty to confirm or deny whether the Department holds the information requested within a court record.

I am sorry that on this occasion I have not been able to be of more assistance.

As part of our obligations under the FOIA, the MoJ has an independent review process. If you are dissatisfied with this decision, you may write to request an internal review. The internal review will be carried out by someone who did not make the original decision, and they will re-assess how HMCS handled the original request.

If you wish to request an internal review, please write or send an email to the Data Access and Compliance Unit within two calendar months of the date of this letter, at the following address:

Ministry of Justice

Data Access and Compliance Unit

Information Directorate

6^th Floor,

Post point 6.25, Zone B

102 Petty France

London

SW1H 9AJ

E-mail: [email address]

If you remain dissatisfied after an internal review decision, you have the right to apply to the Information Commissioner's Office under Section 50 of the FOIA. You can contact the Information Commissioner's Office at the following address:

Information Commissioner's Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

Internet: https://www.ico.gov.uk/Global/contact_us.aspx

Yours Sincerely

David Keysell

Data Access & Compliance Unit

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