Direct Communications Unit

2 Marsham Street, London SW1P 4DF

Switchboard 020 7035 4848 Fax: 020 7035 4745 Textphone: 020 7035 4742

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

[FOI #2887 email]

Mr Julian Todd

Reference: T22277/8

Dear Mr Todd,

Thank you for your e-mail dated 13/10/2008 5:01:22 PM and for clarifying the details of your request. We are now in a position to provide you with a full reply to your request.

I am pleased to be able to disclose some of the information that you requested.

With regards to your first point, once the Home Office receives all the necessary information from a Police Force, officials examine the request and provide a detailed briefing to the relevant Minister, including a recommendation. The Minister then examines the application, recommendation and will make a final decision. This all must be completed within 48 hours of the authorisation being signed by the appropriate member of the Police Force. In addition to these levels of examination the use of the powers are reviewed regularly and independently by Lord Carlile of Berriew QC.

If you wish to comment further on the operation of S44 powers in the Terrorism Act 2000, you can contact: - Lord Carlile, email: [email address] or write to: The House of Lords, London, SW1A 0PW

Whilst the Home Office monitors which Police Forces have Section 44 powers in place, the onus is on the Police Force to ensure that they renew or apply for the powers under Section 44.

In consultation with the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) and Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), National guidance for police on the use of the powers was published in July 2006. The guidance deals with community consultation and assessment of the community impact of section 44 powers. It also explains the background and purpose of section 44 powers, the different circumstances in which they might be used and the approach to take depending on the information and intelligence available.

One of the key aims of the guidance is to set out a framework for the use of section 44 powers to ensure that they are used appropriately by officers on the ground. The guidance clearly states that the powers should only be used for searching for articles which could be used in connection with terrorism and officers should have regard to the full range of other stop and search powers which may be more appropriate.

Your request for a copy of the guidance is exempt under Section 21 as it is already available to the public via the Home Office website here: http://www.knowledgenetwork.gov.uk/HO/circular.nsf/79755433dd36a66980256d4f004d1514/d59734d5001c8cbe802571b000478098?OpenDocument.

We have concluded that the information you have requested in relation to the internal Home Office procedures and processes is exempt under Section 36(c) of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Section 36 allows us to exempt information that may prejudice the free and frank exchange of information and the effective conduct of public affairs.

If you are dissatisfied with this response you may request an independent internal review of our handling of your request by submitting your complaint within two months to the below address quoting reference 10394:

Information Rights Team
Information and Record Management Service
Home Office
4th Floor, Seacole Building
2 Marsham Street
London
SW1P 4DF

Email: [email address]

During the independent review the department's handling of your information request will be reassessed by staff who were not involved in providing you with this response. Should you remain dissatisfied after this internal review, you will have a right of complaint to the Information Commissioner as established by section 50 of the Freedom of Information Act.

I hope that you find this information of interest, and would like to assure you that you have been supplied with all disclosable information that the Home Office holds. Where information has been withheld, I would like to assure you that we have considered the application of exemptions with great care in this case. 

Yours sincerely

J. Fanshaw