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'Upcoming Cases at Cambridge Magistrates Court'.
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Regional Director's Office, South East 3rd Floor, Rose Court 2 Southwark Bridge London SE1 9HS DX 154262, SOUTHWARK 12 T 020 7921 2061 F 020 7921 2017 E jo.fitch@hmcourts-service.gsi.gov.uk Minicom VII [minicom number] (Helpline for the deaf and hard of hearing) www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk |
Mr. R. Taylor
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Our ref: FOI/64218/JF/10
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6th April 2010 |
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Dear Mr. Taylor,
Request for information under the Freedom of Information Act
Thank you for your e-mail, in which you requested the release of information relating to upcoming cases at Cambridge Magistrates' Court. Your letter has been passed to me to respond, as I have responsibility for handling requests for information for the South East Region of Her Majesty's Courts Service (HMCS) and your request has been handled under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA).
I can confirm that HMCS holds information in relation to some of the points within your request, and I outline below further details in respect of each point that you raise:
You requested details of cases where the police, NHS, or local councils are a party to the case.
I am sorry to inform you that from my preliminary assessment of your request, it is clear that I will not be able to answer your request without further clarification. In order to ascertain this information, it would be necessary for court staff to undertake a manual search of every court file in existence in the court, as this information is not held in our central computer system. There are currently nearly 1000 files with hearings in April, we estimate that it would take around 100 hours to locate, extract and search the files for one month alone.
Section 12 of the Freedom of Information Act makes provision for public authorities to refuse requests for information where the cost of dealing with them would exceed the appropriate limit, which for central government is set at £600. This represents the estimated cost of one person spending 3.5 working days in determining whether the Department holds the information, locating, retrieving and extracting the information.
As your request is widely framed, I estimate that it will take us in excess of 3.5 working days to determine appropriate material within the scope of your request, and locate, retrieve and extract that information.
I am sorry that on this occasion it has not been possible to suggest ways in which you could narrow the scope of your request in order to bring it within the cost limit.
I am sorry I have not been able to be of more assistance on this aspect of your request.
However, outside the scope of the Act I am able to provide the following information for the rest of your request.
You requested details of upcoming hearings in respect of appeals against Cambridge City Council licensing decisions. I can confirm that there are no such cases currently outstanding.
You also asked for details of cases involving breaches of the by-laws of the River Cam. I am sorry to inform you that this information is not held by the Department. You can however contact Archer and Archer Solicitors of Ely who prosecute on behalf of the conservators of the River Cam. You can contact A & A at the following address:
Archer & Archer Solicitors
Market Place
Ely
Cambridgeshire
CB7 4QN
Telephone: 01353 662203
Finally, you asked whether Cambridge Magistrates' Court alerts the press to any cases which are likely to be of public interest. I can confirm that the court does not alert the press to such cases - members of the press become aware of cases that are listed in court each day by viewing the public lists available on display outside the courtrooms, in the same way that members of the public do.
I hope that you find this information of use.
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 months of the date of this letter, at the following address:
Ministry of Justice
Data Access and Compliance Unit
Information Directorate
6th Floor
102 Petty France
London
SW1H 9AJ
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
Yours sincerely,
Jo Fitch (Miss)
Regional Business Manager
HMCS South East
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