23 June 2010

Dear Mr Kemp,

FOI Request - City Status Diamond Jubilee Competition

I am writing in response to your e-mail of 25 May 2010 requesting the publication of documents, papers, minutes or emails held by the Cabinet Office relating to the city status competition announced by Peter Mandelson plus information relating to the proposed cost of the competition. Your request has been considered under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

I can confirm that Communities and Local Government does hold some information falling within the terms of your request.

The FOI Act obliges us to respond to requests promptly, and in any case no later than 20 working days after receiving your request. However, when a qualified exemption applies to the information and the public interest test is engaged, the Act allows the time for response to be longer than 20 working days, and a full response must be provided within such time as is reasonable in all circumstances of the case. We do, of course, aim to make all decisions within 20 working days, including in cases where we need to consider where the public interest lies in respect of a request for exempt information. In this case, however, we have not yet reached a decision on where the balance of the public interest lies.

The specific exemption(s) which apply in relation to your request is Section 35 (Formulation of Government Policy).

In your case we estimate that it will take an additional 20 days to take a decision on where the balance of the public interest lies, therefore, we plan to let you have a response by 21 July 2010. If it appears that it will take longer than this to reach a conclusion, we will keep you informed.

Communities and Local Government as an organisation aims to be as helpful as possible in the way it deals with requests for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004. If, however, you are not satisfied with the way in which your request has been handled or the outcome, you may request an internal review within two calendar months of the date of this letter. Information about the Department's review procedures and how to apply for an internal review of your case is contained on the Department's website at http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/corporate/pdf/1384250.pdf.

This also explains your right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision in the event that you remain dissatisfied following the Department's review.

Generally, the ICO cannot make a decision unless you have exhausted this Department's Internal Review procedure. The Information Commissioner`s address and contact details are set out in the above leaflet.

Yours sincerely,

Mrs M A Crosby