Date:

Date: 19 December 2008

Our ref: Ref: SW/383

Your ref:

Mss Susan Davis

Dear Ms Davis

Access to Information Request - Partial release - RFI 383

Thank you for your request received on 12 November 2008 for us to provide all information held by Natural England regarding any incidents which have resulted in damage to the ecological interest of the New Forest. Information of interest to include:

any information Natural England has about the damage itself and the factors which led to it happening, including whether the causes were thought to be one-off or systematic causes.

any information about the predicted or known effects on the ecological interest of the Forest.

any information about involvement by Natural England 's predecessor organisations in investigating and resolving the incidents in question, and preventing future recurrence.

any information about monitoring requested or implemented following the incidents in question and the results of this monitoring.

any information about measures which the parties involved were required to, or agreed to, take to make good the damage caused, or any other compensatory work carried out.

minutes of any meetings at which the incidents and their effects were discussed, correspondence between Natural England's predecessor bodies and other parties about any of the topics above, and any reports which are available in relation to the incident.

Your request has been carefully considered under the Environmental Information Regulations 2004.

Questions 1 - 5 - Please find attached an Excel spreadsheet which gives a summary of the information you have requested. This information was extracted by going through all the paper and electronic files we hold on the New Forest.

Question 6 - The information you requested in question 6 is being withheld as Natural England considers the request for this information to be manifestly unreasonable in accordance with the exception in Regulation 12(4)(b) of the Environmental Information Regulations 2004. I have set out below our reasons for determining that this request is manifestly unreasonable.

It is Natural England's policy in respect of the EIR regulations that we can refuse where the cost of responding exceeds £450 and the request is manifestly unreasonable. The time already taken to search and extract the information required to answer questions 1 - 5 has reached 18 hours. The information held is substantial and is located in three box files, six paper files plus numerous electronic files. We have undertaken an exercise in estimating the workload involved to extract and copy/scan information from the files in order to provide the information requested in question 6 and have allowed one minute per sheet of paper. We have come up with an initial estimate in excess of 100 person hours. The EIR fees regulations allow us to set a nominal charge of £25 per hour therefore, this would give an equivalent cost of £25 x 100 hours = £2,500. We therefore consider this request to be manifestly unreasonable in light of the time, resources and excessive costs needed to comply with this request.

In applying this exception, we have to balance the public interest in withholding the information against the public interest in disclosure. Whilst Natural England believes in openness and transparency, as a public body, Natural England has a duty to be both accountable and transparent in the effective and wise spending of public money. It is clear from the estimates outlined above, that the cost equivalent of providing the information requested (100hrs or £2,500), is far in excess of the £450 “appropriate limit” as stated in the Freedom of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004, and that the request would place a substantial and unreasonable burden on the resources of Natural England and the work involved requires an unreasonable diversion of resources from the provisions of our public service and core functions. Whilst there is a presumption in favour of disclosure of information, Natural England considers that the public interest will genuinely be served in this case, by withholding this information.

If you are unhappy with the service you have received in relation to your request and wish to make a complaint or request a review of our decision, please contact:

Darren Green, Senior Specialist Information Access and Security,

Natural England, Block B, Government Buildings, Whittington, WORCESTER WR5 2LQ

Email: [email address] Tel: 01905 763355

If you are not content with the outcome of your complaint, you may apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision. Generally, the Commissioner cannot make a decision unless you have exhausted the complaints procedure provided by Natural England. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: The Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF. Telephone: 01625 545 700, www.ico.gov.uk.

If you have any queries about this letter, please contact me.

Yours sincerely,

Sarah Waterfield

Adviser - Information Access and Security

Natural England

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Sarah Waterfield

Natural England

Northminster House

Northminster Road

PETERBOROUGH

PE1 1UA

T: 01733 455000