Dear Sir

Thank you for your e mail of 19 January requesting the fate of Royal Navy ships and submarines since 1982. Your correspondence has been considered to be a request for information in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Under Section 8(1) of the FOIA, the MOD is entitled to treat as invalid a request where the real name of the applicant has not been used. Section 8(1) defines a request for information as one which is (a) in writing; (b) states the name of the applicant and an address for correspondence; and (c) describes the information requested. Section 84 of the Act also states that “the name of the applicant” in Section 8(1)(b) should be interpreted as the name of the person making the request. It would appear that you have not used your real name in making this request. We therefore consider that it does not fall within the description of a request for information under Section 8(1) of the FOIA. We are therefore unable to provide a response. We do not accept the use of a false or fictitious name under the FOIA. Generally, the inclusion of the requestor's title and/or first name together with their surname satisfies the requirement for the provision of a name. We will consider your request under the Act should you submit it again using your real name in this way.

If you are unhappy with this response or you wish to complain about any aspect of the handling of your request, then you should contact me in the first instance.  If informal resolution is not possible and you are still dissatisfied then you may apply for an independent internal review by contacting the Director of Information Exploitation, 6^th Floor, MOD Main Building, Whitehall, SW1A 2HB (e-mail [email address]).  Please note that any request for an internal review must be made within 40 working days of the date on which the attempt to reach informal resolution has come to an end.

If you remain unhappy following an internal review, you may take your complaint to the Information Commissioner under the provisions of Section 50 of the Freedom of Information Act. Please note that the Information Commissioner will not investigate the case until the internal review process has been completed. Further details of the role and powers of the Information Commissioner can be found on the Commissioner's website, http://www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk.”

Yours sincerely

DE&S Pol Sec AD2