Dear Mr. Henderson,

I am writing to you about your request for documents relating to same sex marriages and the debates and decisions to legislate for Civil Partnerships, which was received on 25^th January 2009.

The Civil Partnership Act 2004 was led, on behalf of Government, by the Women's Equality Unit, which was part of the then Department for Trade and Industry. The functions undertaken by the Women's Equality Unit were transferred to the new Government Equalities Office, which was established in July 2007. I can confirm that the Government Equalities Office hold information falling within the description specified in your request. However, we estimate that the cost of complying with your request would exceed the appropriate limit of £600. The appropriate limited has been specified in regulation and for central Government it is set at £600. This represents the estimated cost of one person spending 3½ working days in determining whether the Department holds the information, and locating, retrieving and extracting the information. Under section 12 of the Freedom of Information Act the Department is not obliged to comply with your request and we will not be processing your request further.

I have included a copy of the Civil Partnership Act 2004. Further information on the debates on Civil Partnerships is available via Hansard at www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/pahansard.htm

If you are not satisfied with my handling of your request or the reason for not giving you the information please tell me why within two calendar months of the date of this letter. I will then arrange for someone to conduct an internal review of your request and my handling/decision. The review will be conducted by another officer, usually of a more senior grade to myself. This person will have taken no part in my original decision. You will be advised of their decision in writing.

If you are still not content with the outcome of the internal review you have the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner to look into the way your request has been handled. Please note that generally the Commissioner cannot make a decision unless you have first exhausted GEO's own complaints procedure. The Commissioner can be contacted at:

FoI Complaints Resolution

Information Commissioner's Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

Fax: 01625 545 510

email:[email address]

If you have any queries about this letter, please contact me. Please remember to quote the reference number above in any future communications.

Yours sincerely,

Emma Reed

Government Equalities Office