Foreign &
 
Commonwealth
 
Office
19 June 2008 
 
Our ref: 0483-08 
 
Information Management Group 
Kevin Wells 
Old Admiralty Building 
By e-mail to 
London 
[email address] 
SW1A 2PA 
 
 
Tel: 020 7008 1224 
 
Fax: 020 7008 1114 
 
E-mail: [email address] 
 
 
 
 
 
I am writing regarding your request for information, which I received on 13 June.  In that 
request, you asked us for details of how the British Embassies celebrated St. George’s Day. 
 
I can confirm that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) holds 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 
limit has been specified in regulations 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. 
 
If you were to make a new request for a narrower category of information, it may be that we 
could comply with that request within the appropriate limit, although I cannot guarantee that 
this will be the case, and it may help if I outline some possible ways of narrowing your 
request. You may wish to refine your request to particular Embassies or to the flying of the 
flag of St. George in certain geographical areas. Any reformulated request the department 
receives from you will be treated as a fresh Freedom of Information request. 
 
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, you should write to me within 40 
working days. 
 
If you are not content with the outcome of your complaint, you may apply directly to the 
Information Commissioner for a decision.  Generally, the Information Commissioner cannot 
make a decision unless you have exhausted the complaints procedure provided by the FCO. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: Information Commissioner's Office, 
Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Brian Dorrington 
Information Rights Team 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Data Protection Act 1998 
 
The FCO processes personal data as notified to the Information Commissioner (www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk) for the purpose of 
working for the UK's interests in a safe, just and prosperous world.  Such personal data  may be shared with other UK Government 
Departments and public authorities. 
 
 
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