Michael Caughey
Via email: [FOI #7849 email]
13th February 2009
Dear Mr Caughey
Request for Information – RFI20090287
Thank you for your request of 9th Febrary 2009 under the Freedom of Information Act 2000
seeking the following information:
details of how many Roman Catholic clerics appeared on BBC TV shows during 2008, and how
many shows were involved.
Your request falls outside the scope of the Act because the BBC and the other public service
broadcasters are covered by the Act only in respect of information held for purposes “other than
those of journalism, art or literature” (see Schedule I, Part VI of the Act). We are not therefore
obliged to supply information held for the purposes of creating the BBC’s output or information
that supports and is closely associated with these creative activities. Information which is not
subject to disclosure under the Act because of Schedule I might otherwise be exempt from
disclosure because of the application of other provisions of the Act.
You may wish to be aware that the Information Commissioner has considered a similar request
relating to the amount of coverage devoted to particular subjects, and in that case agreed with the
BBC that this type of information is not covered by the Act.
For more information about how the Act applies to the BBC please see www.bbc.co.uk/foi
Please note that this guidance is not intended to be a comprehensive legal interpretation of how
the Act applies to the BBC.
The BBC makes a huge range of information available about our programmes and content on
bbc.co.uk. We also proactively publish information covered by the Act on our publication scheme
and regularly handle requests for information under the Act.
The BBC does not offer an internal review when the information requested is not covered by the
Act. If you disagree with our decision you can appeal to the Information Commissioner. Contact
details are: Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire,
SK9 5AF telephone 01625 545 700. http://www.ico.gov.uk
Yours sincerely,
Beverley Salt
Business Information Manager, BBC Vision
