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STARTDOCUMENT:

30 March 2009

Americas Directorate

Room WH2.324

King Charles Street

SW1A 2AH

Tel: 0207 008 2663

Fax: 0207 008 3619

Mr John Simpson

By email:

mailto:[FOI #8545 email]

Dear Mr Simpson,

Freedom Of Information (FOI) Request: 0172-09

Thank you for your request for information which we received on 2 March 2009 in which you asked for;

`' any documents or communications made between the Foreign and

Commonwealth Office and the Scottish Executive or the Scotland

Office over First Minister Alex Salmond and his recent visit to the

United States of America.

The Scotland Act which created the role of First Minister made

clear that International relations and foreign affairs remain a

reserved matter. Has the FCO tried to remind Mr Salmond that he is

not the president of Scotland and when he goes abroad spreading his

separatist agenda he should not be using his position as First

Minister for such a task. Has the First Minister violated any rules

by his recent actions?

Finally please inform me under the Freedom of Information Act if

there was at least 1 British Official from the Foreign and

Commonwealth Office / British Embassy at the meeting between First

Minister Alex Salmond and the United States Secretary of State

Hillary Clinton.''

I can confirm that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office does hold information falling within the terms of your request.

The FOI Act obliges us to respond to requests promptly, and in any case no later than 20

working days after receiving your request. However, when a qualified exemption applies to

the information and the public interest test is engaged, the Act allows the time for response

to be longer than 20 working days, and a full response must be provided within such time as

is reasonable in all circumstances of the case. We do, of course, aim to make all decisions

within 20 working days, including in cases where we need to consider where the public

interest lies in respect of a request for exempt information. In this case, however, we have

not yet reached a decision on where the balance of the public interest lies.

In your case we estimate that it will take an additional 20 days to take a decision on where

the balance of the public interest lies. Therefore, we plan to let you have a response by

29 April 2009. If it appears that it will take longer than this to reach a conclusion, we will keep you informed.

The specific exemption(s) which apply in relation to your request is: Section 27 International Relations.

If you are unhappy with the service you have received in relation to your request and wish to

make a complaint or request an review of our decision, you should write to The Information Rights Team. Please note any request for an internal review must be submitted within 40 working days from the date our response was issued.

If you are not content with the outcome your complaint, you may apply directly to the

Information Commissioner for a decision. Generally, the ICO cannot make a decision unless

you have exhausted the complaints procedure provided by The Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: The Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF.

Please contact me if you have any queries about this letter.

Yours sincerely,

Michael Grace

North America Team

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