Dear Mr Cusworth

Freedom of Information Request F2009-0079

I am writing to confirm that we are not yet in a position to respond to your Freedom of Information request seeking e-mail exchanges, and I confirm that we do hold information falling within the terms of your request. I am very sorry for the delay in responding to your request but it is a necessary part of the FOI process that we consult third parties to allow us to provide a response.

We are obliged under the FOI Act to respond to requests promptly and, in any case, no later than 20 working days after receiving a request. But, when a qualified exemption applies to the information and the public interest test is engaged, we are allowed to extend this timescale to allow us to consider where the public interest lies. We do try to do this within the 20 working days but, in your case, I'm afraid, we've not yet reached a decision on where the balance of the public interest lies. I estimate that we will need another 10 working days to do this, and plan, therefore, to let you have a response by 14 May 2009. The specific exemption that applies to your request is Section 36 (Prejudice to the effective conduct of Public affairs).  

If you are unhappy with the service we are providing and wish to make a complaint, you should write to Stephen Latham, Head of the Knowledge and Information Management Team at the above address or e-mail him at [email address].

Yours sincerely

John McGinn

Openness Unit

NOT PROTECTIVELY MARKED

NOT PROTECTIVELY MARKED