Godric Smith letter

Link: [1]File-List

4th February 2010

Case Reference Number IRQ0294416

Dear Mr Davis

Request for Information

Thank you for your correspondence dated 4 February 2010.

Your request is being dealt with in accordance with the Freedom of
Information Act 2000.  We will respond by 4 March 2010 which is 20
working days from the day after we received your request.

If you wish to add further information or evidence to your case please
reply to this email, being careful not to amend the information in the
‘subject’ field. This will ensure that the information is added
directly to your case. However, please be aware that this is an automated
process; the information will not be read by a member of our staff until
your case is allocated to a request handler.

Yours sincerely

Iman Elmehdawy

Assistant Internal Compliance Manager

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Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow,
Cheshire, SK9 5AF
Tel: 01625 545 700 Fax: 01625 524 510 Web: www.ico.gov.uk

References

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Link: [1]File-List

3rd March 2010

Case Reference Number IRQ0294416

Dear Mr Davis

Further to our acknowledgement dated 4 February 2010 we are now in a
position to respond to your request for information submitted under the
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

On 4 February 2010 you requested the following Information:

“Please could you provide me with a copy of the letter sent to you by
Godric Smith in support of the ODA's position not to release bonus payment
details to me in the case you ruled upon [Ref FS50259954].”

We can confirm that we hold a letter dated 9 November 2009 that was sent
to the Information Commissioner’s Office by Mr Godric Smith.
Unfortunately, we are unable to disclose this letter to you. This letter
has been withheld under section 44 of the FOIA by virtue of section 59 of
the Data protection Act 1998 (DPA).

Section 44(1)(a) of the FOIA (which places prohibitions on disclosure)
states that;

‘(1) Information is exempt information if its disclosure (otherwise than
under this Act) by the public authority holding it -

(a) is prohibited by or under any enactment’

The enactment in question is the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA) and
specifically Section 59 of the DPA. Section 59 states that neither the
Commissioner nor his staff shall disclose;

“any information which :

(a) has been obtained by, or furnished to, the Commissioner under or for
the purposes of the information Acts.

(b) relates to an identified or identifiable individual business, and

(c) is not at the time of disclosure, and has not been available to the
public from other sources unless the disclosure is made with lawful
authority.”

For section 59(1) to apply, (a), (b) and (c) must all apply.

With regard to ‘lawful authority’ as required by section 59 of the
Data Protection Act 1998, the term is specifically defined in the Act;

“(2) For the purposes of subsection (1) a disclosure of information is
made with lawful authority only if, and to the extent that-

(a) the disclosure is made with the consent of the individual or of the
person for the time being carrying on the business,

(b) the information was provided for the purpose of its being made
available to the public (in whatever manner) under any provision of this
Act,

(c) the disclosure is made for the purposes of, and is necessary for,
the discharge of –

(i) any functions under this Act, or

(ii) any Community obligation,

(d) the disclosure is made for the purposes of any proceedings, whether
criminal or civil and whether arising under, or by virtue of, this Act or
otherwise, or

(e) having regard to the rights and freedoms or legitimate interests of
any

person, the disclosure is necessary in the public interest.”

Section 59 prevents us from disclosing the information which has been
collected in the course of our investigations unless we have lawful
authority to do so. We do not have a lawful authority on the basis that
this information was provided to us in confidence. We do not have Mr
Goderic Smith’s consent to disclose his letter addressed to the ICO. It
would not be within Mr Smith’s expectations that his letter to the
Commissioner will be placed in the public domain. It is in the public
interest that we maintain the ability to have a free exchange with public
authorities, data controllers and individuals on issues that allow us to
effectively carry out our regulatory functions.

I am sorry that we could not disclose the requested information to you and
hope that the above explanation is of assistance to you.

If you are dissatisfied with the response you have received and wish to
request a review of our decision or make a complaint about how your
request has been handled you should write to the Internal Compliance Team
at the address below or e-mail [2][email address]

Your request for internal review should be submitted to us within 40
working days of receipt by you of this response. Any such request
received after this time will only be considered at the discretion of the
Commissioner.

If having exhausted the review process you are not content that your
request or review has been dealt with correctly, you have a further right
of appeal to this office in our capacity as the statutory complaint
handler under the legislation.  To make such an application, please write
to the Case Reception Team, at the address below or visit the
‘Complaints’ section of our website to make a Freedom of Information
Act or Environmental Information Regulations complaint online.

 

A copy of our review procedure is attached.

Yours sincerely

Iman Elmehdawy

Assistant Internal Compliance Manager

show quoted sections

Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow,
Cheshire, SK9 5AF
Tel: 01625 545 700 Fax: 01625 524 510 Web: www.ico.gov.uk

References

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1. file:///tmp/rad8E428_files/filelist.xml
2. mailto:[email address]