Dear Sir or Madam,

The contribution by Mark to Building Britain's Future:

www.hmg.gov.uk/buildingbritainsfuture/jo...

is about 1400 characters long. But the maximum length for
contributions is 1000 characters. Is Mark someone internal who has
bypassed the web? Otherwise how did this happen?

Yours faithfully,

Stephen Wynn

Dear Mr Wynn

In response to your two questions;

Q. Is Mark someone internal who has bypassed the web?
A. No.

Q. Otherwise how did this happen?
A. Because 1000 characters was a guide.

Yours sincerely

Rae Stewart

Rae Stewart | Chief Press Officer | Cabinet Office |
020 7276 2546 | 07795-334717

show quoted sections

Dear Mr Stewart,

Thank you for your reply. But you have not answered my
question. Because when entering a comment on the website, it is not
possible to enter more than 1000 characters. Therefore 1000 is not
only "a guide". It is an absolute maximum.

Yours faithfully,

Stephen Wynn

Dear Mr Wynn

Thankyou for your e-mail. I have reviewed my answer and I am content
that I answered your question correctly. However, as you seem
disappointed with that answer it may help if I give you a bit of
background.

When the website first went live, the 1000 characters guide for comments
was just that - a guide to people leaving comments that they should
confine their submissions to a maximum 1000 characters. It was possible,
however, to leave comments of more than 1000 characters. That is no
longer the case. The maximum number of characters in a comment is now
1000.

Thankyou very much for your interest in this matter, and I hope I've
made the situation clearer for you.

Yours sincerely

Rae Stewart

Rae Stewart | Chief Press Officer | Cabinet Office |
020 7276 2546 | 07795-334717

show quoted sections

Dear Mr Stewart,

Thank you for your e-mail. Your website has always said:

"Comment (Max 1000 chars)":

I do not accept that this was at one time only "a guide".

Who is "Mark"?

Yours faithfully,

Stephen Wynn

Dear Mr Wynn

I don't know who 'mark' is.

Yours sincerely

Rae Stewart

Rae Stewart | Chief Press Officer | Cabinet Office |
020 7276 2546 | 07795-334717

show quoted sections

Dear Mr Stewart,

What is Mark's email address? Emails are requested.

Yours faithfully,

Stephen Wynn

Dear Mr Stuart,

I have not received Mark's email address, requested on 8th July. I
understand that such personal information has to be disclosed,
where disclosure is in the public interest and does not harm the
interests of the individual involved, which applies in this case.

Yours faithfully,

Stephen Wynn

Dear Mr Stewart,

I have not had a reply to my email of 7th August, so I request an
internal review. Please pass this on to the person who conducts
Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Cabinet Office's
handling of my FOI request 'Reason for response to Building
Britain's Future over 1000 characters.'.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is
available on the Internet at this address:
http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/re...

Yours faithfully,

Stephen Wynn

Dear Mr Wynn,

Thank you for your email below.

It is not immediately clear to us exactly what it is you are requesting.
Is your request for information as per your email of 8 July (i.e. "What
is Mark's email address? Emails are requested."), or is it a request for
an internal review of the response of 7 July to your email of 4 July? I
assume it is the former, but please could you clarify the situation, so
we can take things forward.

I apologise for not sending you a more timely response to your emails.
Your original email of 4 July was not treated as a formal request for
information under the FOI Act, as it was not a request for recorded
information but an email asking questions. As you may be aware, the Act
provides applicants a right of access to recorded information. A 'valid'
request under the Act is therefore one that requests recorded
information on a specific issue and not one that asks for opinions or
seeks answers or calculations etc.

I hope this is helpful.

Mike Pigott
FOI Team

show quoted sections

Dear Mr Pigott,

Thank you or your email. My request is "the former". I am
requesting recorded information under the Freedom of Information
Act, that is Mark's email address.

Yours faithfully,

Stephen Wynn

CABINET OFFICE REFERENCE: FOI268925

Dear Mr Wynn,

Thank you for your request for information. Your request was received on
08/07/2009, and is being dealt with under the terms of the Freedom of
Information Act 2000.

In some circumstances a fee may be payable and if that is the case, I will
let you know the likely charges before proceeding.

If you have any queries about this letter, please contact me. Please
remember to quote the reference number above in any future communications.

Yours sincerely,

FOI Team
Cabinet Office
E: [1][Cabinet Office request email]

The Cabinet Office computer systems may be monitored and communications
carried on them recorded to secure the effective operation of the system
and for other lawful purposes.

show quoted sections

Communications via the GSi may be automatically logged, monitored and/or
recorded for legal purposes.

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[Cabinet Office request email]

CABINET OFFICE REFERENCE: FOI268925

Dear FOI Team,

Thank you for your email. I look forward to hearing from you, and
apologise for accidently spelling Mr Stewart's name wrongly in my
email of 7th August.

Yours sincerely,

Stephen Wynn

CABINET OFFICE REFERENCE: FOI268925

Dear FOI Team,

What is happening with this request? Your last reply was on 30th
September. We are now in November.

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of
Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Cabinet Office's
handling of my FOI request 'Reason for response to Building
Britain's Future over 1000 characters.'.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is
available on the Internet at this address:

www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/reason_fo...

Yours faithfully,

Stephen Wynn

Dear Stephen,

Please find attached the response in relation to your request.

Kind regards,

Teresa Critien

show quoted sections

Reference: FOI268925

Dear Ms Critien,

Thank you for your reply. But firstly this was not within the
statutory 20 working days, and secondly it does not give a valid
reason for not disclosing Mark's email address.

It is not clear that Mark's email address is personal data, because
data is only personal if it is possible to identify the individual
from the data. Even if it is personal data, it must be disclosed if
"disclosure is necessary for a legitimate public interest with no
unwarranted harm to the individual's interests."

www.ico.gov.uk/upload/documents/library/...

There is a legitimate public interest in demonstrating that the
responses to the consultation about Britain's future do not come
from the Cabinet Office. Disclosing Mark's email address will not
harm his interests.

Yours sincerely,

Stephen Wynn.

Reference: FOI268925

Dear Ms Critien,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of
Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Cabinet Office's
handling of my FOI request 'Reason for response to Building
Britain's Future over 1000 characters.'.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is
available on the Internet at this address:

http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/re...

Yours sincerely,

Stephen Wynn.

Dear Mr Wynn,

Thank you for Internal Review request dated 18/11/2009. This is receiving
attention.

Kind Regards,

FOI Team
Cabinet Office
E: [1][Cabinet Office request email]

The Cabinet Office computer systems may be monitored and communications
carried on them recorded, to secure the effective operation of the system
and for other lawful purposes.

show quoted sections

Communications via the GSi may be automatically logged, monitored and/or
recorded for legal purposes.

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[Cabinet Office request email]

CABINET OFFICE REFERENCE: FOI268925

Dear FOI Team,

I have read in the link in my email of 18th November that you have
"a duty to confirm or deny whether you hold the information". I was
informed by the email of Mr Stewart of 8th July, that the Cabinet
Office does not know who Mark is. Therefore this cannot be personal
information from the point of view of the Data Protection Act 1998.

Yours faithfully,

Stephen Wynn

CABINET OFFICE REFERENCE: FOI268925

Dear FOI Team,

How long is this internal review going to take? My request for an
internal review was on 18th November last year.

Yours faithfully,

Stephen Wynn

Please see the attached letter.

show quoted sections