United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Simon Wright made this Freedom of Information request to Attorney General’s Office

The request was partially successful.

From: Simon Wright

19 November 2008

Dear Sir or Madam,

Since devolution there has been a lot of confusion across the
United Kingdom about the official titles or how best to describe,
England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Under the freedom of information act i would like to know how the
attorney generals office describes such parts of the United
Kingdom. What is the UKs legal definition of the word "country" and
how does this compare with International Organisations / views.
Some recent (non sensitive) government documents using such terms
would be helpful.

They are occasionally described as "constituent countries" "Homes
Nations" etc, but i would like to know Her Majesty's Governments
legal definition of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

I hope you will be able to help me on this matter, or perhaps
inform me of where i should re direct my request, but as i
mentioned before i want the "legal" definition of it, which is why
i have directed my request to this department. I look forward to
reading your response.

Yours faithfully,

Simon Wright

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From: Tim Strevens
Attorney General’s Office

24 November 2008

Thank you for your email of 19 November. I have been asked to reply.

The Attorney General is the principal legal advisor to Government, and as
such cannot give legal advice or assistance to individuals.

You have a made a request under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) but
the questions you have raised, I am afraid, does not engage the FOIA. The
Freedom of Information Act applies to any request for recorded information
made to a public authority.

I can only suggest that you seek your own independent legal advice, if you
haven't already, from a Citizen's Advice Bureau or law centre. If you
have access to the Internet, I would recommend visiting
[1]www.probonouk.net, which provides an invaluable resource to individuals
who are in need of legal help or advice.

Yours sincerely

Tim Strevens
Correspondence Unit
Attorney General's Office
(020) 7271 2492

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From: Simon Wright

24 November 2008

Dear Tim Strevens,

Thank you for your response, although i had hoped you would be able
to help me with my problem. Perhaps i should rephrase my question.
Since the labour government came to power in May 1997 has the
Attorney General / office given any legal advice to any Government
department in the United Kingdom on how best to describe the
devolved administrations and parts of the United Kingdom (England,
Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.)

If that question is too vague and there for unable to be answered,
what legal advice was given to government departments at the time
devolution was being debated and voted into law by the United
Kingdom parliament on how best to describe the regions of the UK in
the future. Especially the departments that lost power because of
devolution and there for no longer represent the whole of the
United Kingdom.

If such non sensitive documents exist showing such advice, please
may i see it.

Yours sincerely,

Simon Wright

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From: Tim Strevens
Attorney General’s Office

8 December 2008

Attachment attachment.pdf
458K Download View as HTML

Mr Wright

Please find attached reply to your request of 24 November.

Yours sincerely

Tim Strevens
FOI Team
Attorney General's Office
(020) 7271 2492

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M Bimmler left an annotation ( 8 December 2008)

While he cites (in his view) applicable extensions, he does not, as far as I can see, outline in any way *why* the public interest against disclosure is higher in this case. I would request an internal review with the demand that the public interest test be performed again and that more comprehensive reasoning be provided if the decision is negative again,

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Tony Bowden left an annotation (10 December 2008)

If you are going to seek a review (which I think you should), I would also note when doing so that your original question ("how the attorney generals office describes such parts of the United Kingdom") has not yet been answered. They appear to have misunderstood your initial request, and have subsquently refused to answer your re-formation of it, but as well as reviewing their most recent answer, they should also be asked to re-consider their initial response. At very least they have a duty to provide advice on how to formulate your request better to obtain the information you seek.

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