Asbestos survey report Houses of Parliament

The request was successful.

Dear House of Commons,

Please would it be possible to see the asbestos report for Houses of Parliament building ?

Yours faithfully,

Louis smith

FOI Commons, House of Commons

Dear Louis Smith,

 

Freedom of Information request F21-261

 

Thank you for your request for information dated 29 May 2021, received by
us on the 1 June 2021, which is copied below.

 

We will endeavour to respond to your request promptly but in any case
within 20 working days i.e. on or before 29 June 2021.

 

If you have any queries about your request, please use the request number
quoted above and in the subject line of this email.

CORONAVIRUS UPDATE

We will work hard to answer your information rights requests during the
current COVID 19 situation in line with statutory requirements, however
some requests may be affected by access to collections and availability of
staff. We will keep you informed of any identified delays in answering
your request.

 

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Sarah Price

IRIS Support Officer
Information Rights and Information Security (IRIS) Service | House of
Commons

 

[1]www.parliament.uk | [2]@ukparliament | [3]@houseofcommons

[4]House of Commons Privacy Notice for the Public

[5]Supporting a thriving parliamentary democracy

 

 

From: Louis <[FOI #761137 email]>
Sent: 29 May 2021 21:27
To: FOI Commons <[email address]>
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Asbestos survey report Houses of
Parliament

 

Dear House of Commons,

Please would it be possible to see the asbestos report for Houses of
Parliament building ?

Yours faithfully,

Louis smith

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[6][FOI #761137 email]

Is [7][House of Commons request email] the wrong address for Freedom of
Information requests to House of Commons? If so, please contact us using
this form:
[8]https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/change_re...

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
[9]https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/offi...

For more detailed guidance on safely disclosing information, read the
latest advice from the ICO:
[10]https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/ico-...

Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will
be delayed.

If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.

show quoted sections

FOI Commons, House of Commons

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Smith,

 

Thank you for your request for information to the House of Commons. We are
keen to help you with this request but, in the course of trying to locate
the information you have asked for, we have experienced some problems. It
would be very helpful for you to, if possible, provide some further
information about what you are looking for.

 

You have asked for the asbestos report for “the Houses of Parliament
building”, which we have interpreted to be the Palace of Westminster,
which is occupied by both the House of Commons and House of
Lords. However, owing to the age and size of the building, there are
numerous asbestos reports for this one building, each of which cover part
of it and are very long (well over 1,000 pages). We have also been told
that they contain an extensive amount of security-sensitive information
about the internal layout of the building, including maps and photographs,
which will require careful review and probable redaction of the sensitive
material.

 

This will be a huge piece of work for us, and so I am hoping you might be
willing to narrow the scope of your request, or tell us more about the
specific information you are looking for. For example, you may wish to see
just the executive summary of one of the reports, covering a particular
area of the building. The more detail you can give us, the more likely we
are to be able to provide it.

 

It may also help you to know that the Environmental Information
Regulations 2004, under which we are processing your request, do give us
grounds to refuse excessively large requests. However, we would much
prefer to be helpful and provide you with a reasonable amount of specific
information on this important topic if we can. I do hope you understand
our position.

 

We will pause your request until we receive further clarification from
you, but please do let us know if you have any questions in the meantime.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

 

Information Rights Officer
Information Rights and Information Security

House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA
[1][IMG]

 

[2]House of Commons Privacy Notice for the public

 

The House of Commons welcomes feedback. If you have any compliments,
complaints or comments,
about the service that you have received please send an email
to [3][email address]

 

 

From: FOI Commons <[email address]>
Sent: 01 June 2021 12:46
To: Louis <[FOI #761137 email]>
Cc: FOI Commons <[email address]>
Subject: F21-261 Request Acknowledgement

 

Dear Louis Smith,

 

Freedom of Information request F21-261

 

Thank you for your request for information dated 29 May 2021, received by
us on the 1 June 2021, which is copied below.

 

We will endeavour to respond to your request promptly but in any case
within 20 working days i.e. on or before 29 June 2021.

 

If you have any queries about your request, please use the request number
quoted above and in the subject line of this email.

CORONAVIRUS UPDATE

We will work hard to answer your information rights requests during the
current COVID 19 situation in line with statutory requirements, however
some requests may be affected by access to collections and availability of
staff. We will keep you informed of any identified delays in answering
your request.

 

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Sarah Price

IRIS Support Officer
Information Rights and Information Security (IRIS) Service | House of
Commons

 

[4]www.parliament.uk | [5]@ukparliament | [6]@houseofcommons

[7]House of Commons Privacy Notice for the Public

[8]Supporting a thriving parliamentary democracy

 

 

 

From: Louis <[9][FOI #761137 email]>
Sent: 29 May 2021 21:27
To: FOI Commons <[10][email address]>
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Asbestos survey report Houses of
Parliament

 

Dear House of Commons,

Please would it be possible to see the asbestos report for Houses of
Parliament building ?

Yours faithfully,

Louis smith

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[11][FOI #761137 email]

Is [12][House of Commons request email] the wrong address for Freedom of
Information requests to House of Commons? If so, please contact us using
this form:
[13]https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/change_re...

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
[14]https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/offi...

For more detailed guidance on safely disclosing information, read the
latest advice from the ICO:
[15]https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/ico-...

Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will
be delayed.

If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.

show quoted sections

Dear FOI Commons,

Hi, I understand. Would it be possible to just get any part of the building which is easiest to do for you?

Yours sincerely,

Louis smith

FOI Commons, House of Commons

2 Attachments

Dear Mr Smith,

 

 

Environmental Information Request F21-261

 

Thank you for your request for information as copied below. You have asked
for the asbestos report for any part of the Palace of Westminster.

 

Given the nature of the information you have requested, we have processed
your request under the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (EIRs).
More information on the regulations can be found on the Information
Commissioner’s Office website here:
[1]https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/gui....

 

This information is held by the House of Commons. The Executive Summary of
the Asbestos Management Survey for the House of Commons Principal Floor in
the Palace of Westminster is attached to this response. The Principal
Floor houses the main public parts of the House of Commons, and includes
the Commons Chamber, Central Lobby and St Stephen’s Hall areas. We hope
this is helpful.

 

This document contains some information about the internal layout of the
building and about security measures that are in place to protect it. This
information has been redacted from the document by virtue of Regulation
12(5)(a) of the EIRs, which provides an exception to disclosing
information if it would adversely affect international relations, defence,
national security or public safety. This is a qualified exception and
requires a public interest test to be performed, as follows.

 

We recognise that there is a legitimate public interest in disclosing this
information. This public interest is chiefly in the transparency of
information related to the identification and control of asbestos in
specific areas of the Palace of Westminster. The building is occupied by a
large number of staff and visitors, as well as MPs, and it is in the
public interest to understand that those people who visit and occupy those
areas are protected by adequate environmental controls.

 

However, details of specific areas, including descriptions and comments
relating to security measures in those areas would be very valuable
information to anyone wishing to carry out criminal activity or an attack
on Parliament. In disclosing this information, we could provide criminals,
terrorists and fixated individuals with highly useful information for
planning and committing offences against Members and/or their staff, or
the premises themselves. Disclosure of the information would undermine
security arrangements that have been put in place specifically to protect
the public and to allow for safe and effective work on the estate.
Disclosure would therefore first adversely affect public safety, by
placing the physical health and safety of all those on the estate,
including members of the public, elected representatives and Government
officials, at risk. Second, it would adversely affect national security by
increasing the ease at which the operation of the House of Commons or the
work of Government could be disrupted. Individuals or groups planning
criminal activity or attacks are known to conduct extensive research into
perceived vulnerabilities and the accessibility of their intended target,
meaning they could combine this information with information with
information from other sources, taking advantage of the ‘mosaic effect’.

 

In these circumstances, it is our view that the public interest in
maintaining the exception outweighs the public interest in disclosing the
information.

 

 

You may, if dissatisfied with the handling of your request, complain to
the House of Commons. Alternatively, if you are dissatisfied with the
outcome of your request you may ask the House of Commons to conduct an
internal review of any decision regarding your request. Complaints or
requests for internal review should be addressed to: Information Rights
and Information Security Service, Research & Information Team, House of
Commons, London SW1A 0AA or [2][House of Commons request email]. Please ensure
that you specify the full reasons for your complaint or internal review
along with any arguments or points that you wish to make.

 

If you remain dissatisfied, you may appeal to the Information Commissioner
at Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF,
[3]www.ico.org.uk.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

 

Information Rights Officer
Information Rights and Information Security

House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA
[4][IMG]

 

[5]House of Commons Privacy Notice for the public

 

The House of Commons welcomes feedback. If you have any compliments,
complaints or comments,
about the service that you have received please send an email
to [6][email address]

 

 

From: Louis <[FOI #761137 email]>
Sent: 22 June 2021 18:05
To: FOI Commons <[email address]>
Subject: RE: Freedom of Information request - Asbestos survey report
Houses of Parliament [clarification required]

 

Dear FOI Commons,

Hi, I understand. Would it be possible to just get any part of the
building which is easiest to do for you?

Yours sincerely,

Louis smith

show quoted sections