Performance, Assurance
and Governance Directorate
2 Marsham Street
London SW1P 4DF
Switchboard 0207 035 4848
www.gov.uk
Tom Watson
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx
20 March 2018
Dear Mr Watson
Freedom of Information Act 2000 request (Our Reference 47474)
Thank you for your e-mail of 26 February 2018, in which you ask for the following
information:
Please can you set out and explain any categories of information or circumstances
where the Home Office believes it may decide, and/or has decided, not to disclose
information about its activities or the activities of those under its purview (including
MI5 and MI6) to government ministers and/or Parliament, and does the situation
differ in any respect depending on whether government ministers and/or Parliament
have made an express request for such information, and if so how?
Your request has been handled as a request for information under the Freedom of
Information Act (FOIA) 2000.
The Freedom of Information Act provides for access to recorded information that is held at
the time a request is made to a public authority. The Home Office does not hold
information that sets out or explains any categories of information or circumstances where
the Home Office believes it may decide not to disclose information about its activities to
government Ministers and Parliament.
In certain circumstances it may be appropriate not to disclose information, for example in
cases where the information relates to national security. These instances will be decided
on a case by case basis.
If you are dissatisfied with this response you may request an independent internal review
of our handling of your request by submitting a complaint within two months to
xxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xxx.xx, quoting reference 47474. If you ask for an internal
review, it would be helpful if you could say why you are dissatisfied with the response.
As part of any internal review the Department's handling of your information request would
be reassessed by staff who were not involved in providing you with this response. If you
were to remain dissatisfied after a n internal review, you would have a right of complaint to
the Information Commissioner as established by section 50 of the FOIA.
Yours sincerely
J Conquest
Information Rights Team