OFFICIAL
Mr Noel Dolphin
Network Rail
By email: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx
Freedom of Information
The Quadrant
Elder Gate
Milton Keynes
MK9 1EN
T 01908 782405
E xxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xx.xx
10 February 2021
Dear Mr Dolphin
Information request
Reference number: FOI2021/00046
Thank you for your email of 13 January 2021, in which you requested the following
recorded information:
At the Network Rail Board meeting held on Thursday 22 October 2020, the meeting
reviewed Paper 76/20 summarising the post-completion project benefits of Great Western
Route Modernisation.
Minutes publicly available on Network rail's website: https://www.networkrail.co.uk/wp-
content/uploads/2020/12/2020-10-22-October-Board-Minutes-for-publication-with-text-
redacted.pdf .
Can I obtain a copy of this board paper presented on the 22nd October 2020: Paper 76/20.
We are processing your request under the Environmental Information Regulations 2004
(EIR).1
Under regulation 7(1) of the EIRs a public authority may ‘extend the period of 20 working
days … to 40 working days if it reasonably believes that the complexity and volume of the
information requested means that it is impracticable either to comply with the request
within the earlier period or to make a decision to refuse to do so.’
1 Section 39 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) exempts environmental information from the FOIA
and requires us to consider it under the EIR. This type of information is environmental according to the
definition in regulation 2(c) of the EIRs; this is because the information concerns a measure affecting the
environment, in this case a specific project.
Network Rail Infrastructure Limited Registered Office: Network Rail, 2nd Floor, One Eversholt Street, London, NW1 2DN Registered in England and Wales No. 2904587 www.networkrail.co.uk
OFFICIAL
The Information Commissioner’s guidance makes it clear that a public authority should
apply this section of the EIRs when ‘it reasonably believes it will require additional time to
locate and provide the information because the requester has asked for a large amount of
complex information and it would not be practical to provide the information or make a
decision about whether to refuse the request within 20 working days.
For further guidance as to the application of the EIRs, you may wish to consult the
Information Commissioner’s website at: https://ico.org.uk/media/for-
organisations/documents/1641/guide_to_environmental_information_regulations.pdf
While we have already retrieved the information you are seeking in your request, we are
still working through the complexities of whether disclosure of this information is
appropriate. While we are working through these decisions, it is not possible to provide a
substantive response. Accordingly, in line with the provisions of regulation 7(1) of the EIR,
I will respond to you as soon as possible and by 10 March 2021 at the latest.
If you have any enquiries about this letter, please contact me in the first instance at
xxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xx.xx. Details of your appeal rights are below.
Please remember to quote the reference number at the top of this letter in all future
communications.
Yours sincerely
Emma Meadows
Information Officer
Appeal Rights
If you are unhappy with the way your request has been handled and wish to make a
complaint or request a review of our decision, please write to the Head of Freedom of
Information at Network Rail, Freedom of Information, The Quadrant, Elder Gate, Milton
Keynes, MK9 1EN, or by email at xxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xx.xx. Your request must be submitted
within 40 working days of receipt of this letter.
If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have the right to apply
directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision. The Information Commissioner
(ICO) can be contacted at Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water
Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF or you can contact the ICO through the 'Make a
Complaint' section of their website on this link: https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/
The relevant section to select will be "Official or Public Information".
Network Rail Infrastructure Limited Registered Office: Network Rail, 2nd Floor, One Eversholt Street, London, NW1 2DN Registered in England and Wales No. 2904587 www.networkrail.co.uk