Information Rights Unit
HM Treasury
1 Horse Guards Road
London
SW1A 2HQ
Mr Cross
020 7270 5000
By email
xxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
www.gov.uk/hm-treasury
13 July 2023
Ref: FOI2023/10667
Dear Mr Cross,
Freedom of Information Act 2000
Thank you for your enquiry of 20 June 2023, which we have considered under the terms of
the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the FOI Act).
On 30 May 2023 you asked for the following information:
“I understand that has been the policy of successive governments not to make
retrospective changes to pension schemes. Please provide a copy of the policy
document which sets out the policy in this area.”
We replied on 20 June 2023 and explained that under section 1(3) of the FOI Act, a public
authority need not comply with a request unless any further information reasonably
required to locate the information is supplied. We asked you to clarify whether your request
refers to all pension schemes, or a specific type of pension scheme, such as private pension
schemes or public sector pension schemes. We explained that we would be able to process
your request once we have received clarification.
On 20 June 2023 you sent the following email:
“In my view, my original request is sufficiently clear to constitute a valid request
without the need for further clarification. I do not want the limit my request to any
particular pension scheme or type of scheme.”
We are unable to confirm whether HM Treasury holds information within the scope of your
request.
Your request as currently drafted is very broad In order to identify if we hold any information
would require widespread multiple searches to be made by a number of Treasury teams in
order to locate any information held. This is because the Treasury does not collate
information in a way that could be used to easily identify possible information within the
scope of your request.
We estimate that to search and locate any information held would exceed the appropriate
limit. The appropriate limit for central Government is set at £600. This represents the
estimated cost of one person spending three and a half working days in determining
whether the department holds the information, and locating, retrieving and extracting that
information.
Under section 12 of the FOI Act departments are not obliged to comply with requests in
these circumstances. It may be that if you were to amend your request, for example, by
specifying a timescale and being more specific about the type of information/pension
schemes that you are interested in we may be able to comply with a future request.
However, we cannot guarantee that this would be the case.
If you have any queries about this letter, please contact us. Please quote the reference
number above in any future communications.
Yours sincerely
Information Rights Unit
Copyright notice
Most documents HM Treasury supplies in response to a Freedom of Information request,
including this letter, continue to be protected by Crown copyright. This is because they will
have been produced by Government officials as part of their work. You are free to use these
documents for your information, for any non-commercial research you may be doing and
for news reporting. Any other re-use, for example commercial publication, will require the
permission of the copyright holder. Crown copyright is managed by The National Archives
and you can find details on the arrangements for re-using Crown copyright material at:
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/information-management/re-using-public-sector-
information/uk-government-licensing-framework/crown-copyright
/
Your right to complain under the Freedom of Information Act 2000
If you are not happy with this reply, you can request a review by writing to HM Treasury,
Information Rights Unit, 1 Horse Guards Road, London SW1A 2HQ or by emailing us at the
address below. Any review request must be made within 40 working days of the date of
this letter.
Email: xxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
It would assist our review if you set out which aspects of the reply concern you and why you
are dissatisfied.
If you are not content with the outcome of the review, you may apply directly to the
Information Commissioner for a decision. Generally, the Commissioner will not make a
decision unless you have exhausted the complaints procedure provided by HM Treasury
which is outlined above.
The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: The Information Commissioner’s Office,
Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF (or via their website at:
https://ico.org.uk).
