Communication with British Embassy in Belgrade

Foreign and Commonwealth Office did not have the information requested.

Dear Foreign and Commonwealth Office,

Can you please supply me with copies of any communications between the Foreign Secretary or FCO staff and the British Embassy in Belgrade, which fit the following criteria:

1. Were sent between 1 Oct 16 and 30 Nov 16
2. Were sent by the Foreign Secretary or staff at the FCO to staff at the British Embassy in Belgrade, or were received by the Foreign Secretary or staff at the FCO from staff at the British Embassy in Belgrade.

Yours faithfully,
Greg Dash

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Dear Mr Dash,

Thank you for your email to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) requesting information under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

In order for us to be able to assist you with your request and best direct any search please could you clarify the scope of your request.

As currently drafted your request is too broad and we would be unable to proceed with it.

Would it also be possible for you to refine your request and specify a particular subject/topic/theme for the correspondence you are seeking?

Once we receive your revised request we will consider it and the appropriate course of action.

Yours sincerely,

FOI and DPA Team

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Dear Foreign and Commonwealth Office,

As requested, to clarify this request, could you please provide copies of any communication between the Foreign Secretary or FCO staff and the British Embassy in Belgrade, which fit the criteria above, and relate to the criteria below:

- Relate to the official two-day visit of the Foreign Secretary to Serbia on 10th-12th November 2016.
- These communications could include (but are not limited to) correspondence prior to the visit agreeing on times/dates/etc., details of the Foreign Secretary's diary during the visit, and correspondence on promoting the visit through the media.

Yours faithfully,

Greg Dash

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

 

Dear Mr Dash

 

Thank you for your email below  to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
(FCO) requesting information under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
 In order for us to be able to assist you with your request and best
direct any search, could you please refine/narrow the scope of your
request and let us know if there is anything specifically that you are
interested in.

 

Once we receive your revised request we will consider it and the
appropriate course of action.

 

Yours sincerely

FOI Team

 

 

 

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Dear Foreign and Commonwealth Office,

I have narrowed the request:
- to communications sent between 1 Oct 16 and 30 Nov 16
- Between the Foreign Secretary or FCO staff and the British Embassy in Belgrade
- Relate to the official two-day visit of the Foreign Secretary to Serbia on 10th-12th November 2016.
- and provided examples of the forms that these communications could take.

How can I narrow this further? Please provide some guidance.

Yours faithfully,

Greg Dash

Dear Foreign and Commonwealth Office,

I refer to my request for information dated 8 January 2017.

By law, an authority subject to the Freedom of Information Act should have responded by 13 February 2017. Please meet your legal requirement and provide the information requested or I will be forced to seek support from the Information Commissioner and requesting an internal review.

Yours faithfully,

Greg Dash

Dear Foreign and Commonwealth Office,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Foreign and Commonwealth Office's handling of my FOI request 'Communication with British Embassy in Belgrade'.

By law, the FCO should normally have responded promptly and within 20 working days. I have not received any response.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/c...

Yours faithfully,

Greg Dash

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Dear Mr Dash

Thank you for your request for an Internal Review of our response to your FOI Request Ref 0065-17. It has been passed to the relevant department within the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to deal with and they will respond to you with the outcome of the review.

We received your request on 20 February 2017 and will aim to respond within 20 working days.

Yours sincerely

FOI and DPA Team
Foreign and Commonwealth Office

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Dear Foreign and Commonwealth Office,

I greatly appreciate your response to this - could you please indicate when I will receive a response to my enquiry dated 8th January 2017. By law, an authority subject to the Freedom of Information Act should have responded by 13 February 2017. Please meet your legal requirement and provide the information requested.

Yours faithfully,

Greg Dash

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

2 Attachments

Dear Mr. Dash

 

Thank you for your e-mails of 8 & 16 January asking for information under
the Freedom of Information Act 2000. 

 

Please see the attached replies from our Western Balkans Department under
the following FCO Reference numbers:  FOI 0065-17 & FOI 0066-17.

 

 

Kind regards

 

FOI and DPA Team

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

 

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References

Visible links
1. http://www.gov.uk/fco
2. http://blogs.fco.gov.uk/

Dear Foreign and Commonwealth Office,

Thank you for the response to my request. I wish to point you to the question and answer listed in Hansard which appears to contradict the response you have provided here: http://www.parliament.uk/business/public...

Andrew Gwynne MP asked your department: "To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 30 January 2017 to Question 61655, what the media plan was prepared by his Department prior to his official visit to Serbia in November 2016; and whether that plan included communication with (a) Serbian media outlets and (b) Tanjug."

and Sir Alan Duncan replied: "As is standard practice, a media plan was developed prior to the Foreign Secretary’s official visit to Serbia in November 2016 setting out planned media activity by the Foreign Secretary and his press officials. Activities in the plan comprised an opinion piece by the Foreign Secretary (printed in the local press), a press release after the Foreign Secretary’s meeting with the Serbian Foreign Minister, a short statement with the Serbian Prime Minister ahead of their bilateral meeting, and the use of social media. The media plan did not specify particular Serbian media outlets, including Tanjug."

Furthermore, question 61655 asked "To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 24 January 2017 to Question 60166, what preparations (a) his Department and (b) the British Embassy in Belgrade undertook prior to his official visit to Serbia in November 2016."

To which Sir Alan Duncan replied: "As is standard practice, Embassy staff in Belgrade worked with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's Western Balkans Department, Media Office and the Foreign Secretary's Private Office on the visit. This included developing an itinerary, providing briefing and a media plan, making the necessary travel arrangements, as well as liaising with Serbian Government protocol and other local authorities."

The FOI enquiries above were denied as the information that was requested was not held by the department. As it is clear from the responses above that communications did take place on this, why is the information not available to be provided as per the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 2000.

Yours faithfully,

Greg Dash

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Dear Mr Dash,

Thank you for your request for an Internal Review of our response to your FOI Request Ref 0065-17 and 0066-17. It has been passed to the relevant department within the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to deal with and they will respond to you with the outcome of the review.

We received your request on 09 March 2017 and will aim to respond within 20 working days.

Yours sincerely

FOI and DPA Team
Foreign and Commonwealth Office

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Dear Foreign and Commonwealth Office,

20 days have elapsed since I requested a review of this as per my message on 09 March 2017. For ease, I have reproduced my request below. Please advise when you will respond, as you have now failed to meet your legal obligation both on the original request for this data, and on my request for a review into the matter.

I kindly request that you consider this as soon as possible, as by law you are required to have provided a response by March 29, 2017.

Email sent 09 March 2017:

Thank you for the response to my request. I wish to point you to the question and answer listed in Hansard which appears to contradict the response you have provided here: http://www.parliament.uk/business/public...

Andrew Gwynne MP asked your department: "To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 30 January 2017 to Question 61655, what the media plan was prepared by his Department prior to his official visit to Serbia in November 2016; and whether that plan included communication with (a) Serbian media outlets and (b) Tanjug."

and Sir Alan Duncan replied: "As is standard practice, a media plan was developed prior to the Foreign Secretary’s official visit to Serbia in November 2016 setting out planned media activity by the Foreign Secretary and his press officials. Activities in the plan comprised an opinion piece by the Foreign Secretary (printed in the local press), a press release after the Foreign Secretary’s meeting with the Serbian Foreign Minister, a short statement with the Serbian Prime Minister ahead of their bilateral meeting, and the use of social media. The media plan did not specify particular Serbian media outlets, including Tanjug."

Furthermore, question 61655 asked "To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 24 January 2017 to Question 60166, what preparations (a) his Department and (b) the British Embassy in Belgrade undertook prior to his official visit to Serbia in November 2016."

To which Sir Alan Duncan replied: "As is standard practice, Embassy staff in Belgrade worked with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's Western Balkans Department, Media Office and the Foreign Secretary's Private Office on the visit. This included developing an itinerary, providing briefing and a media plan, making the necessary travel arrangements, as well as liaising with Serbian Government protocol and other local authorities."

The FOI enquiries above were denied as the information that was requested was not held by the department. As it is clear from the responses above that communications did take place on this, why is the information not available to be provided as per the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 2000.

Yours faithfully,

Greg Dash

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Dear Mr Dash

Thank you for your email of 29 March. A response is required within 20 working days, which gives a deadline of 6 April. We are currently working on a response and will send it to you as soon as possible.

Kind regards

Western Balkans Department

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Foreign and Commonwealth Office

1 Attachment

 

Dear Mr. Dash

 

Please find attached the internal review of 0065-17 & 0066-17.

 

 

Kind regards

 

FOI and DPA Team

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

 

 

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References

Visible links
1. http://www.gov.uk/fco
2. http://blogs.fco.gov.uk/