Dear Mrs. Thompson,

Thank you for your request for information, which was received on 3rd June, 2012 and is being dealt with under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. We are therefore required to provide you with a response within 20 working days, which will be on or before 3rd July, 2012.

If we require any clarification or further details, we will contact you as soon as possible - if this is the case, then the timescale for response specified above may be subject to change.

In the meantime, if you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact me, remembering to quote the reference number provided above in any communications.

Yours sincerely
John Tillman
Swyddog Gwybodaeth a Diogelu Data
Adran y Prif Weithredwr
Cyngor Sir Gaerfyrddin
Information & Data Protection Officer
Chief Executive's Department
Carmarthenshire County Council
Mewnol/Internal: 4127
Allanol/External: 01267 224127

show quoted sections

Dear Mrs Thompson,

I refer to your request for information, which was received on 3^rd June,
2012 and has been dealt with under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

The specific information you requested was as follows:

“Given that Carmarthenshire Council has described the Towy Community
Church as a Partner organisation, please could you provide copies of all
correspondence including, but not exclusively, email exchanges, letters
and meeting notes between the Council (and it's individual officers and
Members) and the Towy Community Church, Carmarthen (including officers of
the church) since January 2007 until present. This request does not refer
exclusively to the Excel Project.

Please also include any correspondence between any representatives of both
organisations.”

We have given your request careful consideration, however, we find that we
are unable to comply with it for reasons I will set out below.

We do hold information which is relevant to your request.  However, whilst
it is specific in nature, your request is also broad in terms of the date
range it covers and the fact that the correspondence required is not
confined to any particular matter.  This being the case, it would be
necessary to check records relating to practically every service within
the Council over a five year period, including thousands of individual
email mailboxes.  There is no central database or electronic system in use
which would enable us to identify what correspondence has taken place
between the Council and the church.  This searching would have to be
carried out manually, therefore.

Whilst it is difficult to provide a precise estimate of the time it would
take to complete this task, we are satisfied that it would exceed three
working days.

Under Section 12 of the Act, if a public authority estimates that the cost
of complying that with a request exceeds the appropriate limit, it is not
obliged to comply with the request. This limit is defined in The Freedom
of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and Fees)
Regulations 2004 as £450, which equates to 18 hours of work at the
standard rate specified in the Regulations of £25.00 per hour.

In calculating this limit, the time spent on the following can be taken
into account:

1. Determining whether the information is held;

2. Locating the information or a document containing it;

2. Retrieving the information or a document containing it, and

3. Extracting the information from a document containing it.

As such, complying with your request would exceed the cost limit as
explained above

Therefore, as I am unable to comply in full with your request (as to do so
would exceed the appropriate limit), in accordance with Section 17 (5) of
the Act, I am therefore providing you with formal notice of this.

If you are unhappy with the way in which your request has been handled,
you can request a review by writing to:

The Head of Administration & Law

Carmarthenshire County Council

County Hall

Carmarthen

SA31 1JP

Email: [1][email address]

If you remain unhappy with the handling of your request or complaint, you
have a right to appeal to the Information Commissioner at:

The Information Commissioner's Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

Telephone: 0303 123 1113

Website: [2]www.ico.gov.uk

There is no charge for making an appeal.

If I can be of any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact
me.

Yours sincerely

John Tillman
Swyddog Gwybodaeth a Diogelu Data
Adran y Prif Weithredwr
Cyngor Sir Gaerfyrddin

Information & Data Protection Officer
Chief Executive's Department
Carmarthenshire County Council

Mewnol/Internal: 4127
Allanol/External: 01267 224127

Mae'r e-bost hwn ac unrhyw atodiadau yn gyfrinachol ac wedi'u bwriadu at
ddefnydd yr unigolyn y'u cyfeiriwyd ato/ati yn unig. Os derbyniwch y neges
hon trwy gamgymeriad, rhowch wybod i'r sawl a'i hanfonodd ar unwaith,
dilwch y neges o'ch cyfrifiadur a dinistriwch unrhyw gopau papur ohoni. Ni
ddylech ddangos yr e-bost i neb arall, na gweithredu ar sail y cynnwys.
Eiddo'r awdur yw unrhyw farn neu safbwyntiau a fynegir, ac nid ydynt o
reidrwydd yn cynrychioli safbwynt y Cyngor. Dylech wirio am firysau eich
hunan cyn agor unrhyw atodiad. Nid ydym yn derbyn unrhyw atebolrwydd am
golled neu niwed a all fod wedi'i achosi gan firysau meddalwedd neu drwy
ryng-gipio'r neges hon neu ymyrryd hi.

This e-mail and any attachments are confidential and intended solely for
the use of the individual to whom it is addressed. If received in error
please notify the sender immediately, delete the message from your
computer and destroy any hard copies. The e-mail should not be disclosed
to any other person, nor the contents acted upon. Any views or opinions
expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those
of the Council. You should carry out your own virus check before opening
any attachment. We accept no liability for any loss or damage which may be
caused by software viruses or interception/interruption of this mail.

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. http://www.ico.gov.uk/

[ WhatDoTheyKnow note: The above text was badly encoded, and has had strange characters removed. ]

Dear Mrs. Thompson,

Thank you for your request for information, which was received on 2nd July, 2012 and is being dealt with under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. We are therefore required to provide you with a response within 20 working days, which will be on or before 30th July, 2012.

If we require any clarification or further details, we will contact you as soon as possible - if this is the case, then the timescale for response specified above may be subject to change.

In the meantime, if you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact me, remembering to quote the reference number provided above in any communications.

Yours sincerely

John Tillman
Swyddog Gwybodaeth a Diogelu Data
Adran y Prif Weithredwr
Cyngor Sir Gaerfyrddin

Information & Data Protection Officer
Chief Executive's Department
Carmarthenshire County Council
Mewnol/Internal: 4127
Allanol/External: 01267 224127

show quoted sections

Dear Mrs Thompson,

I refer to your request for information, which was received on 2^nd
July,2012 and has been dealt with under the Freedom of Information Act
2000.

The specific information you requested was as follows:

Thank you for your response. I am a little disappointed that you did not
contact me earlier during the 20 working day period to suggest I
re-focussed my request. I believe this would have been compatible with the
Authority's duty to offer reasonable advice to requesters. The fact that
the cost limit would be exceeded must have surely been apparent early on.

If possible I would now like to request the information again but this
time I will limit the scope to correspondence dealing only with the Excel
Project.

We have given your request careful consideration, however, we find that we
are unable to comply with it for reasons I will set out below.

We do hold information which is relevant to your request. However, whilst
it is specific in nature, your request is also broad in terms of the date
range it covers.  This being the case, it  would be necessary to check
records relating to several departments within the Council over a five
year period, including a number of individual email mailboxes.  There is
no central database or electronic system in use which would enable us to
identify what correspondence has taken place between the Council and the
church in relation to this project.  This searching would have to be
carried out manually, therefore.  In addition, a number of papers files,
held by several different departments, would also have to be checked.

Whilst it is difficult to provide a precise estimate of the time it would
take to complete this task, we are satisfied that it would exceed three
working days.

Under Section 12 of the Act, if a public authority estimates that the cost
of complying that with a request exceeds the appropriate limit, it is not

obliged to comply with the request. This limit is defined in The Freedom
of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and Fees)
Regulations 2004 as £450, which equates to 18 hours of work at the
standard rate specified in the Regulations of £25.00 per hour.

In calculating this limit, the time spent on the following can be taken
into account:

     1. Determining whether the information is held;

     2. Locating the information or a document containing it;

     2. Retrieving the information or a document containing it, and

     3. Extracting the information from a document containing it.

As such, complying with your request would exceed the cost limit as
explained above therefore, as I am unable to comply in full with your
request (as to do so would exceed the appropriate limit), in accordance
with Section 17 (5) of the Act, I am therefore providing you with formal
notice of this.

If you are unhappy with the way in which your request has been handled,
you can request a review by writing to:

The Head of Administration & Law

Carmarthenshire County Council

County Hall

Carmarthen

SA31 1JP

Email: [1] [1][email address]

If you remain unhappy with the handling of your request or complaint, you
have a right to appeal to the Information Commissioner at:

The Information Commissioner's Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

Telephone: 0303 123 1113

Website: [2][2]www.ico.gov.uk

There is no charge for making an appeal.

If I can be of any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact
me.

Yours sincerely

John Tillman

Swyddog Gwybodaeth a Diogelu Data

Adran y Prif Weithredwr

Cyngor Sir Gaerfyrddin

Information & Data Protection Officer

Chief Executive's Department

Carmarthenshire County Council

Mewnol/Internal: 4127

Allanol/External: 01267 224127

Mae'r e-bost hwn ac unrhyw atodiadau yn gyfrinachol ac wedi'u bwriadu at
ddefnydd yr unigolyn y'u cyfeiriwyd ato/ati yn unig. Os derbyniwch y neges
hon trwy gamgymeriad, rhowch wybod i'r sawl a'i hanfonodd ar unwaith,
dilëwch y neges o'ch cyfrifiadur a dinistriwch unrhyw gopïau papur ohoni.
Ni ddylech ddangos yr e-bost i neb arall, na gweithredu ar sail y cynnwys.
Eiddo'r awdur yw unrhyw farn neu safbwyntiau a fynegir, ac nid ydynt o
reidrwydd yn cynrychioli safbwynt y Cyngor. Dylech wirio am firysau eich
hunan cyn agor unrhyw atodiad. Nid ydym yn derbyn unrhyw atebolrwydd am
golled neu niwed a all fod wedi'i achosi gan firysau meddalwedd neu drwy
ryng-gipio'r neges hon neu ymyrryd â hi.

This e-mail and any attachments are confidential and intended solely for
the use of the individual to whom it is addressed. If received in error
please notify the sender immediately, delete the message from your
computer and destroy any hard copies. The e-mail should not be disclosed
to any other person, nor the contents acted upon. Any views or opinions
expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those
of the Council. You should carry out your own virus check before opening
any attachment. We accept no liability for any loss or damage which may be
caused by software viruses or interception/interruption of this mail.

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. http://www.ico.gov.uk/

This message was created automatically by mail delivery software.

A message that you sent could not be delivered to one or more of its
recipients. This is a permanent error. The following address(es) failed:

[Carmarthenshire County Council request email]
SMTP error from remote mail server after RCPT TO:<[Carmarthenshire County Council request email]>:
host seagrass.goatchurch.org.uk [93.93.131.18]:
550 relay not permitted

show quoted sections

Dear Madam,

I write to acknowledge your email of today’s date addressed to Mr Tillman,
in which you requested a review of his earlier decision in this matter. 
Your request has been passed to me to deal with and I will consider the
matter afresh within 20 working days, that is by the 30^th August 2012.
However, if at all possible, I will respond before then.

Yours Faithfully

Mr R J Edgecombe

Acting Legal Services Manager

Mae'r e-bost hwn ac unrhyw atodiadau yn gyfrinachol ac wedi'u bwriadu at
ddefnydd yr unigolyn y'u cyfeiriwyd ato/ati yn unig. Mae'n bosib bod yr
e-bost hefyd yn cynnwys gwybodaeth gyfreithiol freintiedig. Os derbyniwch
y neges hon trwy gamgymeriad, rhowch wybod i'r sawl a'i hanfonodd ar
unwaith, dilëwch y neges o'ch cyfrifiadur a dinistriwch unrhyw gopïau
papur ohoni. Ni ddylech ddangos yr e-bost i unrhyw un arall, na gweithredu
ar sail y cynnwys. Eiddo'r awdur yw unrhyw farn neu safbwynt a fynegir, ac
nid ydynt o reidrwydd yn cynrychioli safbwynt y Cyngor. Dylech wirio am
firysau eich hunan cyn agor unrhyw atodiad. Nid ydym yn derbyn unrhyw
atebolrwydd am golled neu niwed a all fod wedi'i achosi gan firysau
meddalwedd neu trwy ryng-gipio r neges hon neu ymyrryd â hi. Ni fydd y
Cyngor yn derbyn dogfennau a gyflwynir yn y cyfeiriad e-bost hwn at
ddibenion cyfreithiol, oni chytunir ar hynny yn ysgrifenedig ymlaen llaw
gyda'r sawl sy'n eu hanfon.

This e-mail and any attachments are confidential and intended solely for
the use of the individual to whom it is addressed. This e-mail may also
contain legally privileged information. If received in error please notify
the sender immediately, delete the message from your computer and destroy
any hard copies. The e-mail should not be disclosed to any other person,
nor the contents acted upon. Any views or opinions expressed are those of
the author and do not necessarily represent those of the Council. You
should carry out your own virus check before opening any attachment. We
accept no liability for any loss or damage which may be caused by software
viruses or interception/interruption of this mail. The Council will not
accept service of documents at this e-mail address for legal purposes,
unless agreed in advance in writing with the sender.

Mae'r e-bost hwn ac unrhyw atodiadau yn gyfrinachol ac wedi'u bwriadu at
ddefnydd yr unigolyn y'u cyfeiriwyd ato/ati yn unig. Mae'n bosib bod yr
e-bost hefyd yn cynnwys gwybodaeth gyfreithiol freintiedig. Os derbyniwch
y neges hon trwy gamgymeriad, rhowch wybod i'r sawl a'i hanfonodd ar
unwaith, dilëwch y neges o'ch cyfrifiadur a dinistriwch unrhyw gopïau
papur ohoni. Ni ddylech ddangos yr e-bost i unrhyw un arall, na gweithredu
ar sail y cynnwys. Eiddo'r awdur yw unrhyw farn neu safbwynt a fynegir, ac
nid ydynt o reidrwydd yn cynrychioli safbwynt y Cyngor. Dylech wirio am
firysau eich hunan cyn agor unrhyw atodiad. Nid ydym yn derbyn unrhyw
atebolrwydd am golled neu niwed a all fod wedi'i achosi gan firysau
meddalwedd neu trwy ryng-gipio’r neges hon neu ymyrryd â hi. Ni fydd y
Cyngor yn derbyn dogfennau a gyflwynir yn y cyfeiriad e-bost hwn at
ddibenion cyfreithiol, oni chytunir ar hynny yn ysgrifenedig ymlaen llaw
gyda'r sawl sy'n eu hanfon.

This e-mail and any attachments are confidential and intended solely for
the use of the individual to whom it is addressed. This e-mail may also
contain legally privileged information. If received in error please notify
the sender immediately, delete the message from your computer and destroy
any hard copies. The e-mail should not be disclosed to any other person,
nor the contents acted upon. Any views or opinions expressed are those of
the author and do not necessarily represent those of the Council. You
should carry out your own virus check before opening any attachment. We
accept no liability for any loss or damage which may be caused by software
viruses or interception/interruption of this mail. The Council will not
accept service of documents at this e-mail address for legal purposes,
unless agreed in advance in writing with the sender.

Dear Mrs Thompson,

Thank you for your email. I will be meeting the Council's Freedom of Information and Data Protection Officer and the Head of Administration and Law later this week to discuss the Council's response to the decision of the ICO.

Regards

Robert Edgecombe
Legal Services Manager

show quoted sections

Dear Mrs Thompson,
 
I refer to your request for information, received on 2^nd July, 2012 which
was dealt with under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA).
 
The specific information you requested was as follows:
 
“Thank you for your response.  I am a little disappointed that you did not
contact me earlier during the 20 working day period to suggest I
re-focussed my request.  I believe this would have been compatible with
the Authority’s duty to offer reasonable advice to requesters. 
 
The fact that the cost limit would be exceeded must surely have been
apparent early on. If possible I would now like to request the information
again but this time I will limit the scope to the correspondence dealing
only with the Excel Project”.
 
As you will be aware, our initial refusal to comply with your request on
31^st July, 2012 was subject to an internal review, the findings of which
were communicated to you on 17^th August, 2012.
 
The matter was subsequently referred to the Information Commissioner’s
Office (ICO) and on 27^th March, 2013, the Commissioner issued his
decision notice, upholding your complaint.  The decision notice requires
the Council to:
 
“Issue a fresh response under the FOIA that does not rely on Section 12
(1).”
 
In light of the ICO’s findings, we have therefore reconsidered your
request. 
 
We find that there are other grounds for refusing to comply with the
request, which are set out below.
 
Under Section 14 (1) of the FOIA, a public authority is not obliged to
comply with a request which is vexatious.
 
Having referred to the ICO’s guidance (version 5, June 2012) and relevant
case law (Information Commissioner v. Devon CC & Dransfield [2012] UKUT
440 (AAC)) we are of the view that the request is indeed vexatious.
 
We feel that it would impose a significant burden on the Council, as
documented in the ICO’s decision notice (reference FS50461626).
 
Furthermore, we are of the opinion that the request does not in fact have
any serious purpose or value in terms of the objective public interest in
the information sought.
 
Section 14 (1) has the effect of an absolute exemption in such
circumstances.
 
Please therefore consider this email to be a formal notice of refusal, in
accordance with Section 17 of the Act.  
 
If you disagree with this decision or are unhappy with the way in which
your request has been dealt with, you are entitled to complain in the
first instance to:
 
The Head of Administration & Law
Carmarthenshire County Council
County Hall
Carmarthen
SA31 1JP
 
Email: [1][email address]
 
If you remain unhappy with the handling of your request or complaint, you
have a right to appeal to the Information Commissioner at:
 
The Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
 
Telephone: 0303 123 1113
Website: [2]www.ico.gov.uk
 
There is no charge for making an appeal.
 
Yours sincerely
John Tillman
Swyddog Gwybodaeth a Diogelu Data
Adran y Prif Weithredwr
Cyngor Sir Gaerfyrddin
Information & Data Protection Officer
Chief Executive's Department
Carmarthenshire County Council
Mewnol/Internal: 4127
Allanol/External: 01267 224127
 
 
 
 

Mae'r e-bost hwn ac unrhyw atodiadau yn gyfrinachol ac wedi'u bwriadu at
ddefnydd yr unigolyn y'u cyfeiriwyd ato/ati yn unig. Os derbyniwch y neges
hon trwy gamgymeriad, rhowch wybod i'r sawl a'i hanfonodd ar unwaith,
dilëwch y neges o'ch cyfrifiadur a dinistriwch unrhyw gopïau papur ohoni.
Ni ddylech ddangos yr e-bost i neb arall, na gweithredu ar sail y cynnwys.
Eiddo'r awdur yw unrhyw farn neu safbwyntiau a fynegir, ac nid ydynt o
reidrwydd yn cynrychioli safbwynt y Cyngor. Dylech wirio am firysau eich
hunan cyn agor unrhyw atodiad. Nid ydym yn derbyn unrhyw atebolrwydd am
golled neu niwed a all fod wedi'i achosi gan firysau meddalwedd neu drwy
ryng-gipio'r neges hon neu ymyrryd â hi.

This e-mail and any attachments are confidential and intended solely for
the use of the individual to whom it is addressed. If received in error
please notify the sender immediately, delete the message from your
computer and destroy any hard copies. The e-mail should not be disclosed
to any other person, nor the contents acted upon. Any views or opinions
expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those
of the Council. You should carry out your own virus check before opening
any attachment. We accept no liability for any loss or damage which may be
caused by software viruses or interception/interruption of this mail.

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. http://www.ico.gov.uk/

Dear Madam,
 
Your email of the 7^th May addressed to Mr Tillman seeking an internal
review of his decision in relation to this request has been passed to me
to respond. I will conclude the review within  20 working days of your
email, that is by the 27^th May by the latest. However I will try to
respond before then if at all possible.
 
Yours Faithfully
Robert Edgecombe
Legal Services Manager
 

Mae'r e-bost hwn ac unrhyw atodiadau yn gyfrinachol ac wedi'u bwriadu at
ddefnydd yr unigolyn y'u cyfeiriwyd ato/ati yn unig. Mae'n bosib bod yr
e-bost hefyd yn cynnwys gwybodaeth gyfreithiol freintiedig. Os derbyniwch
y neges hon trwy gamgymeriad, rhowch wybod i'r sawl a'i hanfonodd ar
unwaith, dilëwch y neges o'ch cyfrifiadur a dinistriwch unrhyw gopïau
papur ohoni. Ni ddylech ddangos yr e-bost i unrhyw un arall, na gweithredu
ar sail y cynnwys. Eiddo'r awdur yw unrhyw farn neu safbwynt a fynegir, ac
nid ydynt o reidrwydd yn cynrychioli safbwynt y Cyngor. Dylech wirio am
firysau eich hunan cyn agor unrhyw atodiad. Nid ydym yn derbyn unrhyw
atebolrwydd am golled neu niwed a all fod wedi'i achosi gan firysau
meddalwedd neu trwy ryng-gipio r neges hon neu ymyrryd â hi. Ni fydd y
Cyngor yn derbyn dogfennau a gyflwynir yn y cyfeiriad e-bost hwn at
ddibenion cyfreithiol, oni chytunir ar hynny yn ysgrifenedig ymlaen llaw
gyda'r sawl sy'n eu hanfon.

This e-mail and any attachments are confidential and intended solely for
the use of the individual to whom it is addressed. This e-mail may also
contain legally privileged information. If received in error please notify
the sender immediately, delete the message from your computer and destroy
any hard copies. The e-mail should not be disclosed to any other person,
nor the contents acted upon. Any views or opinions expressed are those of
the author and do not necessarily represent those of the Council. You
should carry out your own virus check before opening any attachment. We
accept no liability for any loss or damage which may be caused by software
viruses or interception/interruption of this mail. The Council will not
accept service of documents at this e-mail address for legal purposes,
unless agreed in advance in writing with the sender.

Mae'r e-bost hwn ac unrhyw atodiadau yn gyfrinachol ac wedi'u bwriadu at
ddefnydd yr unigolyn y'u cyfeiriwyd ato/ati yn unig. Mae'n bosib bod yr
e-bost hefyd yn cynnwys gwybodaeth gyfreithiol freintiedig. Os derbyniwch
y neges hon trwy gamgymeriad, rhowch wybod i'r sawl a'i hanfonodd ar
unwaith, dilëwch y neges o'ch cyfrifiadur a dinistriwch unrhyw gopïau
papur ohoni. Ni ddylech ddangos yr e-bost i unrhyw un arall, na gweithredu
ar sail y cynnwys. Eiddo'r awdur yw unrhyw farn neu safbwynt a fynegir, ac
nid ydynt o reidrwydd yn cynrychioli safbwynt y Cyngor. Dylech wirio am
firysau eich hunan cyn agor unrhyw atodiad. Nid ydym yn derbyn unrhyw
atebolrwydd am golled neu niwed a all fod wedi'i achosi gan firysau
meddalwedd neu trwy ryng-gipio’r neges hon neu ymyrryd â hi. Ni fydd y
Cyngor yn derbyn dogfennau a gyflwynir yn y cyfeiriad e-bost hwn at
ddibenion cyfreithiol, oni chytunir ar hynny yn ysgrifenedig ymlaen llaw
gyda'r sawl sy'n eu hanfon.

This e-mail and any attachments are confidential and intended solely for
the use of the individual to whom it is addressed. This e-mail may also
contain legally privileged information. If received in error please notify
the sender immediately, delete the message from your computer and destroy
any hard copies. The e-mail should not be disclosed to any other person,
nor the contents acted upon. Any views or opinions expressed are those of
the author and do not necessarily represent those of the Council. You
should carry out your own virus check before opening any attachment. We
accept no liability for any loss or damage which may be caused by software
viruses or interception/interruption of this mail. The Council will not
accept service of documents at this e-mail address for legal purposes,
unless agreed in advance in writing with the sender.