DPA Subject Access Requests from April 2013

Dear Mr Blowe

Freedom of Information Request Reference No: 2013110001124
I write in connection with your request for information which was
received by the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) on 09/11/2013. I note
you seek access to the following information:

* "Please could you tell me: (a) the number of Subject Access Requests
under section 7 of the Data Protection Act that were received by the
Metropolitan Police during the six months from 1 April 2013 to 30
September 2013. (b) how many of the requests submitted during this
period were completed, with personal data provided to individual
requesters, within the 40 calendar day limit specified by the Act. "

Your request will now be considered in accordance with the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 (the Act). You will receive a response within
the statutory timescale of 20 working days as defined by the Act,
subject to the information not being exempt or containing a reference
to a third party. In some circumstances the MPS may be unable to
achieve this deadline. If this is likely you will be informed and
given a revised time-scale at the earliest opportunity.

Some requests may also require either full or partial transference to
another public authority in order to answer your query in the fullest
possible way. Again, you will be informed if this is the case.

COMPLAINT RIGHTS

Your attention is drawn to the attached sheet, which details your
right of complaint.

Should you have any further enquiries concerning this matter, please
contact me at the above address or my colleagues at [email address]
quoting the reference number above.

Yours sincerely

S Bhaskaran
Customer Services Administration Team
COMPLAINT RIGHTS

Are you unhappy with how your request has been handled or do you think
the decision is incorrect?

You have the right to require the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) to
review their decision.

Prior to lodging a formal complaint you are welcome to discuss the
response with the case officer who dealt with your request.

Complaint

If you are dissatisfied with the handling procedures or the decision
of the MPS made under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act)
regarding access to information you can lodge a complaint with the MPS
to have the decision reviewed.

Complaints should be made in writing, within forty (40) working days
from the date of the refusal notice, and addressed to:

FOI Complaint
Public Access Office
PO Box 57192
London
SW6 1SF
[email address]

In all possible circumstances the MPS will aim to respond to your
complaint within 20 working days.
The Information Commissioner

After lodging a complaint with the MPS if you are still dissatisfied
with the decision you may make application to the Information
Commissioner for a decision on whether the request for information has
been dealt with in accordance with the requirements of the Act.

For information on how to make application to the Information
Commissioner please visit their website at
www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk. Alternatively, phone or write to:

Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Phone: 01625 545 700

Total Policing is the Met's commitment to be on the streets and in your
communities to catch offenders, prevent crime and support victims. We are
here for London, working with you to make our capital safer.

Consider our environment - please do not print this email unless
absolutely necessary.

NOTICE - This email and any attachments may be confidential, subject to
copyright and/or legal privilege and are intended solely for the use of
the intended recipient. If you have received this email in error, please
notify the sender and delete it from your system. To avoid incurring
legal liabilities, you must not distribute or copy the information in this
email without the permission of the sender. MPS communication systems are
monitored to the extent permitted by law. Consequently, any email and/or
attachments may be read by monitoring staff. Only specified personnel are
authorised to conclude any binding agreement on behalf of the MPS by
email. The MPS accepts no responsibility for unauthorised agreements
reached with other employees or agents. The security of this email and
any attachments cannot be guaranteed. Email messages are routinely scanned
but malicious software infection and corruption of content can still occur
during transmission over the Internet. Any views or opinions expressed in
this communication are solely those of the author and do not necessarily
represent those of the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS).

Find us at:

Facebook: Facebook.com/metpoliceuk
Twitter: @metpoliceuk

Dear Mr Blowe

Freedom of Information Request Reference No: 2013110001124

I write in connection with your request for information which was received
by the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) on 09/11/2013. I note you seek
access to the following information:

'Please could you tell me:

* (a) the number of Subject Access Requests under section 7 of the Data
Protection Act that were received by the Metropolitan Police during
the six months from 1 April 2013 to 30 September 2013.
* (b) how many of the requests submitted during this period were
completed, with personal data provided to individual requesters,
within the 40 calendar day limit specified by the Act.'

This letter is to inform you that it will not be possible to respond to
your request within the cost threshold.

The purpose of MetRIC (Metropolitan Requests for Information &
Correspondence) is to support the management of correspondence, files and
legislative-based information requests.

In order to locate, retrieve and extract information relevant to this
Section B of your request (how many of the requests submitted during this
period were completed, with personal data provided to individual
requesters, within the 40 calendar day limit specified by the Act),each
individual MetRIC record of those Subject Access Requests (SAR's) would
need to be perused. This is as there is no filter to establish whether
personal information was or was not provided, thus the need to read
through each one. 480 SAR's that were submitted in that time period (1st
April 2013 -30th September 2013), were completed. It is estimated that it
would take approximately 3 minutes to peruse each record, to establish
whether personal data was provided to the requester. This would take 24
hours to establish an answer for Section B of your request.

We estimate that the cost of complying with this request would exceed the
appropriate limit. The appropriate limit has been specified in regulations
and for agencies outside central Government; this is set at £450.00.
This represents the estimated cost of one person spending 18 hours [at a
rate of £25 per hour] in determining whether the MPS holds the
information, and locating, retrieving and extracting the information.

In accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000, this letter acts
as a Refusal Notice.

Section 17(5) of the Act provides:

(5) A public authority which, in relation to any request for information,
is relying on a claim that section 12 or 14 applies must, within the time
for complying with section 1(1), give the applicant a notice stating that
fact.

Section 12(1) of the Act provides:

(1) Section 1 does not oblige a public authority to comply with a request
for information if the authority estimates that the cost of complying with
the request would exceed the appropriate limit.

Section 16 of the Act provides:

(1) It shall be the duty of a public authority to provide advice and
assistance, so far as it would be reasonable to expect the authority to do
so, to persons who propose to make, or have made, requests for information
to it.

(2) Any public authority which, in relation to the provision of advice or
assistance in any case, conforms with the code of practice under section
45 is to be taken to comply with the duty imposed by subsection (1) in
relation to that case.

I would like to provide you with advice as to how you may narrow your
request so that it does not exceed the appropriate limit.

* Narrowing your request by requesting a shorter time frame may enable
the request to be completed within the cost threshold.
* Alternatively by not asking whether the information was released would
also narrow your request within the cost threshold.

COMPLAINT RIGHTS

Your attention is drawn to the attached sheet which details your right of
complaint.

Should you have any further enquiries concerning this matter, please write
or contact Andrea Duncan via email - [email address]
quoting the reference number above.

Yours sincerely

Andrea Duncan
Q&A Team
COMPLAINT RIGHTS

Are you unhappy with how your request has been handled or do you think the
decision is incorrect?

You have the right to require the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) to
review their decision.

Prior to lodging a formal complaint you are welcome to discuss the
response with the case officer who dealt with your request.

Complaint

If you are dissatisfied with the handling procedures or the decision of
the MPS made under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act) regarding
access to information you can lodge a complaint with the MPS to have the
decision reviewed.

Complaints should be made in writing, within forty (40) working days from
the date of the refusal notice, and addressed to:

FOI Complaint
Public Access Office
PO Box 57192
London
SW6 1SF
[email address]

In all possible circumstances the MPS will aim to respond to your
complaint within 20 working days.
The Information Commissioner

After lodging a complaint with the MPS if you are still dissatisfied with
the decision you may make application to the Information Commissioner for
a decision on whether the request for information has been dealt with in
accordance with the requirements of the Act.

For information on how to make application to the Information Commissioner
please visit their website at www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk.
Alternatively, phone or write to:

Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Phone: 01625 545 700

Total Policing is the Met's commitment to be on the streets and in your
communities to catch offenders, prevent crime and support victims. We are
here for London, working with you to make our capital safer.

Consider our environment - please do not print this email unless
absolutely necessary.

NOTICE - This email and any attachments may be confidential, subject to
copyright and/or legal privilege and are intended solely for the use of
the intended recipient. If you have received this email in error, please
notify the sender and delete it from your system. To avoid incurring
legal liabilities, you must not distribute or copy the information in this
email without the permission of the sender. MPS communication systems are
monitored to the extent permitted by law. Consequently, any email and/or
attachments may be read by monitoring staff. Only specified personnel are
authorised to conclude any binding agreement on behalf of the MPS by
email. The MPS accepts no responsibility for unauthorised agreements
reached with other employees or agents. The security of this email and
any attachments cannot be guaranteed. Email messages are routinely scanned
but malicious software infection and corruption of content can still occur
during transmission over the Internet. Any views or opinions expressed in
this communication are solely those of the author and do not necessarily
represent those of the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS).

Find us at:

Facebook: Facebook.com/metpoliceuk

Twitter: @metpoliceuk

Dear Mr Blowe

Freedom of Information Request Reference No: 2013120000597
I write in connection with your request for information which was
received by the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) on 06/12/2013. I note
you seek access to the following information:

"Dear Metropolitan Police Service (MPS),

Thank you for your response. I am genuinely surprised that the MPS has no
internal systems to monitor the completion rate of DPA Subject Access
requests, which seems like a useful indicator to help the MPS judge
whether it commits sufficient resources to information transparency and
accountability.

However, I would be still grateful for just the total number of SARs
received during the period from 1 April to 30 September. 2013. I assume
this is a simple request to respond to and look forward to your prompt
response. "

Your request will now be considered in accordance with the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 (the Act). You will receive a response within the
statutory timescale of 20 working days as defined by the Act, subject to
the information not being exempt or containing a reference to a third
party. In some circumstances the MPS may be unable to achieve this
deadline. If this is likely you will be informed and given a revised
time-scale at the earliest opportunity.

Some requests may also require either full or partial transference to
another public authority in order to answer your query in the fullest
possible way. Again, you will be informed if this is the case.

COMPLAINT RIGHTS

Your attention is drawn to the attached sheet, which details your right of
complaint.

Should you have any further enquiries concerning this matter, please write
or contact FOIA Team quoting the reference number above.

Yours sincerely

Peter Deja
Policy and Support Officer
COMPLAINT RIGHTS