Mr John O'Sullivan
Date
08 June 2023
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx
Post Office
100 Wood Street,
London,
EC2V 7ER
Classification:
Public
Dear Mr O'Sullivan,
Freedom of Information Request – FOI2023/00260
I am writing in response to your email received by Post Office Limited (“
Post Office”)
on 12 May 2023, in which you asked the following:
Does your department hold responsibility for the correct interpretation and
answering of FOI requests?
Do you ever review your procedures?
Do you ever take legal advice on drawing up replies?
If so from whom?
Does a reply from the POL FOI department constitute the Post Office's position
on a matter or its FOI Team?
Post Office considers that your email does not contain a request for recorded
information. Although your request can be in the form of a question, rather than a
request for specific documents, the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (“
FOIA”) does
not oblige an authority to answer a question if this would mean creating new
information or giving an opinion or judgment that is not already recorded, which
applies to the questions you have raised.
Post Office Limited is registered in England and Wales. Registered No. 2154540.
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Registered Office 100 Wood Street, London, EC2V 7ER.
Post Office and the Post Office logo are registered trade marks of Post Office Limited.
postoffice.co.uk
We would like to also refer you to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO)
guidance on how to access information from a public authority, which can be found
at the following link: https://ico.org.uk/for-the-public/official-information/
We deal with requests that do not fall under the FOIA through standard business
enquiry processes rather than as a formal request for information, therefore in
answer to your question:
Does your department hold responsibility for the correct interpretation and
answering of FOI requests? The Information Rights team is responsible for the coordination of FOI Requests and
involves relevant business areas in the preparation of responses. If requests are
ambiguous in any way, the team may require further clarification from the requester
either before starting the request or at any time during the handling period. Where
relevant, the team will indicate how it may have interpreted a request which allows
the requester to clarify should that interpretation be wrong. The team provides
advice and guidance to business areas on the applicability of exemptions and, lastly,
the team is also responsible for issuing responses.
Do you ever review your procedures?
We review our procedures on a regular basis to take account of best practice,
guidance and developments in case law. In addition, we have regular team
discussions to share best practice and knowledge.
Do you ever take legal advice on drawing up replies?
The Information Rights team takes legal advice where necessary when dealing with
requests.
If so from whom?
Advice is sought both internally and externally as necessary.
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postoffice.co.uk
Does a reply from the POL FOI department constitute the Post Office's position
on a matter or its FOI Team?
The FOI Act provides access to recorded information as set out in the ICO’s
Guidance (see above).
To be clear FOIA responses follow ICO guidance on recorded information held by
Post Office that is responsive to the request.
Yours sincerely,
Information Rights Team
xxxxxxxxxxx.xxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxx.xx.xx
https://corporate.postoffice.co.uk/en/governance/access-to-information/access-to-
information/
Post Office Limited is committed to protecting your privacy, information about
how we do this can be found on our website at www.postoffice.co.uk/privacy
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postoffice.co.uk
