Prior FoI request re Mr Scott Mcleman
Dear Office of Communications,
A claim has been made recently which relies on the result of a recent FoI request concerning Mr Scott Mcleman and his amateur radio license status, in particular his holding of the call sign MM0LID.
I would like to receive copies of all requests and responses concerning Mr Mcleman. If a time frame is required in order to bring my request under the approved cost limit, please provide information for all requests since July 2016.
Thanks
Yours faithfully,
Peter Bowyer
Dear Peter,
Thank you for your email.
We cannot confirm or deny that the information you have requested is held, as it would fall under the exemption section 40 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, which relates to personal information. Section 40 provides that such information is exempt for the purposes of the Act. We would not able to disclose information about an individual to someone else. without the individual's consent. When publishing FOI requests and responses, we do not generally disclose the personal details of requesters, unless the requester has done so already, for example, by making their request via a public forum such as whatdotheyknow.com
Section 40 is an absolute exemption under the Act and does not require a public interest test.
I hope this is helpful.
Kind regards,
Jenny
Information Requests team
Ofcom
Mark Salter left an annotation ()
But you did not ask for personal information?
Neither the FOI request or response could have held personal information - that is not allowed; the email address of the requester is easily redacted.
If you know what data was previously disclosed, then just ask Ofcom for it yourself - they would have to provide it.
If the information sought is personal then that would be refused - if requested by a FOIR - as perhaps the one(s) you are seeking were.
Ofcom should of course be publishing responses publicly here : https://www.ofcom.org.uk/about-ofcom/foi... anyway so the reply in this instance is ludicrous.
If you *know* that Ofcom previously disclosed information held pertaining to a person then a request for an internal review and then possibly a complaint to the ICO could be in order.
--
Mark
Mark Salter left an annotation ()
Is it about :-
https://uk.groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/u...
Ofcom could not have prvided any link between MM0LID and an individual; they can only have released the call signs listed as held.
There most recent callsign release, indicated as 'probably out of date' by their FOI department is
http://bit.ly/2xlwSsX
(now preserved outside of Ofcom for reference/annotating)
and MM0LID was not present then. Of course Ofcom's database could be wrong.
Mark Salter left an annotation ()
Sorry Peter, I now see you are are a regular FOI user, so this is mostly not useful to you.
Perhaps for others though, perhaps especially people like Paul O'Kane who seem to claim that Ofcom are releasing FOI with personal information in (although they have done that before on other subjects).
--
Mark
Len Paget left an annotation ()
You could of course simply ask OFCOM as I did if the callsign MM0LID has been issued to any currently licenced radio amateur. OFCOM has confirmed to me it has not.
From: Spectrum Licensing
Sent: 06 September 2017 11:31
To: 'len.paget@xxxxxxxxxxx'
Subject: RE: EXTERNAL:RE: M#0LID and M#0AWA callsigns
Dear Mr Paget,
Thank you for your below email and confirming your request in writing. I have liaised with our Freedom of Information team who have advised that the response will be published online shortly. There are a few FOIs to be published on various subjects, so it won’t be published today, but you will be able to see it on there soon.
If you have any further queries or concerns, please contact the Spectrum Licensing Team on 020 7981 3131 or via spectrum.licensing@ofcom.org.uk
Kind regards,
:: Ian Adamson
Licensing Associate
Spectrum Group
spectrum.licensing@ofcom.org.uk
Such an enquiry is not exempt under the act as all callsigns issued whether or not they are 'details withheld' are a matter of public record.
I have asked my last enquiry confirming the status of MM0LID to be placed in the public domain on the OFCOM website.
Peter Bowyer left an annotation ()
I could have, but it wouldn't have told me what I wanted to know. My FoI did tell me what I wanted to know one.
Len Paget left an annotation ()
This is as close as you'll get under the Act and suitable for most purposes. The MM0AWA callsign refers to Gordon McLeman for which there are similar concerns.
From: Spectrum Licensing
Sent: 06 September 2017 09:55
To: 'len.paget@xxxxxx'
Cc: Information Requests
Subject: M#0LID and M#0AWA callsigns
Dear Mr Paget,
Further to your recent query regarding call sign allocation for amateur radio licensees, I can advise that neither M#0LID or M#0AWA (where # = RSL as per Clause 2 of the UK Amateur Radio Licence Terms and Conditions) is currently held by a licensed amateur radio operator.
If you have any further queries or concerns, please contact the Spectrum Licensing Team on 020 7981 3131 or via spectrum.licensing@ofcom.org.uk
Kind regards,
:: Ian Adamson
Licensing Associate
Spectrum Group
spectrum.licensing@ofcom.org.uk
:: Ofcom
Len Paget left an annotation ()
Its now on the OFCOM FoI pages
https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/p...
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Peter Bowyer left an annotation ()
A Section 40 refusal was exactly what I expected in this case.