Restrictions to the Use of Equestrian Covered Arenas

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs did not have the information requested.

Dear Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs,

Background

Statutory Instrument 364 of 2021 (The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (Steps) (England) Regulations 2021) defines the ‘steps’ or road map. This SI states that indoor riding arenas in England will not be permitted to open on Monday 29 March in line with other outdoor sports facilities.

This contravenes the agreed position achieved through collective work by British Equestrian, member bodies, the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) prior to the resumption of activity at the end of the first lockdown in 2020.

It is understood that British Equestrian had agreement by government to the effect that:

“…venues which includes the use of large, open and well-ventilated equestrian covered arenas (these are sometimes termed ‘indoor’ arenas by equestrians, but due to their size and ventilation are not considered indoor for the purposes of this guidance).”

The above wording was introduced into earlier legislation, and equestrian activity and sport were able to resume under strict COVID protocols to ensure the safety of all participants without issue.

Information Sought

1. Please provide copies of any communications (including letters, emails and phone calls), and any records of meetings, between DEFRA and representatives of the equestrian industry (e.g. British Equestrian) about the timing and/or conditions for the resumption of use of equestrian covered arenas in England during 2021.

2.Please provide copies of any communications (including letters, emails and phone calls), and any records of meetings, between DEFRA and other Government departments about the timing and/or conditions for the resumption of use of equestrian covered arenas in England during 2021.

3. Please provide copies of DEFRA Risk Assessments, equivalent analysis, and any supporting evidence, for restricting the use of equestrian covered arenas in England in 2021.

Yours faithfully,

CHP Gillow

Yours faithfully,

CHP Gillow

SM-Defra-Helpline, Defra (MCU), Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs



Thank you for your email to the Department for Environment, Food & Rural
Affairs. We have a target of replying to emails within 20 working days
where a response is required, and 20 working days where a case is handled
under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 or the Environmental Information
Regulations 2004.

 

Please be aware that we are receiving a high number of correspondence
during the COVID-19 outbreak which may mean a delay in response times.

 

If you need a reply before then, please call the Defra Helpline on 03459
33 55 77, or visit
[1]https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati...
as information is updated regularly.

 

If your enquiry is related to COVID- 19, please check our guidance page
first before you contact us -
[2]https://www.gov.uk/search/guidance-and-r...

 

If you or someone you are contacting us on behalf of are currently at risk
of serious harm or in a life threatening situation, please contact the
emergency services:

 

999 for emergencies

101 non-emergency police line

111- NHS

 

If you suspect a notifiable animal disease or have animal welfare
concerns, please report these to the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA)
immediately. Failure to report a notifiable animal disease is an offence.
APHA can be contacted using the following details:

·         England: 03000 200301 or [3][email address]

·         Wales: 03003 038268 or [4][email address]

·         Scotland: [5][email address]

 

We receive thousands of identical emails each month from organised
campaigns. Ministers and officials are made aware of these campaigns, but
unfortunately we cannot reply to each email individually.

 

Best wishes,

Ministerial Contact Unit

 

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) This email and
any attachments is intended for the named recipient only. If you have
received it in error you have no authority to use, disclose, store or copy
any of its contents and you should destroy it and inform the sender.
Whilst this email and associated attachments will have been checked for
known viruses whilst within Defra systems we can accept no responsibility
once it has left our systems. Communications on Defra's computer systems
may be monitored and/or recorded to secure the effective operation of the
system and for other lawful purposes.

References

Visible links
1. https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati...
2. https://www.gov.uk/search/guidance-and-r...
3. mailto:[email address]
4. mailto:[email address]
5. mailto:[email address]

Defra Information Rights Team,

Dear CHP Gillow,

Thank you for your email which we received on the 7 April requesting
information.

We aim to answer your request no later than 6th May, which is 20 working
days from the date we received it. If we are unable to meet this deadline
we will contact you to explain the reason.

If you have any queries about this letter please contact us.

Yours sincerely

Marie Davies

Information Rights Team

[email address]

Defra Information Rights Team,

Dear CHP Gillow,

Thank you for your request for information which we received on 7 April,
about Restrictions on Equestrian Covered Arenas. We are handling your
request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA).

We are writing to advise you that the time limit for responding to your
request for information under the FOIA needs to be extended.

The FOIA allows us 20 working days to respond to your request from the
date that we received it. However, section 10(3) of the FOIA provides
that, where we have to consider the balance of the public interest in
relation to a qualified exemption that applies to the requested
information, we can extend the 20-working-day time limit for issuing a
response until such time as is reasonable in the circumstances.

In this case, we regret that we must extend the time limit for responding
by 20 working days because the information requested is being considered
under one or more of the FOIA's exemptions to which the public interest
test applies. This means that we need to assess whether in all the
circumstances of the case the public interest in maintaining the exemption
outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information it, and some
extra time is needed to determine this.

The particular qualified exemption we are considering in relation to your
request is section 35(1)(a) which relates to policy development.

We can inform you that the extended deadline is 4 June 2021.

We attach an annex giving contact details should you be unhappy with the
service you have received.

If you have any queries about this letter please contact me.

Yours sincerely

Information Rights Team

[email address]

Complaints

If you are unhappy with the service you have received in relation to your
request you may make a complaint or appeal against our decision under
section 17(7) of the FOIA or under regulation 18 of the EIRs, as
applicable, within 40 working days of the date of this letter. Please
write to Andrew Mobsby, Head of Information Rights, Area 5B, Nobel House,
17 Smith Square, London, SW1P 3JR (email:
[email address]) and he will arrange for an internal
review of your case. Details of Defra's complaints procedure are on our
website.

If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, section 50
of the FOIA and regulation 18 of the EIRs gives you the right to apply
directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision. Please note that
generally the Information Commissioner cannot make a decision unless you
have first exhausted Defra's own complaints procedure. The Information
Commissioner can be contacted at:

Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Dear Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs,

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

I am writing to request an internal review of Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs' handling of my FOI request 'Restrictions to the Use of Equestrian Covered Arenas'.

By law, the authority should normally have responded promptly and by 6 May 2021

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

Yours faithfully,

CHP Gillow

SM-Defra-Helpline, Defra (MCU), Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs



Thank you for your email to the Department for Environment, Food & Rural
Affairs. We have a target of replying to emails within 20 working days
where a response is required, and 20 working days where a case is handled
under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 or the Environmental Information
Regulations 2004.

 

Please be aware that we are receiving a high number of correspondence
during the COVID-19 outbreak which may mean a delay in response times.

 

If you need a reply before then, please call the Defra Helpline on 03459
33 55 77, or visit
[1]https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati...
as information is updated regularly.

 

If your enquiry is related to COVID- 19, please check our guidance page
first before you contact us -
[2]https://www.gov.uk/search/guidance-and-r...

 

If you or someone you are contacting us on behalf of are currently at risk
of serious harm or in a life threatening situation, please contact the
emergency services:

 

999 for emergencies

101 non-emergency police line

111- NHS

 

If you suspect a notifiable animal disease or have animal welfare
concerns, please report these to the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA)
immediately. Failure to report a notifiable animal disease is an offence.
APHA can be contacted using the following details:

·         England: 03000 200301 or [3][email address]

·         Wales: 03003 038268 or [4][email address]

·         Scotland: [5][email address]

 

We receive thousands of identical emails each month from organised
campaigns. Ministers and officials are made aware of these campaigns, but
unfortunately we cannot reply to each email individually.

 

Best wishes,

Ministerial Contact Unit

 

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) This email and
any attachments is intended for the named recipient only. If you have
received it in error you have no authority to use, disclose, store or copy
any of its contents and you should destroy it and inform the sender.
Whilst this email and associated attachments will have been checked for
known viruses whilst within Defra systems we can accept no responsibility
once it has left our systems. Communications on Defra's computer systems
may be monitored and/or recorded to secure the effective operation of the
system and for other lawful purposes.

References

Visible links
1. https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati...
2. https://www.gov.uk/search/guidance-and-r...
3. mailto:[email address]
4. mailto:[email address]
5. mailto:[email address]

SM-Defra-Information Requests (DEFRA), Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

1 Attachment

  • Attachment

    Request deadline extension Restrictions on Equestrian Covered Arenas FOI2021 09399.html

    3K Download

Dear CHP Gillow,

 

Thank you for you request for an internal review in relation to an
information request you submitted regarding equestrian covered arenas. I
am not sure if you received our email in relation to this matter. We wrote
to you on 6 May 2021 stating that section 10(3) of the FOIA provides that,
where we have to consider the balance of the public interest in relation
to a qualified exemption that applies to the requested information, we can
extend the 20-working-day time limit for issuing a response until such
time as is reasonable in the circumstances.

 

We informed you that the particular qualified exemption we are considering
in relation to your request is section 35(1)(a) which relates to policy
development and the extended deadline is 4 June 2021. A copy of this email
is attached for your reference. As we are considering the public interest
arguments in relation to section 35(1)(a) your request has been lawfully
extended and we will look to get a substantive response to you as soon as
possible.

 

Kind regards

 

Information Rights Team

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

 

Email: [1]Information [email address]

Address: Area 1E, Nobel House, 17 Smith Square, London SW1P 3JR

 

 

 

show quoted sections

Defra Information Rights Team,

2 Attachments

Dear CHP Gillow,

I am writing in response to your request for information, received 7th
April.

Yours sincerely,
Jo Collinge

Defra Information Rights Team,

Dear CHP Gillow,

Thank you for your email which we received on 28 May, challenging our
response to your request for information. We are handling this as a
request for an internal review.

If your request was handled under the Freedom of Information Act 2000
(FOIA), section 45 Code of Practice states that an internal review should
take no longer than 20 working days, or 40 in exceptional circumstances.

If your request was handled under the Environmental Information
Regulations 2004 (EIRs), regulation 11(4) requires a public authority to
consider the complaint and respond to the complainant as soon as possible
and no later than 40 working days from the time when the complaint was
received.

We can inform you that the 27th July is the 40 ^th working day from the
date we received your complaint.

If you have any queries about this letter please contact us.

Yours sincerely

Jo Collinge

Information Rights Team

[email address]

Dear Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs,

Refs:
A. https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/r...)
B. https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/r...
C. https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/r...
D. https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/r...

On 7 April 2021, I submitted an FOI request (Ref A) under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) to request the following information:

1. Copies of any communications (including letters, emails and phone calls), and any records of meetings, between DEFRA and representatives of the equestrian industry (e.g. British Equestrian) about the timing and/or conditions for the resumption of use of equestrian covered arenas in England during 2021.
2. Copies of any communications (including letters, emails and phone calls), and any records of meetings, between DEFRA and other Government departments about the timing and/or conditions for the resumption of use of equestrian covered arenas in England during 2021.
3. Copies of DEFRA Risk Assessments, equivalent analysis, and any supporting evidence, for restricting the use of equestrian covered arenas in England in 2021.

On 8 April 2021, you replied to say that you aimed to answer my request no later than 6th May.

On 6 May 2021, you wrote to say that you were extending the time limit for responding by 20 working days (to 4 June 2021) because “the information requested was being considered under and exemption (section 35(1)(a) which relates to policy development) to the FOIA”.

On 12 May 2021, you responded (Ref B) with the following information (cross reference to requests 1-3 above):

1. A list of email communications in Annex C to Ref B. Significantly, the final communication supplied was dated 8 February 2021.
2. Confirmation that you hold the information but that you would not be releasing it because it relates to the formation of policy
3. Statement that you do not hold the information requested

On 28 May I submitted a new FOI (Ref C) requesting copies of “any communications (including letters, emails and phone calls), and any records of meetings, between DEFRA and representatives of the equestrian industry (e.g. British Equestrian) between 8 February and 29 March 2021 about the timing and/or conditions for the resumption of use of equestrian covered arenas in England.

On 2 June 2021, you wrote (Ref D) to suggest that this new FOI was a challenge to your
response to my earlier request for information. It is not a challenge to that response. Instead, it is a new FOI giving you the opportunity to supply communications, within scope, up to and including 29 March 2021. Should it be the case that there was no communication in scope after 8 February, that information will suffice.

Yours faithfully,

CHP Gillow

Defra Information Rights Team,

Dear CHP Gillow,

Thank you for your email which we received on the 8 June confirming how
you want your request to be treated.

We aim to answer your request no later than 20 working days from the date
we received it. If we are unable to meet this deadline we will contact you
to explain the reason.

If you have any queries about this letter please contact us.

Yours sincerely

Marie Davies

Information Rights Team

[email address]

Defra Information Rights Team,

1 Attachment

Dear CHP Gillow,

Please find attached the response to your request of 8th June for
information on Restrictions to the Use of Equestrian Covered Arenas.

Yours sincerely

Jo Collinge

Information Rights Team

[email address]

CHP Gillow left an annotation ()

DEFRA confirms they do not have any communications
(including letters, emails and phone calls) or any records of meetings, between DEFRA and representatives of the equestrian industry (e.g. British Equestrian) between 8 February and 29 March 2021 about the timing and/or conditions for the resumption of use of equestrian covered arenas in England.