20200806 FOI05888 etc Briant MOE Response ArmySec.pdf

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Army Secretariat
Army Headquarters
IDL 24 Blenheim Building
Marlborough Lines
Andover
Hampshire, SP11 8HJ
United Kingdom

Ref:

Army/Sec/FOI2020/05888/05889/05890/05903
E-mail:
ArmySec-&xxxxx@xxx.xxx.xx
Website:     www.army.mod.uk
Dr Emma Briant
Via: whatdotheyknow.com
6 August 2020

Dear Dr Briant,

I am writing regarding your four requests of the 20 May for the following information:

1)
Correspondence & documents relating to training provided for 15 Psychological
Operations Group by SCL in 2011;
2)
Information about the contract for the training provided by SCL in 2011;
3)
The DSTL evaluation of the methodology trained by SCL;
4)
Any documents or communication relating to the DSTL evaluation

As I mentioned in my letter of 10 June, we are treating your correspondence as a request for
information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act) and have grouped them for
administrative purposes.  Following a search for the information within the Ministry of Defence, I
can confirm that information in scope of your request is held.

The Department has now considered this case and a copy of the information which can be
released is provided below.  However, some information held by the Department falling within
scope of your request is exempt from release under Sections 26(1)(b) (Defence), 38(1) (Health &
Safety) and 40(2) (Personal Information) of the Act and is therefore withheld.

It may help to explain that Section 40 is an absolute exemption that has been applied to protect the
personal details of individuals involved; no further consideration is required.  Both Sections 26 and
38 are qualified exemptions which require a public interest test to establish the balance on
releasing or withholding information:

Section 26(1)(b) exempts information that if disclosed would, or would be likely to, prejudice
the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces. In this case, the arguments for
release include the public interest in how Defence is run and the Army’s influence activities
and outreach capabilities. Arguments to withhold information include the need to protect
methodologies and tactics for future employment. It has been decided that on balance the
information requested should be withheld as release would likely to be prejudicial to
capability, effectiveness and security of the formation in question.

Separately, consideration has been given to the public interest of releasing or withholding
information under Section 38.  This exempts information from disclosure if it would, or would
be likely to, endanger the physical or mental health, or the safety, of any individual.  There
remains a clear threat to Afghan nationals who engaged with coalition forces and it has been
decided that on balance the information requested should be withheld as release would
endanger life.

1

With regards to the DSTL evaluation, under Section 16 (Advice and Assistance) you may find it
helpful to note that it was limited in some areas by the data available from the trial.  No inference
about the validity of the trail or the methodology should be attributed to this.

If you are not satisfied with this response or you wish to complain about any aspect of the handling
of your request, then you should contact us in the first instance at the address above. If informal
resolution is not possible and you are still dissatisfied then you may apply for an independent
internal review by contacting the Information Rights Compliance team, Ground Floor, MOD Main
Building, Whitehall, SW1A 2HB (e-mail xxxxxxxxxx@xxx.xx). Please note that any request for an
internal review must be made within 40 working days of the date on which the attempt to reach
informal resolution has come to an end.

If you remain dissatisfied following an internal review, you may take your complaint to the
Information Commissioner under the provisions of Section 50 of the Freedom of Information Act.
Please note that the Information Commissioner will not normally investigate your case until the
MOD internal review process has been completed. Further details of the role and powers of the
Information Commissioner can be found on the Commissioner's website, http://www.ico.org.uk.

Yours sincerely,

Army Secretariat

2

FOI2020/05888 and 05889 dated 6 Aug 20

FOI2020/05890
Dated 6 Aug 20