Information Rights Unit
S1727
8 Floor
Mel
Central Mail Unit
Newcastle Upon Tyne
By email: request-1208658-
NE98 1ZZ
xxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx
Email
xxx.xxxxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx
Web
www.gov.uk
Date: 9 December 2024
Our ref:
FOI2024/235553
Dear Mel
Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA)
Thank you for your request, which was received on 29 November, for the following
information:
“Al emails please for the last no. of months available in which BBC employees used the
racist anti-white term "white privilege " with or without a hyphen. Please consider this
request to be confined to emails between racist HMRC employees.
That should read in which all HMRC employees.”
Our Response To qualify as a valid submission under the FOIA, a request must fulfil the criteria set out in
Section 8 of the Act, which states the following:
“Request for information
(1) In this Act any reference to a ‘request for information’ is a reference to such a request
which—
(a) is in writing,
(b) states the name of the applicant and an address for correspondence, and
(c) describes the information requested.”
Guidance from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) explains that requesters must
provide a ‘real name’ that allows them to be identified:
“A requester whose name is Joseph Bloggs could call themselves ‘Joe Bloggs’, ‘Joey
Bloggs’, ‘J Bloggs’ or ‘Mr Bloggs’. However, they could not just use ‘Joseph’, ‘Joe’, ‘Joey’ or
‘J.B.’ as this may not be sufficient to identify the requester. If the requester has used a
pseudonym, then their request is invalid.”
Your request is not valid under the Act as it does not include a ‘real name’ as required by
section 8(1)(b).
If you need extra support, for example if you have a disability, a mental health condition, or
do not speak English/Welsh, go to
www.gov.uk and search for ‘get help from HMRC’.
Text Relay service prefix number – 18001
OFFICIAL
If you wish to resubmit your request using a valid name, we will also require clarification
before we are able to provide any information.
You have requested all emails from BBC employees which contain a specific term, which we
would not hold unless they were emails sent to HMRC. You have then stated that your
request should be restricted to emails between HMRC employees only. It is not clear from
your request whether you are requesting emails sent by the BBC to HMRC, or emails sent
between HMRC employees, or whether the BBC has been mentioned in error. It is also
unclear if you are requesting information for a set number of months, or for all emails which
are currently held.
If you are able to clarify your request, we may be able to provide more information. However,
please note that we do not hold a central record of phrases used in our staffs’ emails. To
obtain all emails containing a specific phrase would require us to contact every member of
staff. This would not be possible within the cost limits of a FOIA response, which in the case
of HMRC is £600, or 24 hours charged at £25 per hour. More information on this can be
found
here. To refine your request in a way that may be answerable within the cost limit, you may wish to
consider limiting the time period for your request and the scope of staff members whose
emails would need to be checked.
Please submit your clarified request (quoting the FOI reference number above) by emailing
xxx.xxxxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx or by writing to the address at the top of this letter.
If, after clarifying your request, you are not content with our freedom of information
response, you can ask us to carry out an internal review. You also retain the right to
complain to the Information Commissioner. Yours sincerely,
HM Revenue and Customs
OFFICIAL
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