Political Section
UK Representation to the EU
Avenue d’Auderghem 10
1040 Brussels
Belgium
Website
: https://www.gov.uk
Vicky Cann
07 June 2018
Dear Ms Cann,
Your Freedom Of Information Request: 0536-18
Thank you for your latest request for information which we received on 8 May 2018. In your
request you asked:
“Could I request a list of the lobby meetings (with representatives of companies,
organisations and other stakeholders) held by the Permanent Representative and his Deputy
in the past 6 months? As before, I would like to request a list of these meetings: who was
present at the meeting, including the names of organisations/ lobbyists presents, as well as
the date of the meeting, and the subject matter discussed”.
I can confirm that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) does hold information
relevant to your request. However, we are considering several specific exemptions in
relation to your request, including section 27: international relations.
The Freedom of Information Act obliges us to respond to requests promptly and in any case
no later than 20 working days after receiving your request. However, when a qualified
exemption applies to the information and the public interest test is engaged, the Act allows
the time for response to be longer than 20 working days, and a full response must be
provided within such time as is reasonable in all circumstances of the case. We do, of
course, aim to make all decisions within 20 working days, including in cases where we need
to consider where the public interest lies in respect of a request for exempt information. In
this case, however, we have not yet reached a decision on where the balance of the public
interest lies.
If you are unhappy with the service you are receiving and wish to make a complaint, please
write to the FOI and DPA Team, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Room K4.14, King
Charles Street, London, SW1A 2AH. E-mail:
xxxxxxx.xxx@xxx.xxx.xx. You have 40 working
days to do so from the date of this letter.
If you are not content with the outcome of your complaint, you may then apply directly to the
Information Commissioner for a decision. Generally, the Information Commissioner cannot
make a decision unless you have exhausted the complaints procedure provided by the FCO.
The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: Information Commissioner's Office,
Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF.
Please contact me if you have any queries about this letter.
Yours sincerely,
Political Section, UKRep
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