FOIA Section 12 Exemption

Exemption where cost of compliance exceeds appropriate limit

Section 12 of the Freedom of Information Act allows public authorities to refuse to answer requests for information if the cost of complying would exceed the 'appropriate limit' prescribed in the Fees Regulations (SI 2004/3244).
MoJ Guidance.

Appropriate limits

• Central government departments: £600
• Other departments: £450

• These are equivalent to 24 hours effort and 18 hours effort respectively, based on £25/hour.
• The list of Central Government deparments is listed in Schedule 1 Part 1 of the FOI Act

Rules on calculating costs

• aggregation of similar requests you've made
• DCA guidance: http://www.dca.gov.uk/foi/practitioner/feesguidance.htm

The Regulations only allow some costs to be counted. Specifically, the costs it incurs in:

(a) determining whether it holds the information,

(b) locating the information, or a document which may contain the information,

(c) retrieving the information, or a document which may contain the information, and

(d) extracting the information from a document containing it.

and if those costs are attributable to the time people spend on those activities, they must be charged at £25/hr (whatever the staff time actually costs).

The costs of removing information that was requested but is exempt under FOIA do not fall within the scope of the Fees Regulations. This was confirmed explicitly by the Information Tribunal in The Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police v IC EA/2009/0029.

Requirement to provide advice and assistance

• ICO: http://www.ico.gov.uk/upload/documents/library/freedom_of_information/detailed_specialist_guides/awareness_guidance_23_-_advice_and_assistance.pdf
• Code of Practice: http://www.justice.gov.uk/guidance/foi-guidance-codes-practice.htm

Charging fees

• Code of Practice: http://www.dca.gov.uk/foi/reference/imprep/codepafunc.htm

ICO Lines To Take

Relevant Lines to Take

LTT192 - Rejecting procedural exemptions / exceptions - 18/01/2011 LTT123 - Vexatious requests - 13/09/2010 LTT175 - Flowchart for LTT174 - 04/09/2010 LTT174 - Calculating costs where request(s) span several access regimes (DPA/FOIA/EIR) - 04/09/2010 LTT177 - Advice and assistance where a request cannot be refined - 05/07/2010 LTT115 - Redaction and the Fees Regulations - 18/01/2010 LTT137 - Refined and clarified requests as "new” requests - 14/09/2009 LTT145 - Aggregation of multiple requests within a single item of correspondence - 03/09/2009 LTT141 - Advice and assistance in relation to s12 - 13/02/2009 LTT4 - Use of specialist staff or software - 13/02/2009 LTT78 - Information held in electronic databases - 02/02/2009 LTT116 - Reasonable estimates - 11/11/2008 LTT31 - Duty to search only up to the appropriate limit - 23/04/2008 LTT138 - Degree of similarity required in order to aggregate requests - 12/04/2008

ICO Decision Notices

Complaints upheld / partly upheld (P)

Complaints not upheld

FS50186040 - Metropolitan Police Service - 23/11/2009 FS50169315(P) - North West London Hospitals NHS Trust - 16/11/2009 FS50108668(P) - Learning and Skills Council - 11/08/2009 FS50164262 - Bristol City Council - 27/05/2009 FS50121803 - Ministry of Justice - 14/04/2009 FS50190235 - Forestry Commission Scotland - 30/03/2009 FS50176942(P) - Forestry Commission Scotland - 30/03/2009 FS50187763(P) - Forestry Commission Scotland - 30/03/2009 FS50176016 - Forestry Commission Scotland - 30/03/2009 FS50073464 - South Yorkshire Police - 16/03/2009 FS50088736 - Department of Health - 29/01/2009 FS50169313(P) - British Museum - 23/10/2008 FS50127256 - Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service - 14/10/2008 FS50106800 - Metropolitan Police Service - 20/08/2008 FS50094891 - Commonwealth Development Corporation (‘CDC’) - 19/03/2008 FS50099223 - Ministry of Defence - 21/01/2008 FS50150536 - Hampshire County Council - 02/01/2008 FS50106206 - Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs - 25/10/2007 FS50144286 - Brockhampton Group Parish Council - 25/06/2007 FS50118044 - Leeds City Council - 10/04/2007 FS50135471 - Brockhampton Group Parish Council - 29/03/2007 FS50097435 - London Borough of Hounslow - 31/05/2006

FS50128567 - Department of Health - 30/03/2010 FS50279800 - Ministry of Justice - 29/03/2010 FS50193661 - Department for Culture, Media and Sport - 29/03/2010 FS50211876 - Portsmouth City Council - 25/03/2010 FS50225815 - Cumbria Constabulary - 23/03/2010 FS50163207 - British Council - 09/03/2010 FS50171231 - British Council - 09/03/2010 FS50191904 - Financial Services Authority - 08/03/2010 FS50194062 - National Savings and Investments - 02/03/2010 FS50124339 - Home Office - 02/03/2010 FS50143525 - Department for Culture, Media and Sport - 02/03/2010 FS50246007 - Serious Fraud Office - 01/03/2010 FS50144707 - Department for Children, Schools and Families - 01/03/2010 FS50207333 - Her Majesty's Courts Service - 25/02/2010 FS50236068 - Foreign and Commonwealth Office - 12/01/2010 FS50102962 - Ministry of Defence - 21/12/2009 FS50203058 - Office of Communications - 21/12/2009 FS50227557 - Nottinghamshire County Teaching Primary Care Trust - 17/12/2009 FS50211315 - University of Leeds - 17/12/2009 FS50254756 - Derby City Council - 16/12/2009 FS50220025 - Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission - 14/12/2009 FS50229521 - Home Office - 10/12/2009 FS50256879 - Home Office - 03/12/2009 FS50142898 - Lancashire Police - 30/11/2009 FS50202964 - National Offender Management Service - 25/11/2009 FS50191595 - Arts Council England - 23/11/2009 FS50129430 - Financial Services Authority - 18/11/2009 FS50179473 - Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency - 18/11/2009 FS50163685 - Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency - 09/11/2009 FS50205855 - Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency - 09/11/2009 FS50180899 - Insolvency Service - 04/11/2009 FS50182746 - Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency - 03/11/2009 FS50165492 - Bridgend County Borough Council - 22/10/2009 FS50238411 - City of York Council - 05/10/2009 FS50230575 - Leicester City Council - 09/09/2009 FS50210439 - Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust - 17/08/2009 FS50212832 - Crown Prosecution Service - 29/07/2009 FS50185989 - National Police Improvement Agency - 27/07/2009 FS50197355 - City of Westminster Council - 27/07/2009 FS50190669 - Wood Green High School - 16/07/2009 FS50209825 - Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust - 08/07/2009 FS50198530 - Financial Services Authority - 08/07/2009 FS50217364 - University of Wolverhampton - 22/06/2009 FS50201884 - Challock Parish Council - 16/06/2009 FS50152489 - Police Service of Northern Ireland - 21/05/2009 FS50165274 - Buckinghamshire County Council - 18/05/2009 FS50203140 - Cabinet Office - 13/05/2009 FS5015374 - BBC - 22/04/2009 FS50197237 - Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency - 19/03/2009 FS50105778 - UK Borders Agency - 05/03/2009... further results

Includes DNs up to: 26 April 2010

Freedom of Information Act 2000

Exemptions

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