Alan Dransfield's Blog

This is a typical EREGIOUS decision by the DExEU to hide BREXIT details.
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Mary Peterson
Via: request-508776-99575681@whatdotheyknow.com

Our ref: DEX001391

07 September 2018

Dear Mary Peterson,

I refer to your request, where you asked:

A copy of all correspondence (including emails) sent by Dominic Raab, between 9 July 2018–29 July 2018, which refer to one the following:

Oliver/Olly Robbins
Stewart Jackson
Theresa May/the Prime Minister
The ‘Chequers’ proposal

By virtue of section 14 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (“the Act”), a public authority is not obliged to comply with a request for information if the request is, in the wording of the Act, ‘vexatious’.
The Information Commissioner’s guidance on vexatious requests states that a public authority may apply section 14(1) if the amount of time required to review and prepare the information for disclosure would impose a grossly oppressive burden on the organisation in proportion to the (public) benefit of releasing that information.
In this instance, you are requesting a large volume of information which is likely to contain information that will be exempt from disclosure and cannot be easily isolated. As it is currently worded any information in scope is likely to be sensitive. Furthermore, we deem the request to have been designed for the purpose of ‘fishing’ for information without any idea of what might be revealed. For these reasons, we have reached the decision that the department would have to expend a disproportionate amount of resources in order to meet your request.
All of the above considered, we believe your request to have sufficiently satisfied the Commissioner’s conditions to engage Section 14(1) of the Act and will not take any further action on your request at this time. However, we hope that the following advice and assistance will help you form a request to which we can provide a more informative response.

In order to narrow your request to a manageable scope, we advise narrowing your request to a specific topic. Please be aware that exemptions may apply to any refined request.
For further information on submitting a request, please see the ICO guidance below:
https://ico.org.uk/for-the-public/official-information/

If you have any queries about this letter, please contact the FOI team. Please remember to quote the reference number above in any future communications.
If you are unhappy with the service you have received in relation to your request or wish to request an internal review, you should write to foi@dexeu.gov.uk or:
Freedom of Information Team (internal review)
Department for Exiting the European Union
9 Downing Street
SW1A 2AG
You should note that DExEU will not normally accept an application for internal review if it is received more than two months after the date that the reply was issued.
If you are not content with the outcome of your internal review, you may apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision. Generally, the Commissioner cannot make a decision unless you have exhausted the complaints procedure provided by DExEU. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:
The Information Commissioner’s Office
Wilmslow
Cheshire SK9 5AF
Yours sincerely,

Freedom of Information Team, DExEU.