Select Committee on Foreign Affairs Written Evidence


Letter to the Parliamentary Relations and Devolution Department, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, from the Second Clerk of the Committee, 25 February 2004

DEPARTMENTAL PROPERTIES

  Thank you for your letter of 23 February responding to my request for further information on the sales and purchases of residential properties by the Foreign Office.

  The Committee regrets that you are unable to supply the detailed information it requested owing to, "reasons of commercial confidentiality". It notes the relevant sections of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information, which were referred to by the Office in its reply to Mr Maples' original questions, namely:

  12. Privacy of an individual

  Unwarranted disclosure to a third party of personal information about any person (including a deceased person) or any other disclosure which would constitute or could facilitate an unwarranted invasion of privacy.

  13.  Third party's commercial confidences

  Information including commercial confidences, trade secrets or intellectual property whose unwarranted disclosure would harm the competitive position of a third party.

  However, the Committee fails to understand why these prevent the Office from supplying the information it requested on historical purchases and sales.

  The Committee, therefore, repeats its request for the information on individual sales and purchases. If, on reflection, you are still unable to supply the data, the Committee asks that you supply a detailed explanation as to how this refusal is covered by the two exemptions quoted above. I would be grateful for an answer by Thursday 4 March at the latest.

Steve Priestley
Clerk of the Committee

25 February 2004





 
previous page contents next page

House of Commons home page Parliament home page House of Lords home page search page enquiries index

© Parliamentary copyright 2004
Prepared 23 September 2004