Statutory guidance issued by the Keeper at The National Archives

FOI request reference: CAS-137412-Q9B2N7
Publication date: August 2023

Request

I would like to see the statutory guidance issued by the Keeper to “departmental colleagues stating that records should be retained until information governance procedures could be applied”, as stated on your Annual Report.

Outcome

Information withheld.

Response

Section 21 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) does not oblige a public authority to provide information if it is already reasonably accessible by other means. In this case the exemption applies because the information is already available at here.

Explanatory annexe

Exemptions applied

Section 21: Information readily available to the applicant by other means

Section 21 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) does not oblige a public authority to provide information if it is already reasonably accessible by other means. In this case the exemption applies because the information is already available.

Further guidance can be found at:
https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/foi-eir-and-access-to-information/freedom-of-information-and-environmental-information-regulations/section-21-information-accessible-to-the-applicant-by-other-means/