§ Mr. Keith BradleyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what criteria are used in deciding whether a detailed reply to letters from members of the public is appropriate. [132688]
§ Mr. Blunkett[holding answer 20 September 2003]The Department follows the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information, Second Edition (1997). The Code supports the policy of extending access to official information and responding to reasonable requests for information. The approach to the release of information in all cases is based upon the assumption that information should be released except where disclosure would not be in the public interest as specified in Part II of the Code. Where information cannot be provided under the terms of the Code an explanation will normally be given.
Responses are not sent to correspondence that is considered to be offensive. Examples of such letters include those that are gratuitously sexually explicit or threaten violence.