obstruction of the sound road u54 004

Summary

A request for all correspondence regarding Dalby Mountain and its tracks from 1996 to 2019 was made to the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture. The request lapsed without information being provided because the applicant failed to clarify the overly broad scope after being asked to do so.

Key Facts

• The request was received on 28 January 2019 and lapsed on 8 March 2019.
• The Department initially contacted the requester on 31 January 2019 to ask for clarification.
• The request was deemed too broad, covering a 22-year span and requiring substantial compilation.
• The Department refused the request under section 11(2)(c) due to lack of clarification.
• The requester was advised to narrow the timeframe, specify correspondents, or use a map to identify specific tracks.

Data Disclosed

• 28 January 2019
• 31 January 2019
• 8 March 2019
• 1996
• 22 year span
• section 11(2)(c)
• section 8(3)(c)
• case_id: 720267

Exemptions Cited

• Section 11(2)(c) of the Freedom of Information Act 2015 (failure to clarify request)
• Section 8(3)(c) of the Freedom of Information Act 2015 (substantial compilation or collation)

Original Request

To the department of environment food and agriculture all correspondence mentioning Dalby mountain and any tracks or roads on Dalby mountain including full names of correspondents from 1996 to the present day If any abbreviations are used please supply a key to what the abbreviations are including full names of correspondents

Data Tables (1)

Full Response Text

From: Department of Environment Food and Agriculture To: Cc: Subject: Information request 720267 (ref: 720267) Date: 08 March 2019 15:54:19 Information request Our reference: 720267 Dear Freedom of Information Act 2015 We write further to your request which was received on 28 January 2019 and which states: " To the department of environment food and agriculture all correspondence mentioning Dalby mountain and any tracks or roads on Dalby mountain including full names of correspondents from 1996 to the present day If any abbreviations are used please supply a key to what the abbreviations are including full names of correspondents " We subsequently wrote to you on 31/01/2019 requesting you be more specific about the information you require and providing more detailed questions. Unfortunately, as you have not provided the clarification requested the Department is refusing this request under section 11(2)(c). If you wish to submit a new request which more clearly describes the information you are looking for, we will be able to consider your request and respond accordingly. If you need any further advice and assistance to make a new application, please contact me. Your right to request a review If you are unhappy with this response to your Freedom of Information request, you may ask us to carry out an internal review of the response, by completing a complaint form and submitting it electronically or by delivery/post to the sender of this letter at the address above. An electronic version of the relevant complaint form can be found by going to our website at https://www.gov.im/about-the-government/access-to- government-information/freedom-of-information-complaint/. If you would like a paper version of the complaint form to be sent to you by post, please contact us and we will be happy to arrange for this. Your review request should explain why you are dissatisfied with this response, and should be made as soon as practicable. We will respond as soon as the review has been concluded. If you are not satisfied with the result of the review, you then have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner for a decision on; 1. Whether we have responded to your request for information in accordance with Part 2 of the Freedom of Information Act; or 2. Whether we are justified in refusing to give you the information requested. In response to an application for review, the Information Commissioner may, at any time, attempt to resolve a matter by negotiation, conciliation, mediation or another form of alternative dispute resolution and will have regard to any outcome of this in making any subsequent decision. More detailed information on your rights to review is on the Information Commissioner's website at: https://www.inforights.im/ Should you have any queries concerning this letter, please do not hesitate to contact the FOI Co-ordinator. Further information about Freedom of Information requests can be found:

From: Department of Environment Food and Agriculture To: Cc: Subject: Information request re Dalby Mountain (ref: 720267) Date: 31 January 2019 10:06:08 Information request Our reference: 720267 Dear , Freedom of Information Act 2015 We write further to your request which was received on 28 January 2019 and which states: " To the department of environment food and agriculture all correspondence mentioning Dalby mountain and any tracks or roads on Dalby mountain including full names of correspondents from 1996 to the present day If any abbreviations are used please supply a key to what the abbreviations are including full names of correspondents " Breadth of request and amount of information You request "all correspondence mentioning Dalby mountain and any tracks or roads on Dalby mountain including full names of correspondents from 1996 to the present day " Section 8(3)(c) of the Act states that a public authority is not required to undertake substantial compilation or collation of information that it holds. As it is presently worded, searching for and collating the information that would satisfy your request would interfere with the day to day work of the Department. In order to comply with your request it needs to be much more focussed. This could be achieved, for instance, by a combination of the below clarifications: - significantly narrowing the timeframe from the current 22 year span, - specifying who the correspondence could be form and/or to, - specifying dates for the correspondence, - being much more specific about which "... tracks or roads on Dalby Mountain... " you are referring to. Ideally this should be done using a map. - or any other way you can think of. In addition to the breadth and scope of this request the lack of focus in requesting "... all correspondence ..." seems to be completely random and to have been designed for the purpose of "fishing" for information without any clear idea of what is actually required. The online guidance (to be found here https://www.gov.im/about-the- government/freedom-of-information/) about writing a request states "Please be as specific as possible about the information you are seeking to obtain, such as by providing a specific timeframe to assist staff in locating the information." Scope of the Freedom of Information (FoI) Act In addition to the above the FoI Act applies to "information created on or after 11 October 2011." Information can be supplied if it was created before this but that needs to be supplied under the Code of Access to Government Information. However searching through 22 years worth of information, even if it is still held, would constitute substantial compilation or collation and the Department would not be able to comply with a request of this magnitude.