Page 590 - 6. 2016 Diary 1st half New 26-05-21 No Table

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) guidance titled 'When to refuse to confirm or
deny information is held' states:
'In certain circumstances, even confirming or denying that requested information is held can
reveal information...
It can be important to use a neither confirm nor deny response consistently, every time a
certain type of information is requested, regardless of whether the information is actually
held or not...
Within the ICO guidance there is a specific police example:
'...a police force may hold information regarding particular properties they have under
surveillance - it is likely that if a request were made for information about the surveillance of
a certain property, this information would be exempt under section 30 (investigations and
proceedings conducted by public authorities)...
Furthermore, this would apply even if information was requested about a property not under
surveillance. If a police force only upheld its duty to confirm or deny where it was not
keeping properties under surveillance, an applicant could reasonably assume that where the
police force refused to confirm or deny, the property named in the request was under
surveillance.'
A public authority could therefore refuse to confirm or deny whether it holds information
about a property under surveillance...
This should not be taken as necessarily indicating that any information that would meet your
request exists or does not exist.
COMPLAINT RIGHTS
If you are dissatisfied with this response, please read the attached paper entitled Complaint
Rights which explains how to make a complaint.
Should you have any further enquiries concerning this matter, please contact me by email
quoting the reference number above.
Yours sincerely
410,
Catherine Carrington Information Manager Freedom of Information Rights Unit (IRU)
Metropolitan Police Service (MPS)
PO Box 57192 London SW6 1SF
LEGAL ANNEX
Section 17(1) & (4) of the Act provides:
Refusal of request
(1) A public authority which, in relation to any request for information, is to any extent
relying on a claim that any provision of Part II relating to the duty to confirm or deny is
relevant to the request or on a claim that information is exempt information must, within the
time for complying with section 1(1), give the applicant a notice which-
states that fact,
specifies the exemption in question, and
states (if that would not otherwise be apparent) why the exemption applies.
A public authority is not obliged to make a statement under subsection (1)(c) or (3) if, or to
the extent that, the statement would involve the disclosure of information which would itself
be exempt information
Section 31(1)(a)(b) & (3) of the Act provides:
Law enforcement
(1) Information which is not exempt information by virtue of section 30 is exempt
information if its disclosure under this Act would, or would be likely to, prejudice.
the prevention or detection of crime,
the apprehension or prosecution of offenders