FOI 11554-25 Unanswered media enquiries
Request:
I am seeking the following information for each of the calendar years listed below:
• 2023 (1 January 2023 – 31 December 2023)
• 2024 (1 January 2024 – 31 December 2024)
• 2025 to date (1 January 2025 – date of your response)
1. The total number of media enquiries received by your force’s press or communications office during each of the above years.
2. The number of those media enquiries that received no substantive response — meaning the press office did not issue any reply, or only sent a holding response without following up with a proper answer. For clarity, a holding response is defined for this FOI as an acknowledgement of the enquiry but no further action or reply is provided thereafter.
3. The current number of staff employed in your press or communications office (full-time and part-time only).
Response:
Section 17 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 requires Northamptonshire Police, when refusing to provide such information (because the information is exempt) to provide you the applicant with a notice which:
(a) states that fact,
(b) specifies the exemption in question and
(c) states (if that would not otherwise be apparent) why the exemption applies.
The exemption applicable to the information requested is:
Section 12(1) – Exemption where cost of compliance exceeds appropriate limit.
The information you are requesting is not held by Northamptonshire Police in any reasonably retrievable form. The only means of establishing information of the nature you are requesting would be by way of manual examination of each media inquiry.
It is my assessment that the cost of providing you with the information requested would exceed the 'appropriate level' as set out in the Freedom of Information (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004.
My assessment is that it would cost 6,375 (number of records) x 2 minutes each (minimum) = over 212 hours at £25 per hour to respond to your request, which exceeds the 'appropriate limit' (currently £450 for 'prescribed costs').
In view of the above, and in accordance with the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, please take this letter as a Refusal Notice.
You may wish to refine and resubmit your request so that it reduces the costs shown above and is then within the 'appropriate limit' shown above. (I cannot think of a means to refine the request in order to provide the information you are seeking) but if you would like some further information about how to proceed with your request then please contact:
Northamptonshire Police policy is to always respond to all media inquiries and while we cannot categorically say every inquiry has been concluded, we can say with confidence that the likelihood is the figure will be close to 100 per cent due to a follow-up system that ensures media inquiries coming in do get a response.
Although excess cost removes the Force’s obligations under the Freedom of Information Act, as a gesture of goodwill, I have supplied information, relevant to your request, which was retrieved or available before it was realised that the fees limit would be exceeded. I trust this is helpful, but it does not affect our legal right to rely on the fees regulations for the remainder of your request.