Equality, Rights and Decency Group
National Offender Management Service
4th Floor
Clive House
Turquoise Zone, Post point 4.16
London SW1H 9EX
E:
www.gov.uk
F. Bilhart
Email:
Our Reference: FOI 99134 / 13 August 2015
Freedom of Information Request
Dear F. Bilhart
Thank you for your email of 23 July, in which you asked for the following information from the Ministry of Justice (MoJ):
1. Do you allow for inter-institutional visits between two prisoners when they claim that they were involved in a non-marital relationship prior to imprisonment?
2. If so, what kind of arrangement do you make for them? If not, what are the reasons?
3. What kinds of high-tech equipment, except CCTVs, are used to prevent prisoners from escaping?
Your request has been handled under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA).
I have answered your request in two parts and have applied appropriate exemptions. I can confirm that the department holds the information that you have asked in relation to questions 1 and 2. This information relates to the policy on inter-prison visits. The information is exempt under section 21 of the FOI Act because it is reasonably accessible to you. I am pleased to inform you that Prison Service Instruction (PSI) 16/2011 – Providing Visits and Services for Visitors, contains the information requested at paragraphs 5.13 to 5.15, and can be accessed via the link below:
http://www.justice.gov.uk/offenders/psis/prison-service-instructions-2011
Section 21 of the Freedom of Information Act exempts disclosure of information that is reasonably accessible by other means, and the terms of the exemption mean that we do not have to consider whether or not it would be in the public interest for you to have the information.
In response to question 3, I can neither confirm nor deny whether the department holds the information you have requested. Section 31(3) – law enforcement - of the FOIA states that the MoJ is not obliged to confirm or deny whether it holds the information you have requested if doing so would, or would be likely to prejudice the following:
• the prevention and detection of crime;
• the maintenance of security and good order in prisons; and/or
• the exercise by the department of its functions for any of the purposes specified in section 31(2) of the FoIA .
We have considered whether it would be in the public interest for the MoJ to confirm or deny whether it holds the information. In this case, the department has decided that the public interest favours neither confirming nor denying whether the requested information is held.
When assessing whether or not it was in the public interest to confirm whether or not the department holds the information, the following factors were taken into account:
Public interest considerations against neither confirming nor denying
· Confirming or denying what equipment is used to prevent prisoners escaping would enable the public to gain a better understanding of the measures available to the department in terms of the maintenance of security in prisons and improve confidence in the security of the prison estate.
Public interest considerations in favour of neither confirming nor denying
· Confirming or denying the existence of any equipment used to prevent prisoners escaping could alert those engaged in this type of activity to any preventative measures and so lead to attempts to frustrate or circumvent the security in place.
The department has reached the view that, on balance, the public interest is better served by neither confirming nor denying whether the requested information is held under section 31(1) of the FOIA at this time.
You can find out more about Section 21 and Section 31 by reading the extracts from the Act and some guidance points we consider when applying this exemption, attached at the end of this letter.
You can also find more information by reading the full text of the FOIA, available at:
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/36/contents
You have the right to appeal our decision if you think it is incorrect. Details can be found in the ‘How to Appeal’ section attached at the end of this letter.
Disclosure Log
You can also view information that the Ministry of Justice has disclosed in response to previous Freedom of Information requests. Responses are anonymised and published on our on-line disclosure log which can be found on the MoJ website:
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice/series/freedom-of-information-disclosure-log
Yours sincerely
Policy and Regulation Team
Equality, Rights and Decency Group
How to Appeal
Internal Review
If you are not satisfied with this response, you have the right to an internal review. The handling of your request will be looked at by someone who was not responsible for the original case, and they will make a decision as to whether we answered your request correctly.
If you would like to request a review, please write or send an email to the Data Access and Compliance Unit within two months of the data of this letter, at the
following address:
Data Access and Compliance Unit (10.34),
Information & Communications Directorate,
Ministry of Justice,
102 Petty France,
London
SW1H 9AJ
E-mail:
Information Commissioner’s Office
If you remain dissatisfied after an internal review decision, you have the right to apply to the Information Commissioner’s Office. The Commissioner is an independent regulator who has the power to direct us to respond to your request differently, if he considers that we have handled it incorrectly.
You can contact the Information Commissioner’s Office at the following address:
Information Commissioner’s Office,
Wycliffe House,
Water Lane,
Wilmslow,
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Internet address: https://www.ico.gov.uk/Global/contact_us.aspx
EXPLANATION OF FOIA - SECTION 21 – INFORMATION ACCESSIBLE BY OTHER MEANS
We have provided below additional information about Section 21 of the Freedom of Information Act. We have included some extracts from the legislation, as well as some of the guidance we use when applying it. We hope you find this information useful.
The legislation
Section 1: Right of Access to information held by public authorities
(1) Any person making a request for information to a public authority is entitled—
(a) to be informed in writing by the public authority whether it holds information of the description specified in the request, and
(b) if that is the case, to have that information communicated to him.
Section 21: Information accessible to applicant by other means
(1) Information which is reasonably accessible to the applicant otherwise than under section 1 is exempt information.
(2) For the purposes of subsection (1)—
(a) information may be reasonably accessible to the applicant even though it is accessible only on payment, and
(b) information is to be taken to be reasonably accessible to the applicant if it is information which the public authority or any other person is obliged by or under any enactment to communicate (otherwise than by making the information available for inspection) to members of the public on request, whether free of charge or on payment.
(3) For the purposes of subsection (1), information which is held by a public authority and does not fall within subsection (2)(b) is not to be regarded as reasonably accessible to the applicant merely because the information is available from the public authority itself on request, unless the information is made available in accordance with the authority’s publication scheme and any payment required is specified in, or determined in accordance with, the scheme.
Guidance
Section 21 exempts information from the right of access under the Freedom of Information Act if that information is reasonably accessible to the applicant by other means.
Section 21 is aimed at preserving intact all existing laws providing access to information. The Freedom of Information Act is not designed to subsume other legal access rights, nor to give alternative routes of access where existing regimes are already available. The Freedom of Information Act access rights build on, but do not replace, previous access rights. Those existing rights, and the separate procedural regimes which are tailored to them, continue in place, and the Freedom of Information Act observes corresponding limits to its role.
Section 21 also confirms that the Freedom of Information Act does not provide alternative means of access to information which is already freely available, either through commercial publishing operations or through existing publicly funded provision. The Freedom of Information Act rights are designed to supplement, and not to duplicate, the usual flow of information to the public through the commercial electronic and print media, and through existing library and archive services.
Section 21 is an absolute exemption, which means that no consideration of the public interest test is required to withhold information.
EXPLANATION OF FOIA – SECTION 31 - LAW ENFORCEMENT
We have provided below additional information about Section 31 of the Freedom of Information Act. We have included some extracts from the legislation, as well as some of the guidance we use when applying it. We hope you find this information useful.
The legislation
Section 1: Right of Access to information held by public authorities
(1) Any person making a request for information to a public authority is entitled—
(a) to be informed in writing by the public authority whether it holds information of the description specified in the request, and
(b) if that is the case, to have that information communicated to him.
Section 31 – 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—
(a) the prevention or detection of crime,
(b) the apprehension or prosecution of offenders,
(c) the administration of justice,
(d) the assessment or collection of any tax or duty or of any imposition of a similar nature,
(e) the operation of the immigration controls,
(f) the maintenance of security and good order in prisons or in other institutions where persons are lawfully detained,
(g) the exercise by any public authority of its functions for any of the purposes specified in subsection (2),
(h) any civil proceedings which are brought by or on behalf of a public authority and arise out of an investigation conducted, for any of the purposes specified in subsection (2), by or on behalf of the authority by virtue of Her Majesty’s prerogative or by virtue of powers conferred by or under an enactment, or
(i) any inquiry held under the Fatal Accidents and Sudden Deaths Inquiries (Scotland) Act 1976 to the extent that the inquiry arises out of an investigation conducted, for any of the purposes specified in subsection (2), by or on behalf of the authority by virtue of Her Majesty’s prerogative or by virtue of powers conferred by or under an enactment.
(2) The purposes referred to in subsection (1)(g) to (i) are—
(a) the purpose of ascertaining whether any person has failed to comply with the law,
(b) the purpose of ascertaining whether any person is responsible for any conduct which is improper,
(c) the purpose of ascertaining whether circumstances which would justify regulatory action in pursuance of any enactment exist or may arise,
(d) the purpose of ascertaining a person’s fitness or competence in relation o the management of bodies corporate or in relation to any profession or other activity which he is, or seeks to become, authorised to carry on,
(e) the purpose of ascertaining the cause of an accident,
(f) the purpose of protecting charities against misconduct or mismanagement (whether by trustees or other persons) in their administration,
(g) the purpose of protecting the property of charities from loss or misapplication,
(h) the purpose of recovering the property of charities,
(i) the purpose of securing the health, safety and welfare of persons at work, and
(j) the purpose of protecting persons other than persons at work against risk to health or safety arising out of or in connection with the actions of persons at work.
(3) The duty to confirm or deny does not arise if, or to the extent that, compliance with section 1(1)(a) would, or would be likely to, prejudice any of the matters mentioned in subsection (1).
Guidance
Section 31 is concerned with protecting a wide range of law enforcement interests and its application turns on whether disclosure would be likely to prejudice those interests.
Some interests that are protected by section 31 are drawn quite widely, for example: the administration of justice, the prevention or detection of crime and the operation of immigration controls. But section 31 also applies where the exercise by any public authority of certain specified functions would be prejudiced by disclosure. Those functions include: ascertaining whether a person is responsible for improper conduct, determining the cause of an accident and ascertaining a person's fitness to carry on a profession.
This section is not restricted to information of any particular description; it turns on consideration of the likely effects of any disclosure. Examples of circumstances in which the prejudicial effects referred to in this part of this exemption are most likely to be relevant could include the following disclosures:
· intelligence about anticipated criminal activities
· information relating to planned police operations, including specific planned operations, and policies and procedures relating to operational activity;
· information relating to the identity and role of police informers
· information relating to police strategies and tactics in seeking to prevent crime
· information whose disclosure would facilitate the commission of any offence; and
· information whose disclosure would prejudice the fair trial of any person against whom proceedings have been or may be instituted.
A 'neither confirm nor deny' response may be required in circumstances where to confirm or deny the existence of information would itself communicate sensitive and potentially damaging information, to the detriment of the public good. Its use is particularly relevant in the areas of law enforcement, intelligence and national security. The work of the security and intelligence agencies being necessarily secret, it is a well-established matter of public policy that they do not normally disclose their operational capabilities or limits, what they are investigating, or what information they hold (or do not hold).
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