The King of Cornwall

please could you supply me with the following information...

copies of...
all emails, either in the subject line or in the body of the message, mentioning 'climate change'
all emails, either in the subject line or in the body of the message, mentioning 'climategate'

all emails both 'to' and 'from' the eden project

Please find attached a letter formally acknowledging your request for information under the Environmental Information Regulations 2004. If you have difficulty in opening the attachment, please contact me and I will send you a copy by post.

Your request under the Environmental Information Regulations 2004

Thank you for your Information Access Request which we received on 3rd December 2009.

We will be dealing with your request under the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 ("the EIR").

The scope of the search is for information relating to copies of emails containing 'climate change', 'climategate' and all emails to/from the Eden Project, as set out in your request letter.

As we believe we have fully understood the nature of your request, we are commencing with your request today. The Council now has 20 working days in which to supply the information requested so a response will be sent to you on or before the twentieth working day of your request, which is 5th January 2009.

If it becomes apparent that there will be charges applicable to this request, you will be notified within 5 working days of receipt of this letter.

You should be aware that although the majority of requests for information are dealt with completely free of charge, it is possible that there may be a charge for printing, photocopying and postage. If this is the case then you will be contacted to discuss this without any obligation to proceed. Under the EIRs, we may not process any request where the cost to the authority in terms of staff hours is manifestly unreasonable under Regulation 12 (4) (b). If it becomes apparent that your request may be considered manifestly unreasonable, we will contact you to offer advice and assistance as to how we might be able to respond to your request. You will never be expected to contribute towards this staff cost.

Thank you for your request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Please accept my apologies for the delay of the Council's response to your request. Please be assured that we have been searching for relevant information but our searches have returned a large number of emails. We carried out a search using the following terms:

All e-mails to and from the Council with the e-mail address edenproject.com. = 19,896 e-mails

From the 19,896 e-mails, a search was conducted on the word "Climate". = 866 e-mails.

From the 19,896 e-mails, a search was conducted on the words "Climate Change". = 781 e-mails.

From the 19,896 e-mails, a search was conducted on the word "Climategate". = 0 e-mails.

Please could you clarify your request and provide us with additional search terms to narrow down the scope of your request so that we are able to deal with it within the appropriate limit of 2.5 days as required under the legislation?

of the eden project emails...
- From the 19,896 e-mails, a search was conducted on the words "Climate Change". = 781 e-mails.
that will be fine

what of the other non-edenproject cornwall.gov emails relating to 'climate change' ?

Thank you for your email. We only conducted the search based on emails to and from the Eden Project as defined in your original request. We will look through the emails with reference to "climate change" and send you any relevant information as soon as we can.

i checked my first request...

it said...

"all emails, either in the subject line or in the body of the message, mentioning 'climate change'
all emails, either in the subject line or in the body of the message, mentioning 'climategate'

all emails both 'to' and 'from' the eden project"

obviously you have taken this to mean 'only' eden project emails

could i therefore clarify what i'm after? hopefully this will be easier...

i request copies of all emails containing the phrase 'climate change' not just the eden project but both to and from all cornwall.gov addresses

hope that's clearer

We are currently processing your request for copies of 'climate change' emails as below. I am writing to let you know that we have extended the deadline for your request to 5th March 2010 when we hope to be able to supply you with our response. This is to allow us to write to the third parties involved to request permission to release the emails written by them.

I am writing to let you know that we are unable to issue a response to your request at present as we are waiting for advice from the Council's Legal service. I will be in touch again to advise you of the progress of your request when we have further information.

Thank you for your telephone call earlier and your patience regarding the Council's delay in responding to your request for information. As discussed, I have been waiting for some legal advice regarding our response to you.

As we have informed you previously, a large volume of emails has been returned as a result of carrying out the search under the term 'climate change'. Is there a further description of the information that you specifically require that would enable the search to be further narrowed to information that will be of interest to you? Please let me know.

I can also advise that the Council's Green Programme Director, Stephen Cirell, has offered to speak with you to help you find the information you might be interested in

why do i get the impression i'm being constantly fobbed off? this has been going on now since december 3rd 2009 and to date, i've had absolutely nothing!

my request remains the same as it was on that date, plus i would now like copies of all emails between your office and the council's legal services

Please find attached a letter formally acknowledging your request for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. If you have difficulty in opening the attachment, please contact me and I will send you a copy by post.

Your request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000

Thank you for your Information Access Request which we received on 15th March 2010.

We will be dealing with your request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 ("the Act").

The scope of the search is for information relating to your request for copies of all emails between (this FOI - ed) office and the Council's Legal Services, as set out in your request letter.

As we believe we have fully understood the nature of your request, we are commencing with your request today. The Council now has 20 working days in which to supply the information requested so a response will be sent to you on or before the twentieth working day of your request, which is 14th April 2010.

From Cornwall Council FOI to Legal, with CC to Mr Cirell

Please find email below from requester regarding the climate change request. Please advise as to next steps.

We need to discuss what to do with this request, and also the response to his new request for emails between me and Legal Services

I am not sure how an offer to speak to you so that I can be clear on exactly what information you have requested can be described as being "fobbed off"?

I am the Director in charge of climate change and should, therefore, be in the best position to help you meet your needs. Obviously, that is not possible if those needs are not clarified.

my request of dec 3rd 2009...

- "copies of...

all emails, either in the subject line or in the body of the message, mentioning 'climate change'
all emails, either in the subject line or in the body of the message, mentioning 'climategate'

all emails both 'to' and 'from' the eden project"

this was 'clarified' on jan 14th 2010 to...

- "i request copies of all emails containing the phrase 'climate change' not just the eden project but both to and from all cornwall.gov addresses"

i am not sure how i can be clearer - do you want me to specify which email addresses exactly?

i have this morning spoken with ico.gov.uk who tell me i have what seems a legitimate complaint against the council's failure to respond to my legitimate requests in a timely manner

the ico has advised me to make a formal complaint and forward all my correspondence with cornwall council to them

i will postpone my complaint to the ico for a few days