UK FOIA requests - Spy Blog: HM Treasury - Partial Regulatory Assessment - Terrorism (United Nations Measures) Order 2006

When Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown made his speech to Chatham House, about "terrorist finance" etc. he alluded to new measures to help with "freezing terrorist assets". These regulations are very wide ranging, and unlimited by any Statutory Code of Practice.

The Secondary Legislation was rubber stamped through an Order in Council i.e. neither of the Houses of Parliament even got to debate these regulations, which are as long and complicated as many full Acts of Parliament:

Statutory Instrument 2006 No. 2657
The Terrorism (United Nations Measures) Order 2006

http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2006/20062657.htm

[...]

Made 10th October 2006
Laid before Parliament 11th October 2006
Coming into force 12th October 2006

[...]
At the Court at Buckingham Palace, the 10th day of October 2006

Present,

The Queen's Most Excellent Majesty in Council

[...]

i.e. The Privy Council

However, according to the Explanatory Notes, the Partial Regulatory Impact Assessment should already have been published:

"A partial regulatory impact assessment of the effect that this instrument will have on the costs of business may be attained [sic] from the Asset Freezing Unit of the Financial Crime Team, HM Treasury, 1 Horse Guards Road, London SW1A 2HQ and is also available on HM Treasury's website (www.hm-treasury.gov.uk). A copy of the regulatory impact assessment has been placed in the libraries of both Houses of Parliament."

Except, of course, that there is no such thing to be found on the Treasury website, and similarly, nothing on the HMSO Official Documents website.

Below is our FOIA request, after having tried email and phone calls to the Treasury.

Date: Mon, 13 Nov 2006 11:07:50 +0000 To: Cc: Subject: Freedom of Information Act request - Partial Regulatory Impact Assessment - Statutory Instrument 2006 No. 2657 - The Terrorism (United Nations Measures) Order 2006 From: [email address]
Monday 13th November 2006

Freedom of Information Act request:
- Partial Regulatory Impact Assessment
- Statutory Instrument 2006 No. 2657
- The Terrorism (United Nations Measures) Order 2006

Dear Sirs,

Following my unsuccessful efforts by email and phone to the Treasury Central Enquiries Unit, since 19th October 2006, to obtain this supposedly already published information, I am now making a formal request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 for:

The Partial Regulatory Impact Assessment mentioned in the Explanatory Notes to

Statutory Instrument 2006 No. 2657
The Terrorism (United Nations Measures) Order 2006

http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2006/20062657.htm

"A partial regulatory impact assessment of the effect that this nstrument will have on the costs of business may be attained [sic] from the Asset Freezing Unit of the Financial Crime Team, HM Treasury, 1 Horse Guards Road, London SW1A 2HQ and is also available on HM Treasury's website (www.hm-treasury.gov.uk). A copy of the regulatory impact assessment has been placed in the libraries of both Houses of Parliament."

[civil servant's name], from the Central Enquiries Unit has been helpful in contacting Asset Freezing Unit of the Financial Crime Team, on at least two occasions, but still nothing has happened.

Please provide the information ideally by publishing it on your public world wide website, or alternatively by email. Ideally this should *NOT* be in the form of a "copy and paste" locked Adobe .pdf file, or similar, attachment.

In the unlikely event that this information is not already available in a standard electronic format, then please explain the reasons why, when you provide the information in another format.

If you are proposing to make a charge for providing the information requested, please provide full details in advance, together with an explanation of any proposed charge

If you decide to withhold any of the information requested you should clearly explain why you have done so in your response, by reference to the Freedom of Information Act 2000 legislation.

If your decision to withhold is based upon an evaluation of the public interest, then you should clearly explain which public interests you have considered, and why you have decided that the public interest in maintaining the exception(s) outweighs the public interest in releasing the information.

I look forward to receiving the information requested as soon as possible, and in any event within 20 working days of receipt. i.e.
by Tuesday 12th December 2006

regards

[name]