Page:Ukpga 20000036 en.pdf/14

10c. 36



16.—(1) It shall be the duty of a public authority to provide advice and assistance, so far as it would be reasonable to expect the authority to do so, to persons who propose to make, or have made, requests for information to it.

(2) Any public authority which, in relation to the provision of advice or assistance in any case, conforms with the code of practice under section 45 is to be taken to comply with the duty imposed by subsection (1) in relation to that case. Refusal of request

17.—(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—
 * (a) states that fact,
 * (b) speciﬁes the exemption in question, and
 * (c) states (if that would not otherwise be apparent) why the exemption applies.

(2) Where—
 * (a) in relation to any request for information, a public authority is, as respects any information, relying on a claim—
 * (i) that any provision of Part II which relates to the duty to conﬁrm or deny and is not speciﬁed in section 2(3) is relevant to the request, or
 * (ii) that the information is exempt information only by virtue of a provision not speciﬁed in section 2(3), and
 * (b) at the time when the notice under subsection (1) is given to the applicant, the public authority (or, in a case falling within section 66(3) or (4), the responsible authority) has not yet reached a decision as to the application of subsection (1)(b) or (2)(b) of section 2,

the notice under subsection (1) must indicate that no decision as to the application of that provision has yet been reached and must contain an estimate of the date by which the authority expects that such a decision will have been reached.

(3) A public authority which, in relation to any request for information, is to any extent relying on a claim that subsection (1)(b) or (2)(b) of section 2 applies must, either in the notice under subsection (1) or in a separate notice given within such time as is reasonable in the circumstances, state the reasons for claiming—
 * (a) that, in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exclusion of the duty to conﬁrm or deny outweighs the public interest in disclosing whether the authority holds the information, or