FoI 28-25: Information in regards to details of correspondence sent to and received from the MLAs in relation to travel allowance claims

Information Standards Freedom of Information Response

2 April 2025

Our Ref: FoI 28-25

Freedom of Information Act 2000

I am writing to confirm that the Northern Ireland Assembly Commission (Assembly Commission) has processed your request dated 10 March 2025 in line with the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA). Your request was as follows-

'...For each MLA, please disclose the following:

- A copy of all correspondence sent to and received from the MLA in relation to their travel allowance claims for the years 2021-22, 2022-23 and 2023-24.'

Our response

I wish to advise you that to comply with this request would exceed the fees limit under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA).

Section 12(1) of the FOIA provides:

"Section 1(1) does not oblige a public authority to comply with a request for information if the authority estimates that the cost of complying with the request would exceed the appropriate limit."

We have estimated that, in order to comply with your request, staff would be required to consider a vast amount of correspondence to extract the information requested and that this would exceed the fees limit as provided for under section 12(1) of the FOIA.

It may be helpful to discuss your request and determine if we can refine your request to make it specific to the information that you require in line with the fees limit.

Further Information

You have the right to request an internal review of this decision by the Assembly Commission. If you wish to request such a review, please write to me at the above address. If, after that review, you are dissatisfied with the way in which the Assembly Commission has handled your request for information, you may complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF.

Your request for information and our response may be published in the disclosure log maintained by the Assembly Commission under a publication scheme agreed with the ICO. The request and our response will be anonymised.

Yours faithfully

INFORMATION STANDARDS