Original Copies of FOI Requests and Responses
Request
I request copies of the following records relating to Freedom of Information Act 2000 requests received during the 2024/25 financial year (1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025):
The original final response letter or email issued to the requester in respect of each request.
Copies of any documents, records or other information disclosed to the requester as part of, or accompanying, the final response.
For the avoidance of doubt, I am requesting copies of the actual response letters or emails issued to requesters, together with the associated disclosed records. I am not requesting disclosure log entries, webpages, or versions of responses that have subsequently been reformatted or republished. I am seeking the original correspondence as issued because published versions may not preserve all of the formatting, contextual information or metadata associated with the original correspondence.
If you consider that complying with this request in full would exceed the appropriate limit under section 12 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, I request that you provide advice and assistance in accordance with section 16 of the Act.
Response
Thank you for your request which has been processed under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA).
In your email you have requested copies of the following records relating to Freedom of Information Act 2000 requests received during the 2024/25 financial year (1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025).
The original final response letter or email issued to the requester in respect of each request.
Copies of any documents, records or other information disclosed to the requester as part of, or accompanying, the final response.
You have noted that you are not requesting disclosure log entries, webpages, or versions of responses that have subsequently been reformatted or republished. You are seeking the original correspondence as issued because published versions may not preserve all of the formatting, contextual information or metadata associated with the original correspondence.
The Gambling Commission can confirm that information is held falling within the scope of your request.
However, the Gambling Commission refuse to proceed with your request under section 14(1) (vexatious requests) of the FOIA. Our considerations for relying on the section 14(1) exemption are detailed below.
Section 14(1)
Firstly, Section 14(1) states:
“Section 1(1) does not oblige a public authority to comply with a request for information if the request is vexatious.”
This exemption is designed to protect public authorities, particularly in terms of resources, by allowing authorities to refuse any requests which have the potential to cause a disproportionate or unjustified level of disruption, irritation or stress.
In order to determine if a request is vexatious, the circumstances surrounding that request must be considered.
The word “vexatious” is not defined in FOIA. However, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) guidance defines vexatious as “manifestly unjustified, inappropriate or improper use of a formal procedure.” This definition establishes that a public authority must consider the proportionality and justification of the FOIA request in question when determining if the section 14(1) exemption applies.
The FOIA provides individuals with a greater right of access to official information in order to make public authorities more transparent and accountable. As such, it is an important constitutional right. However, the ICO also recognises that dealing with unreasonable requests can cause a strain on resources, with the potential to interfere with the delivery of other services or answering legitimate requests. Vexatious requests can also be damaging to the reputation of the legislation itself, and therefore there is an emphasis on protecting public authorities’ resources from unreasonable requests.
The ICO advise that four broad themes should be considered when determining if the section 14(1) exemption applies:
- the burden (on the public authority and its staff);
- the motive (of the requester);
- the value or serious purpose (of the request); and
- any harassment or distress (of and to staff).
As mentioned, all circumstances of the case need to be considered in reaching an ultimate judgement as to whether the request is vexatious.
There is no obligation for a public authority to explain why the request is vexatious. The code of practice issued by the Cabinet Office under section 45 states that when refusing a request under s14(1), a public authority is not required to explain why the request is vexatious, but comments that a public authority may wish to do so as part of its duty under section 16.
Therefore, although we are not legally obliged to provide advice and assistance where a request is vexatious, we have decided to explain our considerations for refusing the request as follows.
The Burden of Complying with the Request
In accordance with ICO guidance, a single FOIA request taken in isolation may be vexatious solely on the grounds of burden. That is, where complying with the request would place a grossly oppressive burden on a public authority’s resources which outweighs any value or serious purpose the request may have.
Under the section 12 exemption, you can refuse a request if it would cost more than a set limit to find and extract the requested information. Whilst the Commission has considered applying the section 12 exemption to your request, we believe that the burden of complying with the request is sufficient in itself to justify characterising the request as vexatious under section 14(1).
A public authority can apply section 14(1) where the amount of time required to review and prepare the information for disclosure would impose a grossly oppressive burden on the organisation. This includes the cost and effort associated with considering exemptions or redacting exempt information.
There is a high threshold for refusing a request under this exemption. We believe that we have a viable case to refuse this request on the following grounds:
- you have asked for a substantial volume of information across a significant time scale; and
- the Commission adopts a publication scheme and therefore publishes our FOI requests and their responses on the Gambling Commission website.
The scope of your request covers each response and any accompanying documents for FOI requests received during the 2024/25 financial year (1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025). You have specifically requested the original correspondence as issued as published versions may not preserve all of the formatting, contextual information or metadata associated with the original correspondence.
We can confirm that we received 231 requests during the 2024/25 financial year. In order to fulfil your request, we would therefore be required to review each of the 231 case files stored within our case management system. We would then need to manually download, edit and redact a large volume of information, as the original correspondence issued for each response will contain personal information, such as the requester’s email address. This process would generate a significant workload for the Commission resulting in a diversion of resources.
As you are aware, public authorities have a duty to respond to FOIA requests within the statutory deadline of twenty working days. The diversion and strain on resources caused by answering your request will therefore have the potential to interfere with the delivery of other services in the immediate term.
Public Interest in the Subject
The public interest in the subject matter of a request is a consideration that too needs to be balanced against the resource implications of the request.
The Commission recognises that there is a legitimate public interest in promoting the transparency of the Commission and in making information available to the public. As mentioned, the Commission adopts a publication scheme which ensures specific information is regularly made available without individuals needing to request it. We publish information in accordance with the Information Commissioner's definition document for Non Departmental Public Bodies (opens in new tab) (PDF).
In relation to FOI requests, we publish our requests and their responses on our website here: Freedom of Information Requests - Full Register(opens in new tab). The register is updated proactively, with requests and their responses being published shortly after the response has been sent to the requestor.
We also publish FOI statistics and information on our website here: Freedom of Information Requests - Statistics and information(opens in new tab). The tables provide a breakdown of the number of FOI and Subject Access Requests (SAR) received per quarter, plus the number of requests processed within the legal time frame, which is 20 working days for FOI requests and one calendar month for SARs.
We are committed to be an open and transparent organisation, and we aim to share as much information as possible and make it available on our website. This, in conjunction with balancing the public interest against the resource implications of your request which have been discussed above, we conclude that the section 14(1) exemption applies.
Therefore, the Commission determines that continuing to respond to your request would impose a grossly oppressive burden on the Commission and would cause a disproportionate level of disruption to its resources, diverting staff time away from carrying out its regulatory functions.
Review of the decision
If you are unhappy with the service you have received in relation to your Freedom of Information request you are entitled to an internal review of our decision. You should write to FOI Team, Gambling Commission, 4th floor, Victoria Square House, Victoria Square, Birmingham, B2 4BP or by reply to this email.
Please note, internal review requests should be made within 40 working days of the initial response. Requests made outside this timeframe will not be processed.
If you are not content with the outcome of our review, you may then apply directly to the Information Commissioner (ICO) for a decision. Generally, the ICO cannot make a decision unless you have already exhausted the review procedure provided by the Gambling Commission.
It should be noted that if you wish to raise a complaint with the ICO about the Commission’s handling of your request for information, then you are required to do so within six weeks of receiving your final response or last substantive contact with us.
The ICO can be contacted at: The Information Commissioner’s Office (opens in new tab), Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF.
Information Management Team
Gambling Commission