Data Sharing Agreements

Freedom of information request reference no: 01.FOI.23.030040

I note you seek access to the following information:

• A list of the 366 DSAs held on Cyc-Freedom.

• Any other basic details about these DSAs that can be retrieved from Cyc-Freedom without the need to review individual agreements.

Decision

I have today decided to disclose some of the requested information. Some data has been withheld as it is exempt from disclosure and therefore this response serves as a Refusal Notice under Section 17 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act) by virtue of the following exemptions:

The MPS neither confirms nor denies that it holds any other information relevant to this request by virtue of the following exemptions:

Section 23(5) - Information supplied by, or concerning, certain Security Bodies
Section 24(2) - National Security
Section 31(3) - Law Enforcement

Reason for decision

This should not be taken as conclusive evidence that any information that would meet your request exists or does not exist.

When a request is made under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act), a public authority must inform you, when permitted, whether the information requested is held. It must then communicate that information to you. If a public authority decides that it is cannot comply with all or part of a request, it must cite the appropriate section or exemption of the Act and provide you with a suitable explanation. It is important to note that the Act is designed to place information into the public domain, that is, once access to information is granted to one person under the Act, it is then considered public information and must be communicated to any individual should a request be received.

Section 23(5) - Information supplied by, or concerning, certain Security Bodies & Section 24(2) - National Security - Providing any notice that confirms or denies the existence of specific policing operations would make these security measures less effective. This would lead to the compromise of ongoing or future operations to protect the security or infrastructure of the UK and increase the risk of harm to the public.

If the MPS were to confirm or deny that such information was or was not held, this could prejudice the Government’s ability to maintain national security. It is not in the public interest to disclose the capabilities of the police service and other UK authorities and the techniques and operations that they may or may not use to safeguard the country. This would allow determined individuals the ability to, over time, identify which public authorities hold certain types of national security information and which do not, thereby allowing inferences to be drawn about what authorities or bodies might have an interest in certain matters of national security.

Any response that has the potential to undermine ongoing and future operations to protect the security of the United Kingdom would significantly increase the risk of harm to the community at large. Such actions would obviously not be in the best interest of the public.

Section 31(3) - Law Enforcement - The MPS is charged with enforcing the law, detecting and preventing crime, and protecting the communities we serve. Confirming or denying whether any other information is held would impact on the effectiveness of police investigations, thereby hindering the prevention and detection of crime.

There is an inherently strong public interest in public authorities carrying out investigations to prevent and detect crime. The MPS need to be allowed to investigate crime effectively and ensure that offenders are brought to justice. To confirm or deny that any other information is held could compromise law enforcement tactics, which would hinder the MPS ability to prevent and detect criminality.

Where current or future law enforcement capabilities of the MPS may be compromised by the release of information, it is unlikely to be in the interest of the public.

The Police Service is charged with enforcing the law, preventing and detecting crime and protecting the communities we serve. The security and maintenance of investigations are of paramount importance and the Police service will not divulge whether information is or is not held. Whilst there is a public interest in the transparency of policing and providing assurance that the police service is appropriately and effectively engaging with the threat from criminals, there is a very strong public interest in safeguarding the integrity of police investigations.

It is therefore our opinion that for these issues the balancing test for confirming or not that information is held, is not made out.

Disclosure

In response to your request. I have disclosed the following information.

Please find below information pursuant to your request above.