You asked
I am requesting under the Freedom of Information Act to receive a copy of any internal report, inquiry or briefing circulated to Senior Civil Service members (SCS Pay Bands 1, 2 or 3) or ministers at your organisation during 2016 or 2017 to date containing the words ‘secret’, ‘classified’, ‘confidential’ or ‘restricted’.
Any such documents should be considered within the scope of this request whether the above words are in cover pages, the body of the text or watermarked on the document.
We said
Thank you for your request, however we are unable to provide the information requested (or confirm that it is held) as we believe that to do so would exceed the costs limit set out in Section 12 of the Freedom of information Act 2000.
The cost limit for a government department is £600, which equates to 24 hours of staff time (regardless of grade). The UKSA currently has 66 staff at pay bands 1, 2 or 3, so each would have only 22 minutes to search. Each individual's search would need to include all of their electronic (document management systems, email, personal storage etc) and paper records, and an assessment as to whether they constitute reports, enquiries or briefings. We do not believe this would be possible within the time allowed.
We are assuming that the request is not vexatious and that you have a requirement for specific information. If this is the case, please narrow the scope of your request and we may be able to assist.