Welsh Assembly Government

The complainant has requested various items of information regarding the ‘Wales Internet’ including the number of complaints that the Welsh Government had received in the past year. The Welsh Government made one attempt to clarify with the complainant the nature of her request, however although it was still uncertain regarding the information she was seeking, it informed the complainant that it did not hold relevant information. The Commissioner has determined than, on an objective reading, the clarification provided by the complainant was open to more than one interpretation, and her approach to section 1(3) of the FOIA is that a public authority must seek clarification of a request whose meaning is not clear or is open to more than one objective reading.  As the Welsh Government made no further attempt to clarify with the complainant which interpretation she intended, it has failed to comply with section 16(1) of the FOIA. The Welsh Government’s failure to respond to part A of the request also represents a breach of section 1(1) of the FOIA.