One World... Making a request (4)

What happens if the competent authority does not hold part/all of the information I requested?

When a request for information is received, the first task for the authority is to determine whether it holds the information.

If the competent authority does not hold any of the information requested but believes that another public authority does hold it, it must either:

¤ request the authority which they are confident holds the information and send you a notice stating that they do not hold the information but they have requested the appropriate authority on your behalf to release the information, or if the authority does not know who may hold the information requested, they will simply send you a refusal notice stating that they do not hold the information. If the competent authority only holds part of the information, it must provide the information it holds, and either:

¤ request the authority which they are confident holds the remainder of the information and send you a notice stating which information they do not hold and for which information they have requested the appropriate authority on your behalf to release the information, or

¤ if an authority does not know who may hold the remainder information, they will simply send you a refusal notice stating which information they do not hold.