What this measures
We read 19 clarification questions from public bodies in the case correspondence (February to October 2026). For each one we checked whether an email or link sent to that body, before the question, already gave the answer. 3 are rated strong, 5 moderate, 0 weak, and 11 were fair questions (see What cuts against).
This index describes conduct and its measurable effect. Each failing is framed as an open question, or a possible breach of a named duty: the FOIA s.10 time limit, the s.16 duty to advise and assist, the ICO's guidance on clarifying requests, the Civil Service Code, and the Nolan principles of openness and accountability. It makes no finding about motive.
Duty and candour: body by body
S 2 · M 0 · W 0 · D 14 · T 1 · H 0 · F 1
Status: Pending. FOI 1264/26 due about 10 Nov 2026.
Strong SWP-1 · 30 Sep 2026 · Data Protection Team
41 days after the request of 20 Aug 2026
Their question
Before we search our systems to locate your requests, would you please be able to provide more information on your request you stated was made on 20/08/2026 regarding the death of 2 individuals?
Email catalogue, part 3
Already supplied
- 20 Aug 2026 FOI request to the Force's FOI mailbox:
I request any recorded information held by South Wales Police relating to the deaths of the following individuals: 1. William (Billy) Buckler
open - 27 Sep 2026 Internal review request, restating it:
my request of 20 August 2026 (deaths of William Buckler and Mary Doreen Williams)
open
- Days lost
- 13 days (17 Sep, when the 20 Aug request fell due, to 30 Sep)
- Statutory clock
- FOIA s.10(1): 20 working days, so the 20 Aug request was due 17 Sep 2026, before this question. UK GDPR Art 12(3): one month for the subject access request. The email did not state whether any clock was paused.
- Cuts against
- The subject access team uses a different mailbox from the FOI team, inside the same unit.
Strong SWP-2 · 13 Oct 2026 · FOI team (research and data quality)
3 days after FOI 1264/26 of 10 Oct 2026
Their question
Please could you provide some information as to the individuals or entities involved in the occurrences at Ty Mawr from 01/11/1988 – 31/12/1988.
Correspondence, M56
Already supplied
- 7 Jun 2026 FOI/EIR request on 1988 police and bailiff involvement:
Any involvement with BP Properties, Western Ground Rents, or Bute Estate successors.
open - 27 Sep 2026 Internal review request:
Records of that period may be indexed under “Leckwith Road”, “Llandough”, “BP Properties”, “Buckler”, “Williams”, “Ty Mawr”, “eviction”, “breach of the peace” or the date
open
- Days lost
- about 1 working day (clarification sent the same day; due date moved from 9 Nov to about 10 Nov)
- Statutory clock
- FOIA s.10(6): the Force wrote that “the 20 working day timescale will be suspended until the required clarification has been received”.
- Cuts against
- Our own emails give two different death dates for one of the people named. That does not affect the names asked for, but it is a fair source of confusion and is being corrected.
Open questions
- Were the emails of 7 Jun, 20 Aug and 27 Sep, all in the same mailbox, read before these questions were asked?
- The 20 Aug request fell due on 17 Sep. Was that a breach of FOIA s.10(1), and was any clock paused on 30 Sep?
- Does asking for details already held meet the FOIA s.16 duty to advise and assist?
Correspondence (Legal Wiki) · Email catalogue, part 3 (Legal Wiki) · Forensic review: South Wales Police
S 0 · M 1 · W 0 · D 24 · T 0 · H 1 · F 1
Status: FOI F260213 answered. SAR D260928 due 28 Oct 2026.
Moderate HMLR-1 · 12 Mar 2026 · FOI team
24 days after the FOI request of 16 Feb 2026
Their question
Please provide the title number in which you require this information for
Correspondence, M11
Already supplied
- 6 Feb 2026 HMLR's own reply about the same property:
Title Number: WA231076
open - 16 Feb 2026 The FOI request:
relating to:Ty Mawr (Great House), Llandough, near Penarth, South Glamorgan (also known as Great House Farm).
open
- Days lost
- 24 days (request to clarification question)
- Statutory clock
- FOIA s.1(3) and s.10(6). The question came on about working day 18 of 20, and the same email indicated a refusal was likely.
- Cuts against
- The FOI email itself gave no title number, and the land may sit in more than one title.
Notice 29 Sep 2026 · An automatic reply to an enquiry:
This email address is not the correct method of contact for general enquiries. Therefore, no action will be taken with this enquiry.
Correspondence, M68
- Cuts against
- The notice does name the correct route (the online contact form).
Open questions
- Why was a title number asked for on working day 18 when HMLR's own 6 Feb email gave it for the same property?
- Does the ICO guidance (ask for clarification as soon as possible) fit a question asked on working day 18?
- Should an enquiry that receives “no action will be taken” be passed to the right team, under the s.16 duty to advise and assist and the Nolan principle of openness?
Correspondence (Legal Wiki) · Forensic review: HMLR administrative decisions · Forensic review: Independent Complaints Reviewer
#3Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales
FOI Team
S 1 · M 1 · W 0 · D 0 · T 0 · H 0 · F 1
Status: Pending. The whole request is on hold until the clarification is sent; it is being prepared.
Strong AMG-1 · 20 Oct 2026 · FOI Team
under a day after our email of 19 Oct 2026, 22:14 UTC
Their question
As you will be aware, there are a number of properties named "Great House Farm" across Wales and "Llandough" is not a unique place name.
… whether you are seeking records relating specifically to the … c.1880 discovery at Great House Farm, Llandough (near Penarth/Cardiff)
Reply of 20 Oct 2026, 07:14 UTC (not yet on the Legal Wiki)
Already supplied
- 19 Oct 2026 The email being answered: its first line (the subject line also names the farm):
Great House Farm / Tŷ Mawr, Llandough-juxta-Penarth, Vale of Glamorgan
(email record) - 28 Sep 2026 The Museum's own reply on FOI 2026-032:
Great House Farm, Llandough (near Cowbridge) or Great House Farm, Llandow were ever catalogued or treated within the collections system as relating to Great House Farm, Llandough (near Penarth/Cardiff)
open - 12 Oct 2026 The Museum's own reply on FOI 2026-036:
it relates to a holding in the Parish of Llanfair and not to Great House Farm/Tŷ Mawr, Llandough (near Penarth/Cardiff), which was the subject of your request
open
- Days lost
- 0 days so far; the hold is open-ended until clarified
- Statutory clock
- FOIA s.10(1) 20 working days, with s.1(3)/s.10(6) hold. The reply put “the request” on hold, though only point 2 was queried; points 1, 3 and 4 were not.
- Cuts against
- None found on the location point.
Moderate AMG-2 · 20 Oct 2026 · FOI Team
same reply
Their question
whether you are seeking all records of medieval ironwork matching any of the search terms listed in your email, regardless of whether they have any recorded connection to the … discovery
Reply of 20 Oct 2026 (not yet on the Legal Wiki)
Already supplied
- 19 Oct 2026 Point 2 of the email being answered:
Please search the collections database and the accession registers for medieval ironwork (any object type) with any of these in the findspot, place, donor or provenance fields
(email record)
- Days lost
- shares the AMG-1 hold
- Statutory clock
- As AMG-1.
- Cuts against
- Point 2 was broad (“any object type”). A scope check on volume is a legitimate s.16 step, so this is rated moderate, not strong.
Open questions
- Why was the location queried when the subject line, the first line and the Museum's own replies of 28 Sep and 12 Oct already gave it?
- Why was the whole request put on hold when only point 2 was queried? Are points 1, 3 and 4 still due?
- Under FOIA s.16 and the ICO clarification guidance, what is the new due date once the clarification arrives?
Correspondence (Legal Wiki) · Forensic review: Amgueddfa Cymru
S 0 · M 1 · W 0 · D 13 · T 1 · H 0 · F 2
Status: Late on 23 Sep 2026. Internal review CAS-356384 due 23 Oct 2026.
Moderate TNA-1 · 20 Aug 2026 · FOI assessor
7 days after FOI CAS-347296 of 13 Aug 2026
Their question
Please can you clarify if the above (received on 20/08/2026) should be treated as clarification on the scope of your FOI request referenced CAS-347296 or a separate research enquiry about the collection.
Correspondence, M27
Already supplied
- 20 Aug 2026 The follow-up email being asked about (TNA quoted it in full):
Please link this expanded request to the existing case reference CAS-344046-K1S1R2 so that the searches can be coordinated.
open
- Days lost
- 13 days on hold (20 Aug to 2 Sep)
- Statutory clock
- FOIA s.1(3) hold from 20 Aug to 2 Sep, with a new date of 23 Sep 2026. That date then passed: a WhatDoTheyKnow delay notice followed on 1 Oct.
- Cuts against
- The follow-up went to the FOI mailbox, so a routing question was understandable.
Open questions
- The email asked about named its own home (case CAS-344046). Why was the request put on hold for 13 days to ask?
- The 23 Sep date passed. Was that a breach of FOIA s.10(1)?
Correspondence (Legal Wiki) · WhatDoTheyKnow delay notice (Legal Wiki) · Forensic review: The National Archives
S 0 · M 1 · W 0 · D 0 · T 0 · H 0 · F 0
Status: Answered in part; passed to a manager on 8 Oct 2026.
Moderate CPS-1 · 29 Sep 2026 · Victim Liaison Officer
26 days after the submission of 3 Sep 2026, and 2 days after a chase
Their question
Could you please contact the officer in the case to request the CPS reference number, if it has been issued.
Correspondence, M06
Already supplied
- 27 Sep 2026 The chase:
whether CPS Cymru will consider the material, or whether I should instead report to Action Fraud / South Wales Police for a crime reference number
open
- Days lost
- not counted (no statutory clock)
- Statutory clock
- No statutory clock; this was not an FOI request.
- Cuts against
- The chase did not say in terms that there was no officer in the case.
Open questions
- The chase asked whether to report to the police for a crime reference. Why ask for a reference from an officer in the case?
Correspondence (Legal Wiki) · Forensic review: CPS
#6MP's constituency office (Cardiff South and Penarth)
Constituency office
S 0 · M 1 · W 0 · D 0 · T 0 · H 0 · F 0
Status: Answered.
Moderate MP-1 · 5 Aug 2026 · Constituency office
9 days after the complaint of 27 Jul 2026
Their question
could you please send a summary outline of your case/concerns
Correspondence, M86
Already supplied
- 27 Jul 2026 The complaint being answered, with a dated log of seven earlier emails:
loss of opportunity to contest enforcement leading to demolition in 1988, heritage/regulatory oversight, planning and title records, and related transparency failures.
open
- Days lost
- not counted (no statutory clock)
- Statutory clock
- No statutory clock.
- Cuts against
- The office could not find the earlier emails, and a fuller summary was a fair ask.
Open questions
- Were the outline and the log of seven emails in the 27 Jul complaint read before a summary was asked for?
Correspondence (Legal Wiki) · Forensic review: the MP's office
What cuts against
11 of the 19 questions were NOT REDUNDANT. Our own emails had left the point open, so each was a fair ask. They are listed here with the reason.
Bodies whose questions were all fair, with no redundant question found: Vale of Glamorgan Council, Glamorgan Archives, Ministry of Justice / HMCTS, Cardiff Council, and the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman.
- HM Land Registry (Customer support, 2 Feb 2026):
please can you provide us with either the full address of the property or the title number concerned.
Fair: Our 31 Jan email named no address or title number. · forensic review - Vale of Glamorgan Council (Information governance, 28 May 2026):
Please can we ask for a plan showing the locations?
Fair: No plan had been sent; the extent of the estate was genuinely unclear. · forensic review - Glamorgan Archives (Archivist, 23 Apr 2026):
If you can provide us with a bit more information about the case that you are seeking information on we will be happy to advise further.
Fair: Our 11 Apr email left the parties as a placeholder. · forensic review - Glamorgan Archives (Archivist, 24 Sep 2026):
You would need to know who the petition was submitted to in order to search for any further reference to it.
Fair: The addressee of the 1974 petition had not been given. · forensic review - Ministry of Justice / HMCTS (Disclosure team, 28 Jul 2026):
please can you provide a copy of their death certificate.
Fair: A death date had been given, but no certificate. · forensic review - The National Archives (Manorial Documents Register, 26 Feb 2026):
do you have rough date for the document called ‘Williams’s Title?
Fair: No date for the document had been given. · forensic review - The National Archives (FOI Centre, 12 Oct 2026):
we would still need the assessment number of the individual farm in order to identify the right field book
Fair: The assessment number was never supplied, and TNA explained the search it had already done. · forensic review - Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales (FOI Team, 13 Jul 2026):
Please confirm whether you intended this request to be made to Amgueddfa Cymru as well.
Fair: The request was addressed to Cardiff Council with the Museum in copy; answered the same day. · forensic review - Cardiff Council (Information request service, 21 Jul 2026):
If you wish for another FOI to be logged for the information below please confirm
Fair: A procedural choice only the requester could make. · forensic review - South Wales Police (Team leader, disclosure unit, 7 Aug 2026):
Please could you provide me with a contact number so that I can call you to offer some explanation.
Fair: No phone number had been given. · forensic review - Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (Enquiries, 16 Jul 2026):
provide us with the formal response with an MP’s referral
Fair: A statutory precondition (the MP filter), not a question already answered.
Our own errors that a body could fairly query: two different death dates for one person in our emails to South Wales Police (being corrected); no title number in the February FOI to HM Land Registry; a placeholder left in an April email to Glamorgan Archives.
Compiled 20 Oct 2026 from the Legal Wiki correspondence pages and the email record.
— Sion's Tab agent