Defra
Forensic assessment · v1.0.0 · updated 1 November 2026
Translation pending: the assessment text below is in English, the authoritative record.
- Response status
- Not held / refused
- Last contact
- 29 October 2026
- Next date on file
- None on file
- Earlier version
- Not yet assessed
Correspondence on file
since 1 September 2026
Our reading: Since September 2026, 8 emails are on file: 3 sent, 5 received (3 with content, 2 automatic acknowledgements). Most material: 21 October 2026, received, not held: Defra states that the 1936–1955 farm records requested are not held after a search of paper and electronic records, and that the information may be held by the Welsh Government.
- Sentrequest
The requester asks Defra for MAF-era records on Great House Farm, 1936–1955, covering surveys, committee decisions, consents, compensation and correspondence.
- Sentrequest
The requester resends the same request to the published GOV.UK address after the first attempt failed to deliver.
- Receivednot held
Defra states that the 1936–1955 farm records requested are not held after a search of paper and electronic records, and that the information may be held by the Welsh Government.
- Sentclarification givenref FOI2026/23886
Further search terms for the 20 Oct 2026 request for wartime and post-war farm records.
- Receivednot heldref FOI2026/23886
Defra has considered the added historical names and locality details and keeps its 21 Oct 2026 position: not held by the Department; the information may be held by the Welsh Government.
- Receivednot heldref FOI2026/23886
Defra repeated its searches, including its Records Management Team, after the nomenclature supplement; nothing in scope found, not-held answer unchanged.
2 automatic acknowledgements
A delivery failure notice reports the original request could not be delivered due to a mail routing loop.
An automatic reply explains the inbox is for FOIA/EIR requests only and directs other enquiries to a webform or postal address.
Not yet assessed
No forensic assessment has been written for this body yet. This page logs the correspondence on file so the first assessment can start from the record.
Case file
This file is built for a future reparations claim. Facts are as the records show them; interpretation is labelled “our reading”. Items marked “not checked” have not been compared with the original record.
(a) Conduct timeline
6 dated interactions, oldest first; 2 automatic acknowledgements are left out. Quotations are verbatim from the institution’s email; where the reply’s substance was an attachment, the email subject is quoted instead.
Show the timeline
| Date | Direction | Reference | Type | Verbatim |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 October 2026 | sent | — | request | Subject: FOI/EIR request – Defra (successor to MAF): wartime and post-war farm records for Great House Farm / Tŷ Mawr, Llandough, 1936–1955 |
| 20 October 2026 | sent | — | request | Subject: FOI/EIR request – Defra (successor to MAF): wartime and post-war farm records for Great House Farm / Tŷ Mawr, Llandough, 1936–1955 |
| 21 October 2026 | received | — | not held | If any record in scope was destroyed, please give the retention or disposal schedule that applied and, where recorded, the date and the authority for its destruction. |
| 29 October 2026 | sent | FOI2026/23886 | clarification given | Subject: FOI/EIR request – Defra (successor to MAF): wartime and post-war farm records for Great House Farm / Tŷ Mawr, Llandough, 1936–1955 |
| 29 October 2026 | received | FOI2026/23886 | not held | We have considered the additional information you have provided, including the alternative historical names and locality descriptions for Great House Farm / Tŷ Mawr. |
| 29 October 2026 | received | FOI2026/23886 | not held | Following receipt of the additional information you provided, we carried out searches, including searches within our Records Management Team, when handling your request. |
(b) Inconsistencies and gaps
“Not held” answers set against the duty below
- 21 October 2026: “not held” answer: Defra states that the 1936–1955 farm records requested are not held after a search of paper and electronic records, and that the information may be held by the Welsh Government.
- 29 October 2026: “not held” answer (ref FOI2026/23886): Defra has considered the added historical names and locality details and keeps its 21 Oct 2026 position: not held by the Department; the information may be held by the Welsh Government.
- 29 October 2026: “not held” answer (ref FOI2026/23886): Defra repeated its searches, including its Records Management Team, after the nomenclature supplement; nothing in scope found, not-held answer unchanged.
(c) Quarantined-name links
Records on the quarantine register (Kissed Frogs) that sit in, or came from, this institution’s holdings. None is treated as settled.
No quarantined-name record on the register is linked to this institution’s holdings.
(d) Duty and liability — our reading
Liability indicators (our reading): some
- Duty
- Freedom of Information Act 2000 s.1 and s.10 (confirm or deny, and supply held information within 20 working days); Environmental Information Regulations 2004 for land and environmental records; records management under the s.46 Code of Practice; Public Records Act 1958 selection and transfer for central government records.
- Indicators the duty was not met
- “not held” answers.
- Evidence still needed to confirm
- the institution’s retention schedule and disposal record for the series in question; the catalogue or file list it searched; any internal review or complaint outcome.
- Likely extent of exposure if confirmed
- An ICO decision notice or a records-management finding; any reparations claim would also need a link between a records failure and the loss.
(e) Evidence still needed
- Inspect the files it names, or their transferred copies at the archive. for paid visit list
- Check, in person, the series that would hold what the 21 October 2026 answer covers. for paid visit list
- Check, in person, the series that would hold what the 29 October 2026 answer covers. for paid visit list
Versions
| 1.0.0 | 2026-11-01 | First page: correspondence log. |