Northern Ireland Office
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, 7 emails are on file: 2 sent, 5 received (3 with content, 2 automatic acknowledgements). Most material: 22 September 2026, received, not held (ref 26FOI 103): States the Wales Office does not hold the requested records and suggests contacting the Welsh Government for transferred files.
- Receivednot heldref 26FOI 103
States the Wales Office does not hold the requested records and suggests contacting the Welsh Government for transferred files.
- Receivedcorrespondence (no disclosure)
The institution states the preservation notice is not a request for recorded information and invites a specific information request.
- Sentchaseref 26FOI 103; IR/26/16
The requester follows up on IR/26/16.
- Receivednot heldref IR/26/16
Internal review IR/26/16 of 26FOI 103 completed: the original "not held" answer is upheld. Searches were digital only, with the terms "Great House Farm, House of Williams/Buckler, Llandough"; pre-1999 Welsh Office paper files went to the National Assembly for Wales (Transfer of Records Order 2004) and later the Welsh Government. Next step offered: ICO complaint.
- Sentotherref 26FOI 103; IR/26/16
Reply on internal review IR/26/16 noting that the covering email carries no named signatory.
2 automatic acknowledgements
- 26FOI 103
The institution acknowledges receipt of the request and states a response is due by 28/09/26.
- IR/26/16
The institution acknowledges an internal review request and states an outcome will be provided by 26/10/26.
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
5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 September 2026 | received | 26FOI 103 | not held | Please see the attached response in respect of your FOI request to the Wales Office, reference 26FOI 103. |
| 29 September 2026 | received | — | correspondence (no disclosure) | Please note that as your correspondence asks to preserve records and does not request recorded information, under section 8(1) of the FOI Act 2000 it is not being processed as a request for information. |
| 21 October 2026 | sent | 26FOI 103; IR/26/16 | chase | Subject: Re: IR/26/16 - Buckler - Acknowledgement |
| 26 October 2026 | received | IR/26/16 | not held | Please see the attached response in respect of your internal review request to the Wales Office, reference IR/26/16. |
| 29 October 2026 | sent | 26FOI 103; IR/26/16 | other | Subject: Re: IR/26/16 - Buckler - Response |
(b) Inconsistencies and gaps
“Not held” answers set against the duty below
- 22 September 2026: “not held” answer (ref 26FOI 103): States the Wales Office does not hold the requested records and suggests contacting the Welsh Government for transferred files.
- 26 October 2026: “not held” answer (ref IR/26/16): Internal review IR/26/16 of 26FOI 103 completed: the original "not held" answer is upheld. Searches were digital only, with the terms "Great House Farm, House of Williams/Buckler, Llandough"; pre-1999 Welsh Office paper files went to the Na
Contradictions between replies, or between institutions
- 22 September 2026: Redirected on 22 September 2026 to Welsh Government; that body answered “not held” on 8 October 2026 (its page). Each points elsewhere; the record is not located.
(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
- redirections that end in “not held”; “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 22 September 2026 answer covers. for paid visit list
- Check, in person, the series that would hold what the 26 October 2026 answer covers. for paid visit list
Versions
| 1.0.0 | 2026-11-01 | First page: correspondence log. |