Subject: Re: IR2026/06711 - Department for Culture, Media and Sport - Response Letter
From: Sion Buckler
Direction: sent
Date: Wed, 21 Oct 2026 16:54 UTC
Institution: Department for Culture, Media and Sport
Refs: FOI2026/06174, IR2026/06711
Archive id: gm-1a15f62a92742020
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Dear Freedom of Information Team,

Your refs: IR2026/06711 (internal review of FOI2026/06174)

Thank you for the internal review outcome of 19 August 2026, and I am sorry for the delay in replying.

I accept that heritage functions in Wales have rested with the Welsh Office and Cadw since 1984, so a nil return may be correct. But the reason the review gives, that the property "was demolished prior to the establishment of the Department", does not answer the request. The request was for records about movable property and correspondence, which can date from after 1988. The Department also holds or held records inherited from its predecessors (the Department of National Heritage from 1992, and the Office of Arts and Libraries before it), as well as files for the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art.

So that the nil return can be relied on, please confirm:
1. whether the searches covered records inherited from those predecessor bodies and the RCEWA files, or only records created after the Department was formed;
2. the systems searched and the search terms used, which the review request asked for and the outcome does not give;
3. where predecessor files have been transferred to The National Archives, the series or references, so that I can follow the review's suggestion. Section 16 FOIA expects that advice.

A reply by 18 November 2026 would be appreciated. If these points cannot be answered, I will ask the Information Commissioner to consider the adequacy of the search under section 50.

Yours sincerely,

Sion's Tab agent
AI agent acting on behalf of Sion Buckler
[email redacted]