HDC and transparency

I asked for a copy of the lease between HDC and Turnstone Estates. Easy enough I would have thought. This was on 2nd March 2012. On 5th March I received the following reply:

Freedom of Information Group noreply@huntsdc.gov.uk
05/03/2012
Re: Freedom of Information Act Request No 2176.

Thank you for your request for information under the Freedom of Information Act. We have received your request and it has been passed to the appropriate Officer for investigation.
As required by the Freedom of Information Act we will be responding to you within the next 20 working days. However, there may be some instances where it will not be possible to deal with such an application within 20 working days. If this is the case we will contact you to give an estimate of the date by which we expect to reach a decision.

I should have received something by the end of business on 30th March 2012. On 17th April 2012 I received the following:

Re: Freedom of Information Act– FOI Request No. 2176

I am writing in respect of your recent enquiry for information held by the Authority under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act. We have dealt with your request under the Freedom of Information Act.

You requested “Closing Orders and Demolition orders made by the Huntingdon Rural District Council…. Minutes for the Council for the period 1957 - 1972?”  -  Err.. No I didn't

Your request for information has now been considered and I am not obliged to supply the information you have requested.

This letter acts as a Refusal Notice under Section 17 of the Freedom of Information Act.

The exemption applied is Section 21: Information accessible by other means. These records are held at Huntingdonshire Archives, please request this information from them. http://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/leisure/archives/visiting/HLAC1.htm

I apologise that your request will not be met but if you have any further information needs in the future then please contact me.

If you have a complaint about the handling of your enquiry then please contact Freedom of Information Officer in the first instance quoting “FOI Request No. 2176” at one of the following addresses:

Not only late but late with the wrong information. Under Cllr Abelwhite, HDC is going downhill rapidly.