On 24 January 2025 we wrote:
Dear HM Revenue and Customs,
Thank you for your response. With regard to the name:
The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 states:
1. General Entitlement
(1) A person who requests information from a Scottish public authority which holds it is entitled to be given it by the authority.
The Interpretation Act 1978 states at Schedule 1:
""Person" includes a group of persons, corporate or unincorporate."
For the purposes of the 2002 Act, The Sovereign Nation of Shetland, as an unincorporated association, is a person entitled to be given the information requested.
From the ICO website: https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/foi...
"To be valid under the Act, the request must:
be in writing. This could be a letter or email. Requests can also be made via the web, or even on social networking sites such as Facebook or Twitter if your public authority uses these;
include the requester’s real name. The Act treats all requesters alike, so you should not normally seek to verify the requester’s identity. However, you may decide to check their identity if it is clear they are using a pseudonym or if there are legitimate grounds for refusing their request and you suspect they are trying to avoid this happening, for example because their request is vexatious or repeated. Remember that a request can be made in the name of an organisation, or by one person on behalf of another, such as a solicitor on behalf of a client."
"The requester's real name is The Sovereign Nation of Shetland, and
We note that "you should not normally seek to verify the requester's identity" and
"Remember that a request can be made in the name of an organisation"
From Informationrequeststhenameoftherequesterorapplicant.pdf (itspublicknowledge.info):
"9. All requests must name the person making the request. (Again, remember that a "person" may be a company or organisation.)" and
"14. The Commissioner expects public authorities to check the validity of a request only where there are reasonable grounds for believing that the request might not be valid. Otherwise, the Commissioner expects the authority to simply deal with the request" and
"19. If the request has been made by a company or organisation, then a request made in the name of the company or organisation will be valid." and
22. While it may be helpful to have a named contact for corresponding with a company or organisation in response to a request, this is not essential as the company/organisation name is sufficient for the request to be valid"
We are asking for information that will validate your authority to operate in Shetland. If you cannot show proof that Shetland is part of Scotland, you have no business here. It is essential for you to have this information for your operations in Shetland.
Kindly provide the information as requested by The Sovereign Nation of Shetland. Your objection will make no difference to the timescale of the request.
Yours faithfully,
The Sovereign Nation of Shetland
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On 24 January 2025 we followed up with:
Dear HM Revenue and Customs,
To amplify our previous response, as a matter of interest, The Scottish government made a similar objection to the name, but then withdrew their objection. I quote from their letter:
"We replied on the basis that your request was invalid because you had not provided a name under
which the request was being made.
I have concluded that a different decision should be substituted.
I have concluded that you have provided a name, The Sovereign Nation of Shetland, and therefore that request and provide a response to you."
Yours faithfully,
The Sovereign Nation of Shetland
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And again on 4 February 2025:
Dear HM Revenue and Customs,
Please understand that we are not asking for any kind of explanation. We are asking for information which shows proof that Shetland is part of Scotland.
Together with proof that our name is valid, we believe this to be a valid request. Kindly respond with the information within the timescale of the original request.
Yours faithfully,
The Sovereign Nation of Shetland
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On 14 February 2025 HMRC wrote:
Dear , (apparently they can't bring themselves to call us The Sovereign Nation of Shetland)
We are writing in response to your request for information, received 23
January.
Yours sincerely,
HMRC Information Rights Unit
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HMRC do not hold information showing how Shetland is part of Scotland.
This request is now closed because HMRC do not hold the information.
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