Section 51 — Freedom of Information Act 1982: Annotations of records etc. following unsuccessful applications for amendments of records

(1) Where an agency or Minister decides not to amend a document or official documents wholly or partly in accordance with an application under section 48, the agency or Minister must: (a) take such steps as are reasonable in the circumstances to enable the applicant to provide a statement of the kind mentioned in paragraph 51A(c); and (b) subject to subsection (2), annotate the document or official document concerned by adding to it the statement so provided. (2) Paragraph (1)(b) does not apply if the agency or Minister considers the statement to be irrelevant, defamatory or unnecessarily voluminous. (3) For the purposes of this Act, the provision by the applicant of a statement under subsection (1) is taken to be an application made under section 51A on the day the statement is so provided.