Š The Last Word 2026. All rights reserved. Terms of use
Your Packs
Decision & Approval
7 modules
Scrutiny & Committee
11 modules
Public Lines
14 modules
FOI Pack
30 modules
Briefings Pack
14 modules
All Packs
76 total
All Packs
đ Decision and Approval Pack
Approval and decision language, progress updates, consultation responses, and closure wording.
đ Scrutiny and Committee Pack
Responding to committees, explaining constraints, addressing criticism, and managing follow-up.
đŦ Public Lines Pack
Holding statements, clarifying misunderstandings, media responses, press quotes, and service disruption language.
đ FOI Response Pack
Response language for the three most cited FOI exemptions: Section 40 personal data, Section 43 commercial interests, and Section 36 effective conduct of public affairs.
đ Briefings Pack
Writing that goes upward. Briefing notes, ministerial submissions, Cabinet member cover notes, executive summaries, and updates to senior officials.
đ Decision and Approval Pack
7 modules for essential everyday writing
Approval and decision wording
Approval and decision wording...
Conditional approval wording
Conditional approval wording...
Progress and update wording
Progress and update wording...
Deferral and holding language
Deferral and holding language...
Reassurance and control language
Reassurance and control language...
Consultation and engagement wording
Consultation and engagement wording...
Closure language
Closure language...
đ Scrutiny and Committee Pack
11 modules for handling scrutiny and accountability
Responding to formal scrutiny questions
Responding to formal scrutiny questions...
Explaining constraints without sounding evasive
Explaining constraints without sounding evasive...
Addressing concerns and criticism
Addressing concerns and criticism...
Disagreement and holding the line
Disagreement and holding the line...
Reassurance and controls
Reassurance and controls...
Lessons learned and improvement
Lessons learned and improvement...
Closing down follow up
Closing down follow up...
Responding to committee recommendations
Responding to committee recommendations...
Evidence and transparency
Evidence and transparency...
Ministerial and official accountability
Ministerial and official accountability...
Managing scrutiny timelines
Managing scrutiny timelines...
đŦ Public Lines Pack
14 modules for public communications
Holding statements
Holding statements...
Clarifying misunderstandings
Clarifying misunderstandings...
Responding to public criticism
Responding to public criticism...
Public refusals
Public refusals...
Press quote templates
Press quote templates...
Reactive social media wording
Reactive social media wording...
Consistency lines
Consistency lines...
Explaining complexity
Explaining complexity...
Media responses in writing
Media responses in writing...
Positive announcements
Positive announcements...
Service disruption and incident response
Service disruption and incident response...
Stakeholder engagement
Stakeholder engagement...
Partnership and collaboration statements
Partnership and collaboration statements...
Final public close
Final public close...
đ FOI Response Pack
30 modules for Freedom of Information responses
SECTION 40: PERSONAL INFORMATION
Withholding names of non-senior staff
Third party personal data, absolute exemption, no public interest test required.
Withholding staff names, public-facing roles
Where partial transparency applies to the role but not to personal details.
Redacting personal data within a disclosed document
Where a document is released but contains third party personal data.
Neither confirm nor deny
Where confirming or denying would itself breach data protection.
Redirecting to Subject Access Request
Where the applicant is seeking their own personal data under FOI.
Withholding special category personal data
Health, ethnicity, religion, and other Article 9 categories.
Personal data in complaint and investigation records
Where the request relates to a grievance, conduct matter, or complaint.
Partial disclosure with personal data redacted
Releasing documents with personal data removed and marked.
Where only some information is exempt under S.40
Handling requests covering multiple types of information, only some of which is personal data.
Explaining the UK GDPR basis in the response
For requests that challenge the S.40 refusal and ask for the specific data protection basis.
SECTION 43: COMMERCIAL INTERESTS
Withholding full contract documents
Where a contract is commercially sensitive throughout. Qualified exemption, public interest test required.
Withholding pricing and fee structures
Rates, unit costs, and pricing schedules within contracts.
Withholding tender information, live procurement
Where a procurement exercise is currently underway.
Withholding tender information, after contract award
Where the contract has been awarded but bid sensitivity remains.
Third party commercial interests, supplier objects
Where a supplier has been consulted and asserts sensitivity.
Own authority commercial interests
Where disclosure would prejudice the authority's future negotiating position.
Partial disclosure, contract with sensitive schedules redacted
Releasing the main contract body while withholding commercial annexes.
Public interest test, maintaining the exemption
Standard PIT wording where non-disclosure is the outcome.
Public interest test, partial disclosure
PIT wording where some information is released and some withheld.
Aged contracts, assessing whether sensitivity has reduced
Where time has passed and the authority must reconsider whether S.43 still applies.
SECTION 36: EFFECTIVE CONDUCT OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS
Before you use Section 36: the qualified person requirement
Read this before using any Section 36 module. The procedural requirement that makes S.36 different from every other exemption.
Free and frank provision of advice
Internal officer advice, legal advice, and recommendations not in the public domain.
Free and frank exchange of views
Minutes, notes, and records of internal deliberation and committee discussion.
Pre-decision safe space
Where a decision is live or imminent and information relates directly to that process.
Post-decision, where sensitivity remains
Where a decision has been made but S.36 continues to apply for identified reasons.
Referencing the qualified person correctly
Standard wording for citing the qualified person's opinion in the response.
Inhibition of future candour
The forward-looking public interest argument about the effect on future advice.
Partial disclosure under S.36
Where some information can be released and some withheld under S.36.
Collective responsibility engaged
Cabinet and executive discussions where collective responsibility applies.
Combined S.36 and S.43
Where the same information engages both the public affairs and commercial interests exemptions.
Public interest balancing, governance harm
Where the central PIT argument is harm to effective governance rather than specific deliberation.
đ Briefings Pack
14 modules for briefings, submissions and board papers
THE FUNDAMENTALS
Opening a briefing note
The first sentence that tells the reader why this is in front of them and what they need to do.
Closing with a clear action required
Ending a briefing so the reader knows exactly what is being asked of them.
Structuring options for a decision
Presenting choices clearly without leading the reader, while making the recommended option easy to identify.
The one-page briefing structure
The standard architecture of a brief that works when the reader has limited time.
CENTRAL GOVERNMENT
Ministerial submission, recommending a decision
A submission seeking a minister's agreement to a recommended course of action.
Briefing a minister before a difficult meeting
Preparing a minister for a meeting involving challenge, opposition, or sensitive subject matter.
Flagging a risk to a Director General
Raising a significant risk with a senior official in a way that is clear, proportionate, and actionable.
Escalating a live issue to senior officials
Escalating a developing situation without passing the buck or understating the urgency.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Cover note for a Cabinet member
A short covering note accompanying a report or decision paper for a portfolio holder.
Submission to an elected member, recommending a decision
Officer submission seeking a member decision under delegated or executive authority.
Briefing a Leader or Mayor before a public meeting
Preparing the Leader or Mayor for a full council meeting, public event, or media appearance.
Flagging a sensitive issue to a portfolio holder
Raising a politically or reputationally sensitive matter with an elected member without causing unnecessary alarm.
BOTH CONTEXTS
Executive summary for a longer report
Summarising a substantial report so the reader can grasp the key points without reading the full document.
Written update on a live issue where the position is uncertain
Updating a senior reader on a developing situation where the outcome is not yet known.
Legal
Disclaimer
The content provided in The Last Word is intended as professional reference material for public sector practitioners. It is not legal advice.
All wording, templates, and guidance are provided to assist users in drafting communications and documents. Users are solely responsible for ensuring that any content they use is appropriate for their specific circumstances, compliant with their organisation's policies and procedures, and legally accurate for the matter in hand.
The Last Word makes no representations or warranties as to the accuracy, completeness, or fitness for purpose of any content. No liability is accepted for any loss or damage arising from reliance on material provided in this app, including but not limited to decisions challenged by the Information Commissioner's Office, legal proceedings, or adverse findings by any regulatory body.
FOI response wording reflects general practice under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the UK General Data Protection Regulation. The application of any exemption to a specific request requires a case-by-case assessment. Users should obtain legal advice where they are uncertain about the correct approach.
Briefing and submission formats reflect common central and local government practice. Individual departments, organisations, and private offices may have their own requirements that take precedence.
Copyright
Š The Last Word 2026. All rights reserved.
All content in this application, including module wording, guidance notes, and structural templates, is the intellectual property of The Last Word. Reproduction, redistribution, or resale of any content, in whole or in part, without prior written permission is prohibited.
Subscribers may use and adapt content for their own professional purposes within their employing organisation. This licence does not extend to sharing content with third parties, training others using the material, or incorporating it into products or services offered commercially.
Contact
For enquiries about The Last Word, please email hello@thelastword.app
Š The Last Word 2026. All rights reserved.