The Cabinet Office has refused to answer a Freedom of Information request about the flora and foliage in its offices.

The complexity of Freedom of Information requests was highlighted in 2009 when courts repeatedly blocked, then allowed, then blocked a journalist’s attempt to get details on MPs' expenses.

A certain Mr Tam could be set for similar travails after his FOI request to the Cabinet Office, asking how many trees and plants it has, was rejected as the department says it will cost over £600 to answer.

Mr Tam sent the request in October 2010 with seemingly simple questions on how many trees and potted plants the Cabinet Office held, along with its spend on purchasing and maintaining them.

However, the Cabinet Office, who replied to Mr Tam at the end of January, two months after the statutory deadline for replying to FOIs, says although it knows the answer, it won’t reply as the info will cost too much to collate.

It estimates that it will take one person 3.5 working days to “locate, retrieve and extract” the necessary details, costing over £600.

Is it the case that the Cabinet Office can’t see the wood for the trees?