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Prepare a records request release with exemption flags per passage

For: Information access officer or records manager answering a freedom of information request

Pattern: Specialist panelNeeds live modelsDesigned for 8 to 400 agents
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The pain today

A broad request returns thousands of emails and documents. Each must be read for personal data, commercial confidence, legal privilege and security concerns under a statutory deadline. Over-redaction and missed passages both end in complaints.

The ask

“I attached the request, our exemption guidance and the documents found in the search. For each document, tell me whether it falls within the request, and mark passages that may fall under an exemption, naming which one and why, with the passage quoted. Show me where reviewers disagree. Do not redact anything.”

Plain words, as you would say it to a colleague. Edit it to fit your case before you send it.

What you attach or connect

  • The request and any clarifications
  • Exemption guidance and the governing statute text
  • Responsive documents and emails as text

The unit of work

One worker task per one document under one exemption brief.

Why a swarm fits

Documents are independent and each exemption is a separate test with its own guidance. Separate briefs keep the tests from blurring, and every flag stays tied to one passage.

Not for

Applying a public interest test or making the release decision. Classified material must not be processed on a hosted service.

The decision tree

6 typed decisions, each with an action for every answer

At fixed moments in a run, the engine puts one narrow question to a decision model. The decision model never writes text: it answers yes or no with a probability, picks from listed options, or gives a score, about a small slice of the material. The engine then does exactly what this tree says, which is what makes the run auditable. The thresholds are the template's design values, not measured results.

  1. Planner, while planning

    Scope checkA choice among options

    Before work starts on a unit

    Does the document fall within the subject matter and date range stated in the request as clarified?

    Sees only: The request wording and one document's date, parties and subject

    Why: Out-of-scope calls quote the request wording, so they can be defended on review.

    • Within scopethenAccept
    • Outside the date range or subjectthenSkip this unit
    • Partly within scopethenEscalate to a strong model

  2. Before workers, before a task runs

    Small worker or strong modelA choice among options

    Before a task runs

    Does this document contain names or contact details, third-party commercial terms, legal advice, or security arrangements?

    Sees only: One document's text

    Why: Runs the exemption briefs only on documents that show a trigger.

    • None of thesethenAccept
    • One or more of thesethenEscalate to a strong model

  3. After workers, the judge checks

    Evidence checkA choice among options

    After a worker answers

    Does the quoted passage contain the kind of information the quoted guidance test describes for this exemption?

    Sees only: One flagged passage and the guidance test for one exemption

    Why: An accepted flag is only a candidate for the officer; passages that fail the guidance test are re-read, not flagged.

    • Contains itthenAccept
    • Does not contain itthenReject and retry
    • Arguable under the guidance wordingthenAsk a person

  4. Reconciler, while merging

    Conflict checkA choice among options

    While reconciling

    Does this passage appear in another document or email chain with a different flag?

    Sees only: Two occurrences of a passage with their flags

    Why: Inconsistent treatment of repeated text is a common ground for complaint.

    • Same passage, same flagthenAccept
    • Same passage, different flagsthenMark unresolved
    • Different passagesthenContinue

  5. Accountable person, before anything is settled

    Person decidesYes or no, with a probability

    Before anything is reported as settled

    Does the document carry any exemption flag, a partial-scope call or a disagreement between briefs?

    Sees only: One document's scope call and flags

    Why: The information access officer decides every exemption and the public interest balance.

    Accountable: The information access officer decides every exemption and the public interest balance, and signs the response.

    • Yes: 0.40 or higherthenAsk a person
    • Unsure: 0.15 up to 0.40thenAsk a person
    • No: below 0.15thenAccept

The fleet: who does what

Model tiers by role, not brands: you choose the models. Strong reasoning models plan and reconcile, small fast models do the wide work, and the judge is a decision model from a different family, so it does not share the workers' blind spots.

  1. Planner

    A strong reasoning model fixes the scope of the request and gives each brief the guidance for its exemption only.

    Decisions here:1. Scope check

  2. Workers

    Small fast workers hold one brief each: scope, personal data, commercial confidence, legal privilege, security and safety.

    Designed for 8 to 400 agents, one worker task per one document under one exemption brief. Each worker receives only its own unit.

    Decisions here:2. Small worker or strong model

  3. Judge, from a different model family

    A decision model from a different family checks each flag against the quoted passage and the guidance test.

    Decisions here:3. Evidence check5. Evidence check

  4. Reconciler

    A strong reasoning model merges flags per document, removes duplicates and keeps passages the briefs disagree on.

    Decisions here:4. Conflict check

  5. Accountable person

    The information access officer decides every exemption and the public interest balance, and signs the response.

    Decisions here:6. Person decides

Checked before anything is accepted

  • Each flag quotes the passage and names the guidance test applied
  • Out-of-scope calls quote the request wording relied on
  • Duplicates and email chains are linked so one passage gets one consistent flag

What comes back

  • Per-document scope call and flagged passages with reasons
  • Passages where briefs disagree
  • Inconsistent treatment of repeated passages
  • Schedule of documents for the decision record

What to measure

  • Flags the information officer accepts
  • Sensitive passages the officer found that were not flagged
  • Officer time per document
  • Cost per document

Names of measures only. No result is claimed for this template.

Templates open in the workspace chat with the ask filled in. Nothing runs until you send it.

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