asked Her Majesty’s Government:

Whether a government department may refuse to disclose information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 on the grounds that it would exceed the cost limit, when the relevant information has already been obtained in excess of the cost limit but the department wishes to cite the cost limit exemption. [HL4204]

Yes. Where a public authority estimates that the cost of complying with a request would exceed the appropriate limit, as set out in the Freedom of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004, the public authority may refuse to answer the request under Section 12 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Estimates of whether a request will exceed the appropriate limit need to be carried out on a case-by-case basis, but where the public authority has already obtained and compiled the relevant information, it is unlikely that the appropriate limit will be exceeded and the request refused on cost grounds.