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4.1 As noted above, only the Parliamentary authorities can certify this exemption and it would be unwise to claim it without the benefit of a certificate unless Departments are confident of its application. The exemption is subject to the usual 20-day limit for responses. These factors will need to be built into Departments' handling of requests; they will need to approach the relevant parliamentary authorities in good time for them to issue the certificate (if they choose to do so) or confirm that parliamentary privilege is not involved, and still give themselves time to respond to the request for the information within the 20-day limit. This should therefore be done in parallel with any consideration as to whether or not other exemptions may apply.
4.2 A certificate issued by the relevant authority of either House that exemption is required for the purpose of avoiding an infringement of the privileges of the relevant House is conclusive evidence of that fact. If, therefore, information is withheld on the basis of the necessity of avoiding infringement of parliamentary privilege, there is no need to cite another exemption.