The complainant requested details of meetings with Thomas Cook Group. The Department for Transport originally relied on section 22 of the FOIA (intended for publication) to withhold the requested information, before later relying on section 43 (commercial interests) and section 35 (formulation of government policy) or section 36 (effective conduct of public affairs) ‘in the alternative’ to withhold information. The Commissioner’s decision is that the DfT has not demonstrated that section 43(2) of the FOIA is engaged and is therefore not entitled to rely on that exemption. Section 35 of the FOIA is engaged, but the public interest favours disclosure. As the withheld information engages section 35, the section 36 arguments fall away. Finally, as the DfT failed to respond to the request within 20 working days, it also breached section 10 of the FOIA. The Commissioner requires the DfT to take the following steps to ensure compliance with the legislation: disclose the withheld information in Annex B – with the exception of the personal data it has already identified to the Commissioner.
FOI 43: Complaint upheld FOI 10: Complaint upheld FOI 35: Complaint upheld FOI 36: Complaint upheld
Citations:
[2021] UKICO IC-43187
Links:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Information
Updated: 29 August 2022; Ref: scu.662924