The complainant requested a copy of an investigation report. The Council of Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine relied on section 40(2) of the FOIA (third party personal data) and section 36(2)(c) of the FOIA (prejudice to the effective conduct of public affairs) to withhold the information. The Commissioner’s decision is that not all of the withheld information is personal data and that only some of the withheld information that is personal data engages section 40(2) of the FOIA. Where the withheld information does not engage section 40(2), the Commissioner accepts that section 36 is engaged, but he considers that the public interest favours its disclosure. As the College failed to issue its refusal notice within 20 working days, it also breached section 17 of the FOIA. The Commissioner requires the College to take the following steps to ensure compliance with the legislation: disclose, to the complainant, the sections of the report identified in the Confidential Annex to this Notice.
FOI 17: Complaint upheld FOI 40: Complaint partly upheld FOI 36: Complaint upheld
Citations:
[2022] UKICO ic-96056
Links:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Information
Updated: 06 November 2022; Ref: scu.674785