The complainant requested information on the amount of money his opponent in legal proceedings had received in legal aid. The Legal Services Commission refused the request on the basis that the information constituted personal data about the complainant’s opponent and so was exempt under section 40(2) of the Act. The Commissioner agrees with the LSC that the information is personal data. Furthermore, although it is likely that some of the information requested was already known by the complainant as a consequence of his involvement in the legal proceedings, disclosing the information to the public at large, which is the test under section 40(2), would breach the Data Protection Act 1998. Therefore the information is exempt and the Commissioner upholds the LSC’s decision to refuse the request.
Section of Act/EIR and Finding: FOI 40 – Complaint Not upheld
Citations:
[2006] UKICO FS50076855
Links:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Information
Updated: 10 May 2022; Ref: scu.533586
