The complainant requested information about 20 cases listed on the Court Funds Office’s Unclaimed Balances index. The Ministry of Justice (the ‘MOJ’) provided the requested court locations but refused to provide the court claim/case numbers, citing both section 32 of FOIA (the exemption for court records) and 40 (the exemption for personal information). During the course of the Commissioner’s investigation, the MOJ additionally relied on section 31(1)(a) of FOIA (the exemption for the prevention or detection of crime). The Commissioner’s decision is that the MOJ has correctly relied on section 32(1)(c) of FOIA to withhold the remaining requested information for the reasons set out in this notice. As he has found section 32 to be engaged, the Commissioner does not deem it necessary to consider the MOJ’s reliance on sections 31 and 40 of FOIA. No steps are required as a result of this notice.
FOI 32: Complaint not upheld
Citations:
[2022] UKICO 160373
Links:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Information
Updated: 31 December 2022; Ref: scu.683070