The complainant asked the Ministry of Justice (the ‘public authority’) to provide information relating to representations made by The Queen or the Royal Household regarding UK Freedom of Information law. The public authority withheld the disputed information on the basis of the exemptions at sections 35(1)(a) (formulation or development of government policy), 37(1)(a) (communications with Her Majesty), 40(2) (personal data) and 41(1) (information provided in confidence) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. The Commission’s decision is that the exemption in section 37(1)(a) is engaged and that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs that in disclosure. Therefore, he has not considered the applicability of the other exemptions. The public authority’s handling of the request also resulted in a breach of a procedural requirement of the Act as identified in this Notice.
Section of Act/EIR and Finding: FOI 10 – Complaint Upheld, FOI 17 – Complaint Upheld, FOI 37 – Complaint Not upheld
[2010] UKICO FS50285971
Bailii
England and Wales
Information
Updated: 13 December 2021; Ref: scu.531793