On 14 October 2010, the complainant asked the Northern Ireland Office for information relating to a complaint he had made against the office of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland. The NIO refused to disclose that information under sections 36(2)(b)(i) and (c) of the FOIA. Following the Commissioner’s intervention, the NIO disclosed some of the information to the complainant, however it continued to withhold the remainder ‘the withheld information’, citing sections 36(2)(b)(i), 36(2)(c) and 40(2) as a basis for non-disclosure. The Information Commissioner’s decision is that the NIO correctly applied section 36(2)(b)(i) (prejudice to the effective conduct of public affairs). Since his decision is that this section applies to all of the withheld information, he has not considered the NIO’s application of sections 36(2)(c) and 40(2).
Section of Act/EIR and Finding: FOI 36 – Complaint Not upheld
Citations:
[2011] UKICO FS50365422
Links:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Information
Updated: 30 April 2022; Ref: scu.531198