Information Commissioner's Office

Summary: The complainant requested disclosure of the travel allowance claimed by a specific MP for the year in which they were announced namely 2002-2003 broken down by car travel, rail travel,air travel and taxi travel together with total cost of travel claimed for a spouse. An aggregate figure for travel expenses for each MP is already published but this figure is not broken down into different categories of transport, as the complainant requested, and also excludes the cost of travel claimed for the spouse. The House of Commons withheld the information on the basis that it was exempt under section 40(2) of the Act. The Commissioner found that the requested information is personal information which can be disclosed without contravening any of the principles of the Data Protection Act 1998 and, consequently, that the exemption provided by section 40(2) of the Act does not apply. Therefore the Commissioner's decision is that the House has breached section 1(1) of the Act in that it incorrectly withheld the requested information on the basis that it was exempt under section 40(2). The Information Tribunal has ruled on this decision and has dismissed the appeal.
Section of Act/EIR & Finding: FOI 40 - Complaint Upheld