Information Commissioner's Office

Department for Communities and Local Government

25 June 2007, Central government

The complainant asked DCLG for all of the background papers relating to the decision to call in a planning application for determination by the Secretary of State. DCLG provided some information but withheld internal emails and a minute, draft call-in letters, a draft Ministerial submission, the final submission and an internal case referral proforma, citing the exception in regulation 12(4)(e) of the Environmental Information Regulations 2004. DCLG subsequently agreed to release the draft call-in letters, and the factual elements of both the draft submission and the final submission. The Commissioner upheld DCLG’s decision in relation to the internal emails and minute, but found that, in this case, the public interest in maintaining the exception did not outweigh the public interest in disclosing all of the information contained in the draft submission, final submission and proforma, although he agreed that the names of junior officials could be redacted. This decision notice is currently under appeal to the Information Tribunal.

EIR 12.4.e: Not upheld