30 August 2007, Police and criminal justice
On the 01 January 2005 the complainant requested, a copy of two reports which were “ordered and received: (a) from Dr [name redacted] at the Royal Free Hospital, (b) From Professor [name redacted] /Unigenetics Ltd, at the Coombe Women’s Hospital, Dublin.” The complainant also asked for additional information relating to the funding by the Legal Aid Board (“LAB”) and the Legal Services Commission (“LSC”) of the MMR litigation. LSC refused the request under section 44 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (“the Act”), citing section 20 of the Access to Justice Act 1999 and section 38 of the Legal Aid Act 1988. The Commissioner does not uphold the complaint in this case as he is satisfied that these statutory bars engage the exemption at section 44 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. However the Commissioner finds that LSC did not comply with those duties set out in section 17(1) or17 (7) of the Act when they issued their refusal notice to the complainant.
FOI 17: Upheld