Information Commissioner's Office

Cabinet Office

29 October 2007, Central government

The complainant asked the public authority for information relating to freedom of information requests which had been referred to it by the Clearing House at the Department for Constitutional Affairs (now the Ministry of Justice): the name of its case management system, and specific details about all requests referred since 1 January 2005. He expressed a preference for the information in digital form. The public authority provided information relating to the first part of the request. In relation to the second, it confirmed that it had some of the information but was withholding it by virtue of the exemption contained in section 36(2)(c) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (‘the Act’). It reiterated this decision at internal review. The complainant complained to the Commissioner about the public authority’s decision and delay. The Commissioner decided that most of the withheld information did not engage section 36 and that the balance of the public interest test favoured disclosure of the remainder. He also decided that the public authority had breached section 17(1) by exceeding the statutory time limit for responding to the request. The Commissioner requires the public authority to disclose the information.

FOI 1: Upheld