Information Commissioner's Office

Legal Services Commission

1 November 2007, Police and criminal justice

The complainant had complained to the public authority about his ex-wife’s claim for legal aid in relation to a Family Dispute Resolution Hearing. As a result of this complaint, it was discovered that his ex-wife had been receiving legal aid which she was not eligible for. The certificate was revoked and the complainant informed of this. He then made a request for details regarding the investigation into the matter and whether the public authority had referred it to the police for consideration of prosecution. The public authority refused to provide the details of the outcome of the investigation and chose to neither confirm nor deny whether the matter had been referred to the police. Initially the section 40 exemption was cited for both items but on internal review the public authority chose instead to not confirm or deny whether the matter had been referred to the police on the basis that the section 31(1)(g) and (2)(a) exemption applied. The Commissioner’s decision is that the pubic authority correctly applied the section 40 exemption in both instances and that it was therefore also correct to neither confirm nor deny whether the referral to police was made.

FOI 17: Upheld