Information Commissioner's Office

House of Commons

6 August 2007, Central government

The complainant made a request to the House of Commons Treasury Committee for access to three files. The House refused to disclose all the information in two of the three files and some of the information in the third file as to disclose the information would infringe parliamentary privilege and is therefore exempt under section 34 of the Act. The House produced a certificate signed by the Speaker of the House of Commons certifying this, production of a certificate under section 34 is conclusive evidence that disclosure would infringe parliamentary privilege and so the Commissioner finds that section 34 (an absolute exemption) is engaged.

FOI 34: Not upheld