Information Commissioner's Office

Office for National Statistics

23 October 2007, Central government

The complainant requested information from the Office for National Statistics (‘the ONS’) relating to the 1921 census return. The ONS withheld the requested information, relying on the exemptions under sections 40(2), 41 and 44 of the Freedom of Information Act. In this case, the Commissioner’s decision is that the ONS has correctly applied the section 44 exemption. The Commissioner does not therefore require the ONS to take any steps in relation to this request. However, the Commissioner also finds that the ONS failed to comply with section 10(1) of the Act as it did not respond promptly to the complainant’s request. The ONS also breached section 17(7) of the Act by failing to provide the complainant with adequate details concerning the right to appeal to the Commissioner. Finally, the Commissioner finds that the ONS failed to meet the requirements of the section 45 Code of Practice in relation to its internal review in this case. An appeal was made to the Information Tribunal, but the appeal was dismissed.

FOI 17: Upheld