Information Commissioner's Office

Department for Transport

27 May 2008, Central government

The complainant requested information held by the public authority in relation to the proposal for the development of a second runway at Stansted Airport. The public authority provided some information but initially withheld other information under section 35 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. It subsequently sought to rely on regulations 12(4)(e) (internal communications) and 12(5)(b)(course of justice) of the Environmental Information Regulations 2004. The Commissioner decided that the public authority correctly applied regulation 12(5)(b) to the information it argued was covered by this exception. However, he decided that it incorrectly applied regulation 12(4)(e) to the remaining information and ordered that it be disclosed to the complainant. He also found that the public authority had not complied with regulation 14(3) as it failed to state in its refusal notice that regulations 12(4)(e) and 12(5)(b) were applicable to the withheld information.

EIR 12: Partly upheld