Information Commissioner's Office

Home Office

8 January 2008, Central government

The complainant made successive requests to the public authority for information relating to the Identity Cards Bill: the memorandum (and drafts) advising on European Convention of Human Rights obligations which were submitted to the Legislative Programme Committee of the Cabinet; background briefing papers for Ministers in response to amendments tabled by opposition parties at the Committee Stage; and similar information at the Report Stage. The public authority withheld the information, citing section 35(1)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (‘the Act’) for all of the requests; section 42 for the first and second requests; and section 36(2)(b)(i) for part of the second request. The Commissioner concluded that all of the information in the second request fell within section 35 so that section 36(2)(b)(i) was not engaged. He decided that the information in all three requests had been properly withheld under section 35(1)(a) because the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighed the public interest in disclosure. Since that was the case he did not go on to consider the application of section 42.

FOI 35: Not upheld