Information Commissioner's Office

Department for Children Schools and Families

29 May 2008, Central government

The complainant asked DCSF for a copy of information that it held relating to the academy of which he is a proprietor, including a letter which brought the existence of the academy to DCSF’s notice. The Commissioner found that DCSF had correctly applied the exemptions in sections 31, and 42 and that, in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemptions outweighed the public interest in disclosing the information. He also found that the information contained in the letter was personal information relating to the complainant and was therefore exempt from disclosure under this legislation through the operation of section 40(1) and that the name of an official could be withheld under the exemption in section 40(2).The Commissioner also concluded that DCSF had breached sections 10(1) and 17(1) of the Act by late disclosure of the requested information, by failing to issue a refusal notice within 20 working days of receiving the request and by failing to cite all of the exemptions on which it was relying within that period.

FOI 31: Not upheld