Information Commissioner's Office

National Audit Office

9 October 2008, Education (College)

The complainant made a freedom of information request to the National Audit Office for details of hospitality it had provided including information on hospitality attended by its head, the Comptroller and Auditor General. The public authority provided some information on hospitality costs but withheld further details under section 36 of the Act (prejudice to effective conduct of public affairs). The public authority subsequently released some further information outside of the twenty working day deadline but continued to withhold the names of the individuals in receipt of hospitality under section 36 of the Act. The Commissioner has investigated the complaint and has concluded that whilst the section 36 exemption is engaged the public interest in maintaining the exemption does not outweigh the public interest in disclosing the information. The Commissioner also considers that section 40 of the Act would not prevent the disclosure of the names of the people in receipt of hospitality and has ordered this information to be disclosed within 35 calendar days of the date of this notice. By failing to disclose the information to the complainant the Commissioner has found the public authority in breach of both section 1(1)(b) and section 10(1) of the Act.

FOI 1: Upheld FOI 10: Upheld