Information Commissioner's Office

National Offender Management Service

28 July 2008, Central government

The complainant requested information relating to the compensation payments made to prisoners and former prisoners. The public authority replied that section 43 (commercial interests) was engaged and that it would carry out a public interest determination within a target timeframe. The Commissioner finds that section 17(1)(c) was breached at this point as the public authority failed to inform the complainant why the exemption was engaged. The timeframe was readjusted on two separate occasions before the complainant complained to the Commissioner. It was also extended a further time after the Commissioner set a deadline. The Commissioner finds a delay of over six months in carrying out a public interest determination to be in breach of section 17(3). The Commissioner has also found the public authority in breach of section 1(1)(a), 1(1)(b) and section 10(1) of the Act. The public authority is required to issue a notice explaining why section 43 is engaged in relation to each part of the request and where it believes the balance of the public interest lies. If the public authority concludes that the balance of the public interest favours disclosing the information or no longer considers the exemption to apply, the information should be provided to the complainant.

FOI 1: Upheld FOI 1: Upheld FOI 10: Upheld