Information Commissioner's Office

Summary: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) withheld from the complainant information about the Ministerial Direction, given by the Secretary of State for Defence to MOD-�s Permanent Under-Secretary on 30 July 2003, regarding the purchase of the Hawk advanced jet trainer aircraft. In deciding this matter, the Commissioner relied upon his decisions in earlier complaints by the same complainant against the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (reference FS50089556 -� the -�lead decision-�) and against the Office of Government Commerce (reference FS50093000 -� the -�OGC case-�) both concerning very closely related subject matter. The Commissioner decided that MOD had breached section 17(1)(b) and (c) of the Act for the failure to cite the section 26(1)(b) and 29(1)(a) exemptions which MOD later relied on before the Commissioner. Also section 17(1) for not providing an adequate refusal notice specifying the section 35(1)(a) and (b) and 43(2) exemptions and explaining why they were engaged within 20 working days. MOD had also breached section 1(1)(b) for the failure to provide the information that should have been disclosed and section 10(3) for the failure to provide it within a reasonable period of time. The Commissioner decided that MOD had validly applied the exemptions provided at sections 35(1)(b) and 43(2) of the Act and, for the information to be disclosed, that the public interest in maintaining those exemptions did not outweigh the public interest in disclosing the information. The Commissioner did not proceed to consider the application of any other exemptions to the information he decided should be withheld under the section 35(1)(b) and 43(2) exemptions. With regard to the information he ordered to be disclosed, the Commissioner decided that MOD had correctly applied the exemptions provided at sections 35(1)(a) and (b), and 43(2) of the Act but that the public interest in maintaining the exemptions did not outweigh the public interest in disclosing the information. He decided that the section 26(1)(b) exemption was not engaged and that he would not consider the section 29(1)(a) exemption. He decided that the personal information of junior officials should be withheld under section 40(2) of the Act. The Commissioner-�s decision is that MOD partially dealt with the request for information in accordance with the Act.
Section of Act/EIR & Finding: FOI 10 - Complaint Upheld, FOI 17 - Complaint Upheld, FOI 26 - Complaint Upheld, FOI 35 - Complaint Partly Upheld, FOI 40 - Complaint Not upheld, FOI 43 - Complaint Partly Upheld