Information Commissioner's Office

Summary: The complainant requested any recorded information held on the decision to ban members of the police force from membership of the British National Party. The public authority refused the request, citing the exemptions provided by sections 35(1)(a) (formulation and development of government policy), 36(2)(b)(i) & (ii) (effective conduct of public affairs), 41(1) (information provided in confidence) and 42(1) (legal professional privilege). The conclusion of the Commissioner is that sections 35(1)(a) and 36(2)(b)(i) were applied correctly. As this conclusion relates to the entirety of the information withheld, it has not been necessary to also consider whether sections 41(1) and 42(1) were applied correctly. However, the Commissioner also finds that the public authority failed to provide a valid refusal notice within 20 working days of receipt and, therefore, failed to comply with section 17(1) and that the refusal notice was inadequate for the purposes of sections 17(1)(a), (b) & (c) and 17(3)(b).
Section of Act/EIR & Finding: FOI 17 - Complaint Upheld, FOI 35 - Complaint Not upheld, FOI 36 - Complaint Not upheld