Information Commissioner's Office

Summary: The complainant requested disclosure of a number of documents acknowledged to have been leaked to Damian Green MP. The Home Office confirmed it held the requested information but refused to provide it on the basis that it was exempt from disclosure by virtue of sections 31 (investigations and proceedings), 36 (prejudice to effective conduct of public affairs) and 40 (personal information) of the Act. The Commissioner has investigated and found that the exemptions provided by sections 31 and 36, as applied by the Home Office, are not engaged. He therefore orders release of the information withheld under these exemptions, disclosure regarding section 40 to be in accordance with his guidance on the disclosure of the personal information of public authority staffs. The Commissioner has also identified a series of procedural shortcomings on the part of the public authority.
Section of Act/EIR & Finding: FOI 10 - Complaint Upheld, FOI 17 - Complaint Upheld, FOI 31 - Complaint Upheld, FOI 36 - Complaint Upheld, FOI 40 - Complaint Not upheld