Information Commissioner's Office

Summary: The complainant requested information from the Department for Children, Schools and Families now known as the Department for Education (the -�DfE-�) regarding a -�Review of Academies-�. The public authority withheld the information under sections 36(2)(b)(i), 36(2)(b)(ii) and 36(2)(c). During the course of the investigation the public authority also sought to rely upon section 44 to withhold some of the information, though this exemption was later withdrawn. The public authority subsequently disclosed some of the previously withheld information which is now in the public domain. After investigating this complaint the Commissioner has decided that the exemption at 36(2)(c) is not engaged. He finds, however, that sections 36(2)(b)(i) and 36(2)(b)(ii) of the Act are engaged and he has concluded that the public interest in maintaining these exemptions is outweighed by the public interest in disclosure and therefore he has ordered that the information should be disclosed. Additionally the Commissioner has decided that the DfE breached sections 1(1)(b), 10(1) and 17(1).
Section of Act/EIR & Finding: FOI 10 - Complaint Upheld, FOI 17 - Complaint Upheld, FOI 36 - Complaint Upheld