Information Commissioner's Office

Summary: The complainant requested statistical data about the annual pass/fail figures for set tests at specified test centres. The public authority provided the data in anonymised form. The complainant was unhappy how the data was anonymised and requested an internal review. The public authority responded that it believed section 40(2) applied in respect to the data provided in the form suggested by the complainant. The complainant referred this case to the Commissioner. During the course of the investigation, the public authority also applied section 36(2)(c) to the withheld information. The Commissioner has considered the application of this exemption and finds that it is engaged. He also finds that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs that in disclosure. He therefore finds that section 36(2)(c) was appropriately applied in this case. He finds that the public authority breached the procedural sections 17(1)(b), 17(1)(c) and 17(3), but finds that no remedial steps need to be taken.
Section of Act/EIR & Finding: FOI 17 - Complaint Upheld, FOI 36 - Complaint Not upheld