25 February 2015, Central government
The complainant submitted a request to the Cabinet Office which sought information about the ‘Carr Inquiry’. The Cabinet Office confirmed to the complainant that it held information falling within the scope of the request but it needed further time to consider the balance of the public interest test. To date, the Cabinet Office has failed to inform the complainant of its conclusions regarding the public interest test. By failing to do so the Commissioner has concluded that the Cabinet Office breached section 17(3) of FOIA. The Commissioner requires the public authority provide the complainant with a substantive response to his information request. If the Cabinet Office decides to withhold any information then the complainant should be provided with a refusal notice giving a full explanation as to why the information will not be disclosed, including details of any public interest test considerations. The public authority must take these steps within 35 calendar days of the date of this decision notice.
FOI 1: Upheld FOI 10: Upheld FOI 17: Upheld