20 August 2015, Central government
The complainant requested information about small claims in the County Court. The Ministry of Justice (the ‘MOJ’) passed the request to Plymouth County Court to respond to under the ‘normal course of business.’ The Court then provided the complainant with a leaflet which it said addressed her request. The complainant, however, disagreed and twice requested the MOJ to carry out an internal review which the MOJ refused because it said that the request had not been handled under the FOIA. Whilst the Commissioner is satisfied that the request constitutes a valid request under FOIA, he has concluded that the request was legitimately dealt with in the normal course of business. He also finds that the request has been answered and that the complainant did not suffer any detriment as a result of the way in which the request was handled by the MOJ. He does not require the public authority to take any steps. This decision notice is currently under appeal to the Tribunal.
FOI 16: Not upheld