Information Commissioner's Office

House of Commons

15 February 2016, Central government

The complainant requested a list of individuals who had been allocated parliamentary passes sponsored by political parties. The House of Commons refused the request under section 40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act) on the grounds that the relevant information was third party personal data and its disclosure would breach one of the data protection principles. The Commissioner’s decision is that the House of Commons rightly viewed the information as third party personal data. However, the Commissioner’s view is that there is a legitimate interest in disclosure which outweighs the rights of the individuals concerned. Therefore, the Commissioner’s decision is that the information should be disclosed. The Commissioner requires the public authority disclose the names of those individuals allocated passes by parliamentary parties. 

FOI 40: Upheld