Information Commissioner's Office

Ministry of Justice

9 May 2016, Central government

The complainant requested information about the provision of kosher food for Orthodox Jewish prisoners. The Ministry of Justice (the ‘MOJ’) provided the recorded information it held relevant to the request. During the investigation, the MOJ confirmed it should instead have relied on section 21 of FOIA (information accessible to applicant by other means) for parts 1, 2, 3 and 5 of the request, because it said the information requested is available to the complainant in the prison library. For part 4, it provided the information it held in recorded form and also some discretionary information following enquiries with the Head of Catering at the specified prison. The Commissioner’s decision is that, on the balance of probabilities, the MOJ has provided all the recorded information it holds relevant to the request, where that information is not covered by section 21 of FOIA. He finds that the MOJ properly relied on section 21 because the information is reasonably accessible. However, the MOJ failed to provide its refusal to respond within the statutory 20 working days framework and thereby breached section 17(1) of FOIA. He does not require the MOJ to take any remedial steps.

FOI 1: Not upheld FOI 17: Upheld FOI 21: Not upheld