13 June 2016, Central government
The complainant requested information relating to illegal immigration via Scottish ports. The Home Office refused to disclose this information and cited the exemption provided by section 31(1)(e) (prejudice to the operation of the immigration controls) of the FOIA. The Commissioner’s decision is that section 31(1)(e) was cited correctly so the Home Office was not obliged to disclose this information. The Commissioner has also found, however, that the Home Office breached section 17(1) of the FOIA by delaying its response to the request.
FOI 17: Upheld FOI 31: Not upheld