Information Commissioner's Office

Durham University

25 July 2016, Education (University)

The complainant has made a series of requests to the University of Durham (the University) for information and data relating to the 11+ transfer tests administered by the Centre for Evaluation & Monitoring (CEM), a research group within the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University. The Commissioner has only been required to consider the University’s response to one request however, which asked for the correct answers for a particular section of an exam paper. The University refused to comply with this request under the ‘commercial interests’ (section 43(2)) exemption to disclosure in FOIA. The Commissioner has found that section 43(2) of FOIA is engaged and has decided that in all the circumstances the public interest in disclosure is outweighed by the public interest in favour of maintaining the exemption. The Commissioner does not therefore require the University to take any steps.

FOI 43: Not upheld