Information Commissioner's Office

Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs

6 December 2017, Central government

The complainant has requested various pieces of information relating to DEFRA’s ‘Consultation on Guidance to Natural England on licences to control the risk of bovine tuberculosis from badgers’. DEFRA responded providing some of the requested information. It confirmed that it did not hold some of the requested information and cited regulation 12(4)(a) of the EIR and advised the complainant that it was withholding other information under a variety of exceptions in the EIR. With regards to DEFRA’s initial application of regulation 12(4)(c), the Commissioner has concluded that DEFRA was not entitled to rely on this exception. In respect of question 1 of the request, for the missing consultation response the Commissioner has concluded that DEFRA has correctly applied the exception at 12(4)(a) of the EIR. For the Home Office consultation response, the Commissioner has concluded that DEFRA has incorrectly relied upon regulations 12(4)(d), 12(4)(e), 12(5)(a), 12(5)(b) and 12(5)(f) of the EIR for the non-disclosure of this information. Regarding questions 3, 4.a, 4.b, 5.a, 5.b, 6.a, 6.b of the request, the Commissioner has concluded that DEFRA is not entitled to rely on 12(4)(a) of the EIR. This is because the Commissioner is of the opinion that DEFRA does hold the requested information. Concerning question 7b and questions 10.a-e, 11.a-d, 12.a-d, 13.a-d and 14.a-d, the Commissioner’s decision is that DEFRA is entitled to rely on regulation 12(4)(a) of the EIR. In respect of question 8, the Commissioner has decided that DEFRA is entitled to rely on regulation 13 of the EIR in relation to the personal data of DEFRA staff. But it is not entitled to rely on regulation 12(4)(e) of the EIR for the non-disclosure of all other information being withheld in relation to this question. The Commissioner has also recorded a breach of regulation 5(2), 11 and 14(2) of the EIR in this case.

EIR 12(4)(c): Upheld EIR 12(4)(a): Partly upheld EIR 12(4)(e): Upheld EIR 12(5)(a): Upheld EIR 12(5)(b): Upheld EIR 12(5)(f): Upheld EIR 13: Not upheld EIR 5(2): Upheld EIR 11: Upheld EIR 14(2): Upheld