Information Commissioner's Office

Home Office

16 November 2017, Central government

The complainant requested information relating to deportations and forced removals of foreign nationals. To date he has not received a substantive response. The Commissioner’s decision is that, although it has complied with section 17(1) in stating which exemption is to be relied upon, by failing to complete its public interest test considerations within a reasonable time period the Home Office has breached section 17(3) of the FOIA. The Commissioner also found breaches of sections 1 and 10 of the FOIA (general right of access and time for compliance respectively). The Commissioner requires the Home Office to take the following steps to ensure compliance with the legislation: issue a substantive response to the complainant’s request, either disclosing the requested information or issuing a refusal notice which includes the outcome of the public interest considerations.

FOI 1: Upheld FOI 10: Upheld FOI 17: Upheld