Information Commissioner's Office

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You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> Information Commissioner's Office >> Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (Health) [2020] UKICO fs50901560 (13 March 2020)
URL: http://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKICO/2020/fs50901560.html
Cite as: [2020] UKICO fs50901560

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Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency

The complainant has requested information associated with a Commission on Human Medicines’ Expert Working Group report on Hormone Pregnancy Tests. The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) released some information and withheld the remainder under sections 36(2)(b) and 36(2)(c) of the FOIA (prejudice to effective conduct of public affairs) and section 40(2) (personal data). Its position is that the public interest favours maintaining the section 36 exemptions. The complainant disputes MHRA’s reliance on section 36 to withhold some of the information she has requested. The Commissioner’s decision is as follows: The disputed information engages the exemptions under section 36(2)(b) but not that under section 36(2)(c). The public interest favours disclosing the withheld information. The Commissioner requires MHRA to take the following steps to ensure compliance with the legislation. Release the information being withheld under section 36(2)(b), having first redacted all the personal data from it. The public authority must take these steps within 35 calendar days of the date of this decision notice. Failure to comply may result in the Commissioner making written certification of this fact to the High Court pursuant to section 54 of the Act and may be dealt with as a contempt of court.

FOI 36: Complaint upheld

Decision notice: fs50901560