British
and Irish Legal Information Institute
Freely Available British and Irish Public Legal Information
[Home] [Databases] [World Law] [Multidatabase Search] [Help] [Feedback]
Information Commissioner's Office
You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> Information Commissioner's Office >> Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (Central government) [2024] UKICO 284055 (15 July 2024)
URL: http://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKICO/2024/284055.html
Cite as: [2024] UKICO 284055
[New search] [Printable PDF version] [Help]
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
The complainant submitted a request to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) seeking briefing notes prepared for the then Prime Minister, David Cameron, for his trip to China in December 2013. The FCDO confirmed that it held some information falling within the scope of the request but it considered this to be exempt from disclosure on the basis of sections 27(1)(a), (c) and (d) (international relations), 35(1)(a) (formulation or development of government policy), 43(2) (commercial interests) and 40(2) (personal data) of FOIA. (Albeit during the course of the Commissioner’s investigation, the FCDO confirmed that it was prepared to disclose some of this information.) It also relied on sections 23(5) (security bodies) and 24(2) (national security) of FOIA to refuse to confirm or deny whether it held any further information falling within the scope of the request. The Commissioner’s decision is that: Of the information which the FCDO has confirmed it holds, this information is exempt from disclosure on the basis of section 27(1)(a) of FOIA and the public interest favours withholding this information. The only exception to this finding is the information which the FCDO has indicated it is now prepared to disclose to the complainant; the FCDO is not entitled to rely on sections 23(5) and 24(2) to refuse to confirm or deny whether it holds any further information falling within the scope of the request; and, the FCDO breached section 17(3) of FOIA by failing to complete its public interest assessments in a reasonable time.FOI 17: Complaint upheld FOI 27: Complaint not upheld FOI 24: Complaint upheld FOI 23: Complaint upheld
Decision notice: 284055