Department for Work and Pensions

The complainant made a request for information relating to the awarding of a major IT contract, including a copy of the agreement between the public authority and the winning bidder. The public authority withheld some of the information, citing section 43, and was slow to carry out an internal review of the decision, which it eventually upheld. The Commissioner found that the public authority had failed to demonstrate that the exemption at section 43 was engaged by the withheld information, and he therefore required it to be disclosed. He also found breaches of section 1(1)(b), section 10(1) and section 17(1)(b) in the way the request was handled. Information Tribunal appeal number EA/2010/0073 part-allowed.