Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency

The complainant requested information concerning the network rationalisation of the DVLA, following the publication of a leaked document setting out the options for the network rationalisation. The public authority withheld the requested information by virtue of section 35(1)(a) of the Act. The Commissioner considered the withheld information and the DVLA’s application of section 35(1)(a) and concluded in this case that the exemption was engaged and that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighed the public interest in disclosure of the information. The Commissioner has also found that the DVLA breached section 10(1) through its handling of the request. The Commissioner requires no steps to be taken.