Department for Business Innovation and Skills

The complainant requested information concerned with the tendering process for the delivery of marketing workshops from Business Link West Midlands (BLWM) whose freedom of information responsibilities have now been assumed by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS). The Commissioner’s decision is that the majority of the requested information is not held. His decision regarding the remaining information is that BIS was entitled to withhold this information as its disclosure would breach the Data Protection Act 1998. Accordingly the information is exempt from disclosure under FOIA by virtue of the personal data exemption at section 40(2). However, the public authority breached sections 1(1)(a) and 10(1) of the FOIA by not informing the complainant that it held no information relating to certain parts of the request. The Commissioner does not require the public authority to take any further steps. Information Tribunal EA/2014/0163 withdrawn.