Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs

The complainant has requested information about awards made under the current Regional Development Programme for England (RDPE) funding scheme in Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire. DEFRA refused to comply with the request relying on section 14(1) of the FOIA. The Commissioner’s decision is that DEFRA has incorrectly applied section 14(1) of the FOIA. The Commissioner requires the public authority to take the following steps to ensure compliance with the legislation: if information is held and no exemption from section 1(1)(a) is claimed, disclose the information or issue a refusal notice compliant with section 17(1) citing a Part II exemption from the section 1(1)(b) duty.