Department for Education

The complainant made a freedom of information request to the Department for Education (DfE) for information regarding the award of a MBE to a named individual. The request was refused under the section 37(1)(b) (Honours) exemption and the section 40(2) (Personal information) exemption. The Commissioner’s decision is that the information is exempt under section 37(1)(b) and the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosure. The Commissioner requires no steps to be taken.