Electoral Commission

The complainant submitted a number of requests to the Electoral Commission about its guidance on the use of commonly used names on election nomination papers. The Electoral Commission provided some information but also withheld further information on the basis of section 42 of the FOIA, the legal professional privilege exemption. The Commissioner has concluded that the Electoral Commission was entitled to rely on this exemption and furthermore that it does not hold any further information detailing internal discussions about this guidance other than that already located. However, the Commissioner has concluded that the Electoral Commission breached sections 10(1) and 17(1) of FOIA by failing to respond to the complainant’s requests within 20 working days.