Department for Education

The complainant requested copies of the information used by the DfE in reaching its decision of 3/11/11 to refuse funding for Sandwell Council’s “Building Schools for the Future” (BSF) programme. The Commissioner’s decision is that the DfE has incorrectly relied upon s36 FOIA to withhold the information. The s35 exemption is engaged but the Commissioner has decided that the public interest in maintaining the exemption does not outweigh that of disclosure. The s42 exemption was correctly engaged in relation to parts of the information. The Commissioner has also determined that a small amount of information is exempt under s40(2). The Commissioner requires the DfE to disclose the information that had been withheld under s36 apart from that which is subject to the exemptions at s42 and s40(2). This decision notice is currently under appeal to the Tribunal.