Home Office

The complainant has requested information from the Home Office concerning matters of bullying, harassment and discrimination in the Security and Anti-Corruption Unit. The Home Office provided some information but withheld other information on the basis of section 40(2) of FOIA. The complainant disputed the application of this exemption; argued that the Home Office held further information than that disclosed to him and was dissatisfied that the Home Office only provided him with some information at the internal review stage. The Commissioner’s decision is as follows: The Home Office does not hold any further information falling within the scope of the requests beyond that previously disclosed or withheld on the basis of exemptions; the minutes from the working group falling within the scope of request 1 are not exempt from disclosure on the basis of section 40(2) of FOIA; the information the Home Office holds falling within the scope of request 3 is exempt from disclosure on the basis of section 40(2) of FOIA; the Home Office did not breach any requirements of FOIA by disclosing information at the internal review stage rather than when it initially responded to the request. However, the Home Office did breach sections 1(1)(b) and 10(1) of FOIA by failing to disclose an unredacted copy of the minutes from the working group. The Commissioner requires the public authority to provide the complainant with an unredacted copy of the minutes from the working group.