Ministry of Justice
- Date 20 October 2015
- Sector Central government
- Decision(s) FOI 1: Upheld, FOI 44: Not upheld
The complainant requested the metadata of the correspondence between the Legal Service Commission and particular legal organisations in the Luton area within a specified timeframe. The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) refused the request, citing the exemptions in sections 43(2) (commercial interests) and 44(1)(c) (prohibitions of disclosure) of the FOIA. The Commissioner has investigated MoJ’s application of section 44. His decision is that it was entitled to apply section 44(1)(c) to the requested information. However, he finds that MoJ breached section 1(1)(a) of FOIA by failing to confirm or deny whether it holds the requested information within the statutory time limit. He requires no steps to be taken as a result of this decision notice. Information Tribunal appeal EA/2015/0264 struck out.