Department of Health

The complainant has requested copies of the transcripts of interviews conducted with seven named individuals who were interviewed as part of the Morecambe Bay Investigation. The interviews were conducted in open and closed sessions. The Department of Health (DH) withheld the information from the open sessions under section 22 – information intended for future publication, section 41 – information provided in confidence and section 40(2) – personal information. It applied section 41 to all the information contained in the transcripts of the closed sessions and also applied section 40(2) to some of that information. The Commissioner’s decision is that DH is not entitled to rely on section 22 to withhold the transcripts of the open session. However some of that information is exempt under section 40(2). In respect of the closed sessions, the Commissioner finds that the majority of it is exempt under section 41 and some additional information can be withheld under section 40(2). There is an annexe to this notice which identifies, by page and line of the relevant transcripts, the information that can be withheld under the exemptions cited. To ensure compliance with the legislation the Commissioner requires the public authority to disclose the remaining information. Information Tribunal appeal EA/2016/0246 allowed in part. Information Tribunal appeal EA/2016/0240 dismissed.