Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The complainant submitted a request to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) for communications between the Prince of Wales and FCO Ministers about the UN Climate Change Conference which took place in Paris in 2015. The FCO refused to confirm or deny whether it held any information falling within the scope of the request on the basis of section 37(2) of FOIA and regulation 13(5)(a) of the EIR. The Commissioner has concluded that the FCO is entitled to rely on section 37(2). However, she has also concluded that some of the requested information, if held, would constitute environmental information as defined by the EIR. In respect of such information the Commissioner has concluded that regulation 13(5)(a) is not engaged.