Ministry of Justice
- Date 15 January 2018
- Sector Central government
- Decision(s) FOI 40: Not upheld
The complainant requested information from the Ministry of Justice (the ‘MOJ’) about a named individual in connection with his possible employment during a specified timeframe. The MOJ refused to provide the requested information on the basis of section 40(2) of FOIA, although it released some related information, outside of FOIA, on a discretional basis. The Commissioner’s decision is that the MOJ was entitled to rely on section 40(2) of FOIA in relation to this request. However, by failing to issue its refusal notice within the statutory 20 working days’ timescale, the MOJ breached section 17(1) of FOIA. The Commissioner requires no steps to be taken as a result of this decision.