HM Treasury

The complainant requested copies of notes of meetings between the public authority, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), and the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and, copies of correspondence between the public authority and DCMS, in relation to the government’s decision to cease funding the TV licence concession for persons aged 75 and over, and for the BBC to take over the responsibility. The public authority withheld the information held within the scope of the request on the basis of the exemptions at sections 35(1)(a) and (b), 36(2)(a)(i), 36(2)(b)(i) and(ii), 36(2)(c), 40(2), 42(1) and 43(2) FOIA. The Commissioner concluded that the public authority was entitled to rely on section 35(1)(a) as the basis for withholding the information in scope.