Cabinet Office

The complainant has requested the minutes of the Honours and Decorations Committee concerning discussions and decisions regarding the ‘Medals Review’. The Commissioner’s decision is that the Cabinet Office has correctly engaged the exemptions at sections 35(1)(a) and 37(1)(b) but she considers that the public interest in disclosure outweighs the public interest in maintaining the exemptions. The Commissioner requires the public authority to take the following steps to ensure compliance with the legislation. Disclose the requested information with limited redaction in accordance with paragraph 39 of this notice. The public authority must take these steps within 35 calendar days of the date of this decision notice. Failure to comply may result in the Commissioner making written certification of this fact to the High Court pursuant to section 54 of the Act and may be dealt with as a contempt of court. This decision notice is currently under appeal to the Tribunal.