Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The complainant submitted a request to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) seeking information regarding the issuing of Cartes de Sejour to British nationals in France. The initially responded by saying that it did not hold any information falling within the scope of the request. At the internal review stage it explained that it had located a small amount of information falling within part 3 of the request but it considered this to be exempt from disclosure on the basis of section 27(1)(a); it maintained that it did not hold any further information falling within parts 1 and 2 of the request. During the course of the Commissioner’s investigation the FCO located some further information in the scope of part 3 of the request and disclosed some of this to the complainant albeit withholding parts of it on the basis of sections 27(2) and 40(2) of FOIA. The Commissioner has concluded that the FCO is entitled to rely on sections 27(1)(a), 27(2) and 40(2) in the manner in which it has. She has also concluded that on the balance of probabilities the FCO does not hold any information falling within the scope of parts 1 and 2 of the request.