Cabinet Office

The complainant has requested information regarding ministerial misconduct complaints. The Cabinet Office refused to comply with the request under section 12(1) of the Act as it considered compliance with the request would exceed the appropriate limit. The Commissioner’s decision is that the Cabinet Office has not demonstrated that compliance with the request would exceed the appropriate limit and is therefore not entitled to rely on section 12(1). The Commissioner requires the public authority to issue a fresh response to the request which does not rely on section 12(1) of the Act. 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.