Department for Education
- Date 11 April 2019
- Sector Central government
- Decision(s) FOI 10: Not upheld
The complainant requested information on organisations that have received concessionary loans from the Education and Skills Funding Agency. The Department for Education (DfE) withheld the information under FOIA section 36 (prejudice to the effective conduct of public affairs) and 43 (commercial interests) but released the information during the Commissioner’s investigation. The complainant remains dissatisfied with the length of time it took DfE to comply with its duties under section 1(1) of the FOIA. The Commissioner’s decision is as follows: DfE’s response to the complainant’s request of 5 March 2018 complied with section 10(1) of the FOIA as DfE complied with section 1(1) within 20 working days. The information has now been released and the Commissioner does not require DfE to take any steps to ensure compliance with the legislation.