Foreign and Commonwealth Office
- Date 5 August 2019
- Sector Central government
- Decision(s) FOI 28: Not upheld, FOI 35: Not upheld
The complainant submitted a request to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) seeking information concerning the use of the Union flag during the First Minister of Scotland’s, Nicola Sturgeon, trips abroad. The FCO disclosed some information but sought to withhold further information on the basis of section 28(1) (relations within the UK) and section 35(1)(a) (formulation and development of government policy). The Commissioner has concluded that these exemptions provide a basis to withhold the information in question and that for both exemptions the public interest favours withholding the information.