Home Office
- Date 14 August 2019
- Sector Central government
- Decision(s) FOI 1: Upheld, FOI 8: Upheld
The complainant has requested information about its visa and immigration partners from the Home Office (“HO”). The HO responded to the request but it was unclear whether or not this was under the terms of the FOIA. In response to the Commissioner’s enquiries it advised that it considered that it had responded in full to the request, albeit no actual information was provided, as relevant staff had provided responses based on their knowledge.
The Commissioner’s decision is that the HO’s response is not compliant with the requirements of the FOIA. In failing to provide a response which is compliant with the FOIA the HO has breached section 1 of the FOIA. The HO is required to issue a fresh response advising the complainant whether or not it holds any recorded information and, if so, it must either disclose that to him or issue a valid refusal notice.