Attorney General's Office

The complainant requested any information held on the question of whether the UK left the EU on 29 March 2019. In subsequent correspondence with the AGO, he made a further request for specific information. The Attorney General’s Office (‘the AGO’) treated the two as separate requests, which the complainant objected to. In respect of the first request, it disclosed some information, said that some information was exempt from disclosure under section 32(1)(a) (court records) of the FOIA and would neither confirm nor deny whether it held further information, citing section 35(3)(formulation of government policy) by way of section 35(1)(c) of the FOIA. In respect of the second request, it told the complainant that it did not hold the requested information. The complainant disputed that such a response was ever sent to him. He also disputed its claim not to hold the information. The Commissioner’s decision is that the AGO was entitled to treat the first and second requests as separate requests for information. In respect of the first request, she found that it cited sections 32(1)(a) and 35(3) correctly, although it breached the timeliness provisions of sections 1 and 10 of the FOIA. In respect of the second request, she found that on the balance of probabilities, the AGO did not hold the information described. She found no breach of sections 1 or 10 of the FOIA in respect of that request.