Cabinet Office

The complainant has requested information prepared for Gordon Brown in the event that he became Prime Minister again following the 2010 general election. The Cabinet Office eventually sought to rely on section 36 (prejudice to the effective conduct of public affairs) as its basis for doing so. It failed to conduct an internal review. The Commissioner’s decision is that the Cabinet Office is not entitled to rely on section 36. In failing to provide a response in accordance with its timeliness obligations under FOIA, it contravened section 10 of the FOIA. For reasons which are unique to the circumstances of this case, the Commissioner does not require the Cabinet Office to take steps in respect of this request. Information Tribunal appeal EA/2020/0237 appeal dismissed.