Royal Holloway University of London

The complainant has requested information from Royal Holloway, University of London (the “university”) about its planning for a “no-deal” Brexit. The university refused to confirm or deny (“NCND”) whether it held the requested information under section 43(3) by virtue of section 43(2) - the exemption for commercial interests. The Commissioner’s decision is that the university was not entitled to issue a neither confirm nor deny response to the request. The Commissioner requires the public authority to take the following steps to ensure compliance with the legislation.

• The university is required to confirm or deny whether information falling within the scope of the request is held and either disclose that information or issue a valid refusal notice in respect of that information.