Department for Communities (Northern Ireland)

The complainant requested information relating to a review of the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland. The Department for Communities NI (the DfC) claimed that the request was not valid as the requestor had not used his real name. It therefore refused to comply with the request. The Commissioner’s decision is that the DfC has failed to demonstrate that the request was not valid and, on the balance of probabilities, she considers that it is valid. As the DfC has failed to respond to a valid request within 20 working days it has therefore breached section 10 of the FOIA. The Commissioner requires the DfC to take the following steps to ensure compliance with the legislation: issue a substantive response, under the FOIA, to the request.