Home Office

The complainant has requested a copy of the Declaration of Intent between the UK and France, agreeing a coordinated approach to tackling migrant smuggling. The Home Office refused to disclose the information, citing sections 23(1) (Information supplied by, or relating to, bodies dealing with security matters), 27(1)(a) (International relations) and 31(1)(a) (Law enforcement) of the FOIA. The Commissioner’s decision is that the Home Office was entitled to rely on section 23(1) of the FOIA to withhold the information. However, in taking excessive time to conduct the internal review, he found that the Home Office did not act in accordance with the code at section 45 of the FOIA. The Commissioner requires no steps as a result of this decision.