Equality and Human Rights Commission
- Date 3 December 2021
- Sector Other
- Decision(s) FOI 42(1): Not upheld, FOI 42(2): Not upheld
The complainant has requested information relating to the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s (‘EHRC’) investigation into the Labour party. The EHRC initially withheld all information that falls within the scope of the request under section 42 (legal professional privilege) of the FOIA. During the course of this investigation, the EHRC changed its stance to rely upon section 42(1) and section 42(2), the neither confirm nor deny provision. The Commissioner’s decision is that the EHRC is entitled to rely on section 42(1) in relation to part 2 of the request and that the public interest test favoured maintaining the exemption. The Commissioner also finds that the EHRC was entitled to rely on section 42(2) in relation to part 3 of the request, and that the public interest test favoured maintaining the neither confirm nor deny provision. The Commissioner requires the EHRC to take no further steps.