HM Revenue and Customs

The complainant has requested copies of a business case on staff pay put to HM Treasury. HM Revenue & Customs withheld the requested information and relied on section 36 of FOIA (prejudice to the effective conduct of public affairs) in order to do so. The Commissioner’s decision is that HMRC is entitled to rely on section 36(2)(b)(ii) of FOIA to withhold the information and that the public interest favours maintaining the exemption. The Commissioner does not require further steps.