University of Suffolk

The complainant requested parts of a parking contract and details of the tendering exercise. The Board of the University of Suffolk provided some information but relied on section 43(2) of FOIA (commercial interests) in order to withhold the remainder. The Commissioner’s decision is that the University has failed to demonstrate that section 43(2) of FOIA is engaged and is therefore not entitled to rely on this exemption to withhold information from the contract. He also considers that the University holds no information about the tendering exercise. The University breached section 10 and section 17 of FOIA in responding to the request. The Commissioner requires the University to take the following steps to ensure compliance with the legislation: disclose an unredacted copy of section 7 of the contract to the complainant.