Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy

The complainant requested information from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (“the BEIS”) about communications between the Secretary of State and a particular organisation since February 2021. By the date of this notice, the BEIS had not issued a substantive response to this request. The Commissioner’s decision is that the BEIS has failed to complete its deliberations on the balance of the public interest within a reasonable time and has therefore breached section 17(3) of FOIA. The Commissioner requires the BEIS to take the following step to ensure compliance with the legislation: Having confirmed whether or not information is held within the scope of the request: either disclose the requested information, if held, or, to the extent that information is to be withheld, issue a refusal notice in accordance with the requirements of section 17 of the FOIA.