Department for International Trade
- Date 20 September 2022
- Sector Central government
- Decision(s) EIR 12.4.a: Not upheld, EIR 12.5.a: Not upheld, EIR 12.5.e: Not upheld, EIR 13.1: Not upheld
The complainant submitted a request to the Department for International Trade (DIT) seeking correspondence between DIT officials and officials at the British Embassy in Lima which mention ‘Tullow Oil’ or ‘Natural Protected Areas’. DIT provided the complainant with some information falling within the scope of his request but redacted parts of it on the basis of sections 40(2) (personal data), 27(1)(a) (international relations), 35(1)(a) (formulation or development of government policy) and 43(2) (commercial interests) of FOIA. It subsequently sought to withhold the redacted information on the basis of regulations 12(4)(e) (internal communications), 12(5)(a) (international relations), 12(5)(e) (confidentiality of commercial or industrial information) and 13(1) (personal data). The Commissioner’s decision is that the redacted information is exempt from disclosure on basis of EIR regulations cited by DIT and that in respect of the qualified exceptions the public interest favours withholding the information.