Department for Work and Pensions

The complainant has requested information about Internal Process Reviews (IPRs) carried out by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). DWP disclosed some of the information but withheld the majority of the requested information citing 35(1)(a) (formulation or development of government policy), section 40(2) (third party personal data), section 41(1) (information provided in confidence) and section 44(1)(a) (prohibition on disclosure). The complainant disputes DWP’s reliance on section 35(1)(a) to withhold the disputed information. The Commissioner’s decision is that section 35(1)(a) is not engaged for some of the disputed information and for the information that does engage section 35(1)(a), the Commissioner finds that the balance of the public interest favours disclosure. The Commissioner also finds that DWP has breached section 10(1) of FOIA as it failed to respond within the statutory timeframe. The Commissioner requires DWP to disclose the withheld IPRs with redaction of the information engaging sections 40(2) and 44. The public authority must take these steps within 35 calendar days of the date of this decision notice. Failure to comply may result in the Commissioner making written certification of this fact to the High Court pursuant to section 54 of FOIA and may be dealt with as a contempt of court. First-tier tribunal (General Regulatory chamber) information rights appeal EA/2022/0374 appeal withdrawn.