Education and Skills Funding Agency

In a seven part request, the complainant has requested information about St Mary’s College, Blackburn. The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) addressed part 4 of the request and advised it does not hold the information requested in part 5. ESFA has now disclosed some information it previously withheld but it is maintaining its reliance on section 36(2) of FOIA (prejudice to effective conduct of public affairs) with regard to information within scope of the remaining five parts of the request. It has also applied section 43(2) (commercial interests) to part 3. The Commissioner’s decision is as follows: On the balance of probabilities, ESFA does not hold the information requested in part 5 of the request and complied with section 1(1) in respect of that part. ESFA correctly applied sections 36(2)(b)(i), 36(2)(b)(ii) and 36(2)(c) of FOIA to information it is withholding within scope of parts 1,2, 3, 6 and 7 of the request. The public interest favoured maintaining those exemptions. ESFA breached section 10(1) and section 17(1) as its response and refusal were provided outside the 20 working day requirement. The Commissioner does not require ESFA to take any corrective steps.