Department for Education
- Date 4 October 2022
- Sector Central government
- Decision(s) FOI 10: Upheld, FOI 40: Not upheld
The complainant submitted a request for information under FOIA to the Teaching Regulatory Agency (“TRA”) requesting a list of all qualified teachers in England. The TRA is an executive agency of the Department for Education (“DfE”). The DfE confirmed it held the information but would not release the list as it was withheld under Section 40 (personal information) of FOIA. The Commissioner’s decision is that the DfE are correct to rely on section 40 in relation to the withheld information. However, the DfE failed to respond to the request within the statutory time frame of 20 working days and has therefore breached section 10(1) of FOIA. Information Tribunal FTT EA/2022/0350 appeal dismissed.