Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

The complainant requested information about the estimated cost of the Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre for optimism bias. The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (the DLUHC) stated that the information was already publicly accessible and as such it was exempt from disclosure under section 21 of the FOIA (information reasonable accessible to the applicant). The Commissioner’s decision is that the DLUHC has incorrectly applied section 21 to the request. The Commissioner requires the DLUHC to issue a fresh response to the request which does not cite section 21 of the FOIA.