Cabinet Office

The complainant has requested from the Cabinet Office the names, times and roles of all persons in attendance at 10 Downing Street on 18 December 2020. The Cabinet Office refused the request under section 14(1) of FOIA (vexatious requests). The Commissioner’s decision is that, at the statutory time for compliance, the Cabinet Office was not entitled to rely on section 14(1) of FOIA to refuse to provide the requested information. However, in the particular circumstances of this case, the Commissioner has exercised his discretion and does not require the Cabinet Office to take any steps. Even if he had ordered the Cabinet Office to respond to the request again, without relying upon section 14(1) of FOIA, the Commissioner’s decision is that the withheld information relating to the junior employees would engage section 40(2) of FOIA as it is the personal data of other individuals and disclosure would be unlawful.