HM Revenue and Customs

The complainant requested information relating to pay awards. HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) suggested that, based on one interpretation of the request, the information would be subject to the exemption for prejudice to the effective conduct of public affairs (section 36. HMRC also confirmed that clarification should have been sought from the complainant but did not explicitly ask the complainant to provide this clarification. The Commissioner’s decision is that HMRC has breached section 16(1) of the FOIA as the request did not have a single objective reading, but that HMRC did not seek clarification of the request under section 1(3) of the FOIA. The Commissioner requires HMRC provide the complainant with advice and assistance by requesting clarification of the request.