Department of Justice Northern Ireland

The complainant made a request to the Northern Ireland Prison Service (NIPS) which is an agency within the Department of Justice (DoJ) in Northern Ireland. The Commissioner considers the DoJ to be the appropriate public authority in this case. The DoJ refused to provide the information citing section 35(1)(a) (formulation and development of government policy) of FOIA. The Commissioner’s decision is that the DoJ has correctly relied on section 35(1)(a) of FOIA. The Commissioner does not require any steps to be taken.