Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

The complainant requested information about the provision allocations to local authorities in relation to the Local Authority Housing Fund (LAHF). The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (the DLUHC) refused the request citing section 35(1)(a) of the FOIA (formulation of government policy). The Commissioner’s decision is that the DLUHC was not entitled to rely upon section 35(1)(a) to withhold the requested information. The Commissioner requires the public authority disclose the withheld information – the indicative allocation to local authorities under the LAHF.