Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
- Date 8 August 2023
- Sector Central government
- Decision(s) FOI 27: Not upheld
The complainant has requested information regarding material or evidence that was considered to delist Nizar al-Assaad from the UK sanctions list. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) would neither confirm nor deny (NCND) holding the requested information citing sections 23(5) (Security bodies) 24(2) (Safeguarding national security), 27(4) (International relations), 35(3) (Government policy) and 40(5) (personal information) of FOIA.
The Commissioner’s decision is that the FCDO is entitled to rely on section 27(4) of FOIA to refuse to confirm or deny whether it holds the requested information. However, the Commissioner finds that the FCDO breached section 10 (time limits for compliance) of FOIA by not responding to the request within 20 working days.
The Commissioner does not require FCDO to take any steps as a result of this decision.