Cabinet Office

The complainant submitted a request to the Cabinet Office seeking a blank copy of the Ministerial declaration of interests form (both the version that applied in July 2022 and the version applicable at the time of the request in January 2023). The Cabinet Office confirmed that it held the requested information but it considered this to be exempt from disclosure on the basis of sections 36(2)(b)(i) and (c) (effective conduct of public affairs) of FOIA. The Commissioner’s decision is that the withheld information is exempt from disclosure on the basis of sections 36(2)(b)(i) and (c) but that the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in maintaining the exemptions. Information Tribunal FTT EA/2023/0452 under appeal.