Office of Qualifications and Examination Regulation

The complainant requested information from the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (“Ofqual”) relating to communications between the Secretary of State’s office and the Chief Regulators. Ofqual refused the request under section 14(1) of FOIA (vexatious requests).
The Commissioner’s decision is that the request was not a vexatious request.
The Commissioner requires Ofqual to take the following step to ensure compliance with the legislation.
• Issue a fresh response to the complainant, which does not rely on section 14(1) of FOIA.
Ofqual must take this step within 35 calendar days of the date of this decision notice. Failure to comply may result in the Commissioner making written certification of this fact to the High Court pursuant to section 54 of the Act and may be dealt with as a contempt of court.