Ministry of Justice
- Date 21 November 2023
- Sector Central government
- Decision(s) FOI 10: Upheld, FOI 35: Not upheld
The complainant requested a named minister’s email correspondence relating to compensation payments for victims of infected blood, during a specified time period. The Ministry of Justice (the ‘MOJ’) refused to provide the requested information, citing sections 35(1)(a) and (b) of FOIA (formulation of Government policy, etc) and section 40(2) (personal information). The complainant confirmed he was only concerned with the MOJ’s reliance on section 35 of FOIA. The Commissioner’s decision is that sections 35(1)(a) of FOIA is engaged and the balance of the public interest favours maintaining this exemption. As he has found section 35(1)(a) to apply, the Commissioner has not deemed it necessary to consider the MOJ’s additional reliance on section 35(1)(b) of FOIA. However, by failing to provide its initial response within 20 working days, the Commissioner also finds that the MOJ breached section 10 of FOIA. No steps are required as a result of this notice.