Department for Education
- Date 22 November 2023
- Sector Central government
- Decision(s) FOI 10: Upheld, FOI 35: Not upheld, FOI 36: Not upheld, FOI 43: Not upheld
The Commissioner’s decision is that the Department for Education (DfE) is entitled to rely on FOIA exemptions under section 35(1)(a)(formulation of government policy), section 36(2)(b)(ii) and 36(2)(c) (prejudice to the effective conduct of public affairs) and section 43 (commercial interests) to withhold information in a business case about LocateEd. DfE breached sections 10(1) and 17(1) of FOIA as it didn’t communicate non-exempt information or issue a refusal notice in respect of exempt information within the statutory timeframe. It’s not necessary for DfE to take any corrective steps.