Cabinet Office

The complainant has requested photographs and related information that were submitted to the Second Permanent Secretary’s Investigation into alleged social gatherings on government premises during Covid restrictions. The Cabinet Office refused to provide the information citing sections 31(1)(g) (law enforcement)), 21(1) (information otherwise accessible to the applicant), 40(2) (personal information) and 41(1) (information provided in confidence) of FOIA. The Commissioner’s decision is that section 31(1) of FOIA is not engaged for parts one, two and three of the request and consequently that information must be disclosed. However, the exemption is engaged for parts four and five of the request and the public interest favours maintaining the exemption. The Commissioner has also recorded a breach of section 17(1) of FOIA. The Commissioner requires the Cabinet Office to take the following steps to ensure compliance with the legislation.
• Disclose the information requested at parts one, two and three of the request.