Department for Work and Pensions

The complainant has requested information on the interactions between Ministers of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and the Daily Telegraph. DWP relied on section 14(1) to refuse to comply with the request as it considered the request was vexatious. The Commissioner’s decision is that the request is not vexatious and DWP is not therefore entitled to rely on section 14(1). The Commissioner requires DWP to issue a fresh response to the request which does not rely on section 14(1). The public authority must take these steps 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 FOIA and may be dealt with as a contempt of court.

Keywords/themes: Burden, speculative request, fishing expedition