Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
- Date 28 February 2024
- Sector Central government
- Decision(s) FOI 27: Upheld, FOI 35: Upheld, FOI 40: Upheld
The complainant submitted a request to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) seeking revisions to a statement on “Freedom of Religion and Belief and Gender Equality” issued in July 2022 following an international conference hosted by the UK. The FCDO confirmed that it held information falling within the scope of the request but considered this to be exempt from disclosure on the basis of sections 35(1)(a) (formulation or development of government policy), 27(1)(a), (c) and (d) (international relations) and 40(2) (personal data) of FOIA. The Commissioner’s decision is that sections 27(1)(a), (c) and (d) and section 40(2) do not provide a basis to withhold the requested information and that whilst section 35(1)(a) is engaged, the public interest favours disclosing the information caught by this exemption.