Cabinet Office

Summary wording for website: The complainant requested unpublished digital photographs taken at a named individual’s ‘leaving do’. The Cabinet Office neither confirmed nor denied holding the requested information, citing sections 31(3) (law enforcement) and 40(5B) (personal information) of FOIA. The Commissioner’s decision is that the Cabinet Office is not entitled to refuse to confirm or deny holding the requested information under sections 31(3) and 40(5) of FOIA. The Cabinet Office is required to confirm or deny whether or not it holds recorded information of the nature specified in the request in accordance with section 1(1)(a) of FOIA. It is also required to comply with section 1(1)(b) of FOIA unless it does not hold any recorded information or considers some or all of it is exempt from disclosure under FOIA. If it is the latter, the Cabinet Office is then required to issue an appropriate refusal notice in accordance with section 17 of FOIA.