Cabinet Office

The complainant requested minutes of meetings relating to discussions on the use of face coverings during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Cabinet Office withheld the minutes, citing section 35(1)(b) (ministerial communications) of the FOIA as its basis for doing so.
The Commissioner’s decision is that section 35(1)(b) is engaged, but that the public interest favours disclosure of the withheld information.
The Commissioner requires the Cabinet Office to take the following steps to ensure compliance with the legislation.
• Disclose the withheld information, as identified separately to the Cabinet Office.
The Cabinet Office 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 the FOIA and may be dealt with as a contempt of court. Information Tribunal FT/EA/2024/0136 under appeal.