Government Legal Department

The complainant made a 15-part request about the Government Legal Department’s (‘GLD’) roles and responsibilities. GLD addressed each part of the request, stating that some information was not held. It said that one part was not a request for recorded information and the remainder was exempt by virtue of section 21 of FOIA (reasonably accessible to applicant by other means). GLD provided advice and assistance as per section 16 of FOIA for some parts of the request. Ultimately, GLD explained that the majority of the requested information was not held and that section 21 of FOIA only applied to one part of the request. The Commissioner’s decision is that, on the balance of probabilities, where stated GLD does not hold the information requested. He also finds that GLD was entitled to rely on section 21 of FOIA for part of the request and that it complied with its advice and assistance obligations under section 16 of FOIA. No steps are required as a result of this notice.