British Film Institute

The complainant has requested information relating to film certification. The British Film Industry (BFI) provided some of the information falling within the scope of the request but withheld the remainder of the information citing section 41(1) of FOIA (information provided in confidence).
The Commissioner’s decision is that BFI has failed to demonstrate that disclosure of the information would constitute an actionable breach of confidence under section 41(1) of FOIA, and therefore, it is not entitled to rely on this exemption.
The Commissioner requires BFI to take the following steps to ensure compliance with the legislation.
• Disclose the withheld information or issue a fresh response that does not rely on section 41 of FOIA.
The public authority must take these steps within 30 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 Act and may be dealt with as a contempt of court.