Charity Commission

The complainant has requested information about an action plan issued to The Islamic Centre Manchester charity in 2018, and details of any complaints received about the charity. The Charity Commission (‘the Commission’) initially relied on section 31(1)(g) of FOIA (law enforcement) to withhold the information requested in questions one and three and advised that it did not hold the information requested in question four of the request. During the course of the Commissioner’s investigation, the Commission advised that it intended to release a redacted copy of the action plan, but it considered that section 31(1)(g) FOIA still applied to the redacted information. The Commission also advised that it considered that sections 40 and 41 also applied to question three of the request, as well as section 31. Sections 40 and 41 concern personal data and information provided in confidence, respectively. The Commissioner’s decision is that the Commission should disclose the redacted copy of the action plan as intended, and that it is entitled to rely on section 31(1)(g) of FOIA to withhold the redacted information and the information requested in question three. He has also found that the Commission is in breach of sections 10(1) and 17(5) by failing to provide a response and a relevant refusal notice within 20 working days. The Commissioner requires the Commission to take the following step: to ensure compliance with the legislation: Disclose a redacted copy of the action plan as intended.