Home Office

The complainant requested the “asylum and immigration file data” for a named individual. The Home Office refused to provide the requested file in its entirety, citing the FOIA exemptions at sections 21(1) (information accessible to applicant by other means), 31(1)(e) (law enforcement), 38(1)(a) (health and safety), 40(2) (personal information) and 41(1) (information provided in confidence). During the course of the Commissioner’s investigation, the Home Office withdrew its reliance on section 21(1) and additionally cited section 38(1)(b) (health and safety) for a small amount of the withheld information. The Commissioner’s decision is that the Home Office was entitled to withhold the requested information in its entirety under sections 31(1)(e), 40(2) and 41(1) of FOIA. He did not deem it necessary to consider the Home Office’s reliance on sections 38(1)(a) and (b) as he has determined that that information was caught by section 41(1) of FOIA. The Commissioner requires no steps to be taken as a result of this decision.