Cabinet Office

The complainant has requested information concerning the names of all those individuals who refused an honour between 1999 and 2010, and who have since died.
The Cabinet Office initially refused the request under section 12 (costs limit) but revised their position at internal review, stating that they did not hold the information requested. The Cabinet Office maintained this position during the Commissioner’s subsequent investigation.
The Commissioner has found, on the balance of probabilities, that the Cabinet Office do hold information requested. The Commissioner therefore requires the Cabinet Office to take the following steps to ensure compliance with the legislation.
• Disclose the information held to the complainant (ie the information regarding the five individuals considered in this Decision Notice) or issue a valid refusal notice.
The Cabinet Office 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.