Department for Housing, Communities and Local Government

The complainant requested correspondence exchanged between the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, now the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), and the Duchy of Cornwall in relation to the Leasehold and Freeholds Reform Bill. The MHCLG provided some information and withheld the remainder under sections 35(1)(a) (formulation or development of government policy) and 40(2) (personal data). The Commissioner’s decision is that the MHCLG correctly applied section 35 to the request and the public interest favours maintaining the exemption. The Commissioner also finds that the MHCLG breached section 10(1) of the FOIA as it failed to respond to the request within the statutory timescale. The Commissioner does not require any steps to be taken.