Department for Business and Trade

The complainant has requested information on the parties lobbying for and against proposed legislation regarding audit and corporate governance after the publication of a particular draft of the statutory instrument. DBT provided information with redactions withheld in reliance on FOIA section 36 – Prejudice to the effective conduct of public affairs; section 43 – Commercial interests; section 41 – Information provided in confidence and section 40 – Personal information. The Commissioner’s decision is that DBT has appropriately relied on FOIA exemption 36(2)(b)(ii) – Prejudice to the effective conduct of public affairs and section 40(2) – Personal information. The Commissioner finds that DBT has breached FOIA section 10(1) (time for compliance) by failing to provide the complainant with the information it subsequently disclosed, within 20 working days. It has also breached FOIA section 17(1)by failing to provide a refusal notice within 20 working days. The Commissioner does not require further steps to be taken.

In relation to this Notice, DBT has raised concerns over the procedural breaches identified. The ICO has considered its comments and accepts that an error was made in identifying a breach of section 17(1). DBT acknowledged the request and in accordance with section 17(2) advised the applicant within 20 working days that it needed further time to consider the public interest test with regard to section 36. It also gave an estimate of when it expected to have concluded its deliberations. The deadline for response was further extended and DBT wrote again to the applicant. Therefore, DBT complied with section 17(2) and did not breach section 17(1). In relation to the considerable length of time taken to disclose some of the requested information the Commissioner accepts that, because the request was subject to a public interest extension of time, the timing of its disclosure did not constitute a breach of section 10(1). That particular subsection only relates to where the public authority is obliged to disclose the information within 20 working days following the request.