Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

The complainant requested information held by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), now the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), about its meetings with the Property Redress Scheme (PRS). The MHCLG initially refused the request, citing the exemption at section 43(2) (commercial interests) of FOIA. At the internal review stage, the MHCLG confirmed that it was also relying upon the exemption at section 40(2) (third party personal information) of FOIA to withhold the requested information. During the Commissioner’s investigation the MHCLG revised its position, stating that it was now relying on the exemption at section 14 (vexatious requests), on the basis that compliance would cause an unreasonable burden. The Commissioner’s decision is that the terms set out within the complainant’s request do not meet the criteria of 8(1)(c) (request for information) of FOIA, and as a result, it is not a valid request. Whilst the MHCLG is therefore not obliged to comply with the request, the Commissioner finds that it has not met its obligation under section 16 as it failed to offer reasonable advice and assistance to the complainant about how to make a valid request. The Commissioner requires the MHCLG to provide the complainant with advice and assistance to help bring their request within technical compliance of FOIA.