The Pensions Regulator

The complainant has requested information relating to a specific pension fund. The Pensions Regulator (“the public authority”) refused to either confirm or deny that some of the requested information is held, citing section 44 (prohibitions on disclosure), and confirmed that the remaining information wasn’t held. The Commissioner’s decision is that, under section 44(2) of FOIA, the public authority was correct to refuse to either confirm or deny that some of the requested information was held. On the balance of probabilities, the public authority also doesn’t hold the information it denied holding so has fully complied with its obligations under section 1 (general right of access to information). However, the Commissioner has recorded a procedural breach of section 17 (refusal notice), since the public authority failed to cite, at refusal stage, the appropriate exemption it came to rely upon. The Commissioner does not require further steps.