Secretary of State for the Home Department (Home Office)

The complainant requested a list of private companies contracted to provide hotel or temporary accommodation for asylum seekers or irregular migrants from 2021 to 2024, including the total payments made to each company. Ultimately, the Home Office provided a list of the companies as requested, but refused to provide the total expenditure data for each of those contracted companies, citing section 43(2) of FOIA, the exemption for commercial interests. The Commissioner’s decision is that the Home Office was entitled to rely on section 43(2) of FOIA for the reasons set out in this notice. No steps are required as a result of this decision.