Chief Constable Surrey Police

The complainant requested the disclosure of all forms of communication between Surrey Police and named organisations and individuals on specified dates. Surrey Police refused to confirm or deny that it held the requested information, citing the ‘neither confirm nor deny’ provisions within FOIA, specifically sections 23(5) - information supplied by, or relating to, bodies dealing with security matters and 40(5) – personal information.The Commissioner’s decision is that Surrey Police was entitled to rely on both sections 40(5A) (personal information of the requester) and 40(5B)(a)(i) (third party personal information) of FOIA in relation to the requested information. As he has found section 40(5) to have been properly engaged, the Commissioner has not found it necessary to consider section 23(5) of FOIA. No steps are required as a result of this notice.

Keywords: Investigation