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Cabinet Office

  • Date 17 July 2026
  • Sector Central government
  • Decision(s) FOI 21: Not upheld, FOI 35: Not upheld

The complainant requested information from the Cabinet Office about clause 18 of the Employment Rights Bill, concerning harassment by third parties. The Cabinet Office confirmed that it held information and relied on sections 35(1)(a)(formulation or development of government policy), 42(1)(legal professional privilege) and 21(1)(information accessible to the applicant by other means) of FOIA to withhold the requested information..The Commissioner’s decision is that the Cabinet Office was entitled to withhold the internal ministerial submission under section 35(1)(a). The Commissioner also finds that section 21(1) was engaged in respect of the public-domain information that was reasonably accessible to the complainant and that fell within parts of the request. However, the Cabinet Office’s signposting was insufficiently precise in places, including because it did not clearly map the public material to each part of the request and, in at least one respect, provided an incorrect or insufficiently precise web address.The Commissioner does not require the Cabinet Office to take any steps.