Department of Health and Social Care (Central government) [2018] UKICO fs50680313 (15 May 2018)
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Department of Health and Social Care
The complainant originally made a request to what was then the Department of Health for information relating to the use of the NHS logo by the Vote Leave Campaign in the run up to the referendum on the UK’s membership of the European Union. His original request was refused, but he later resubmitted that request as he considered it possible that with the passage of time the sensitivity of the information may have declined. When making this new request he also requested all the information held about the Department’s handling of his original request. In response to this new request a limited amount of information was disclosed to the complainant. Ultimately however section 36 – prejudice to the conduct of public, affairs was applied to all the remaining information, section 42 – legal professional privilege was also applied to a significant amount of this information, with sections 41 – information provided in confidence, and section 40 – personal information applied to a limited amount of the withheld information. The Commissioner’s decision is that the DHSC has correctly withheld the majority of the information under a combination of sections 36(2)(b) and 42. The exemption provided by section 36(2)(c) cannot be relied on in the public interest. Section 40 does apply in respect of the personal data of junior officials. However there is a very limited amount of information which is not exempt under any of these exemptions, and to which section 41 has not been applied. This information has been identified in a confidential annex supplied exclusively to the DHSC. The public authority has also breached section 10 in that it failed to respond to the request within the statutory time limit. The Commissioner requires the public authority to disclose the information identified in the confidential annex.
FOI 42: Complaint partly upheld
FOI 10: Complaint upheld
FOI 40: Complaint not upheld
FOI 36: Complaint partly upheld
Decision notice: fs50680313
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URL: http://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKICO/2018/fs50680313.html
