Home Office
| Case Outcome | Complaint upheld FOI 36: Complaint not upheld |
| Subject Matter | Central government |
| Court | Information Commissioner (UK) |
| Date | 24 August 2021 |
| Record Number | IC-66449-W4Z5 |
| Respondent | Home Office |
Reference: IC-66449-W4Z5
1
Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA)
Decision notice
Date: 24 August 2021
Public Authority: Home Office
Address: 2 Marsham Street
London
SW1P 4DF
Decision (including any steps ordered)
1. The complainant requested information about meetings and discussions
concerning the establishment of the Windrush Cross-Government
Working Group. The Home Office initially refused the request in its
entirety, citing section 35(1)(a) (formulation of government policy, etc)
of FOIA. During the course of the Commissioner’s investigation, the
Home Office partly revised its position. Whilst the Home Office
maintained that section 35(1)(a) applied to the request in its entirety, it
cited additional exemptions which it said applied to some parts of the
withheld information; namely, section 35(1)(b) (ministerial
communications) for one letter, section 38 (health and safety) and
section 40(2) (personal information). The Home Office also said that in
the event that the Commissioner were to find that section 35(1)(a) is
not engaged to any information, or section 35(1)(b) to one Ministerial
letter, it would seek to rely on section 36 (prejudice to effective conduct
of public affairs) ‘in the alternative’.
2. The Commissioner’s decision is that the Home Office was not entitled to
rely on section 35(1)(a) for any part of the request. However, she finds
that section 35(1)(b) is engaged in relation to the one letter, and that
the public interest favours maintaining the exemption. Having next
considered the Home Office’s reliance on section 36 ‘in the alternative’
applied to all the remaining withheld information, the Commissioner
finds section 36(2)(b)(i) and (ii) to be engaged (bar the one letter
withheld under section 35(1)(b)). She also finds that the balance of the
public interest favours maintaining section 36. As a result, she has not
found it necessary to consider the Home Office’s reliance on section
36(2)(c), also cited for the withheld information in its entirety, nor
sections 38 and 40 additionally cited to some parts of the withheld
information.
Reference: IC-66449-W4Z5
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3. The Commissioner does not require any steps as a result of this notice.
Background
4. The Windrush Cross-Government Working Group brings together
stakeholders and community leaders with senior representatives from a
number of government departments. The purpose of, and terms of
reference for, the Working Group are published online.
1
5. The inaugural meeting was held on 25 June 2020.
Request and response
6. On 29 June 2020, the complainant wrote to the Home Office via the
WhatDoTheyKnow.com website
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and requested information in the
following terms:
“…I would like to request the following information regarding
meetings and discussions about the establishment of the
Windrush Cross-Government Working Group announced on
Monday 22 June 2020:
- Please provide the minutes of the internal Home Office or
cross-departmental meetings where the establishment of the
Windrush Cross-Government Working Group was discussed
- Please provide the agenda for these meetings and lists of
attendees
- Please provide any further documents circulated pertaining to
the discussion of the establishment of the working group,
basis for decisions on who to invite to participate, and other
matters arising from these discussions
I would like the information to be provided by email [email
address redacted] or through the What Do They Know website. If
my request is denied in whole or in part I ask that you justify all
deletions by reference to specific exemptions of the act. I will
also expect you to release all non-exempt material. I reserve the
1
Windrush Cross-Government Working Group: terms of reference - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
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https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/windrush_cross_g overnment_workin#outgoing-
1071805
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