FS50208934

Decision Summary

• Case Ref: FS50208934
• Date: 2 March 2010
• Public Authority: Ministry of Justice
• Summary: The complainant made a Freedom of Information Act request to the Ministry of Justice for a copy of the Tasker report, a detailed report into corruption and mismanagement at HMP Wandsworth. Subsequent to the Commissioner’s intervention, the main body of the Tasker report was provided to the complainant’s satisfaction, subject to minor redactions in respect of section 40(2). However, during the course of the investigation the Ministry of Justice identified that it held further information in the form of seven annexes to the main report, which had been withheld from the complainant. It was very slow to supply the Commissioner with copies of the annexes, and it failed to identify to him which exemptions it was applying in respect of them. The Commissioner concluded that the annexes had not been included within the scope of the Ministry of Justice’s consideration of the request. In failing to issue a valid refusal notice in respect of the withheld annexes, the Commissioner therefore finds that the Ministry of Justice breached the time limit in section 17(1) of the Act. This Decision Notice therefore requires the Ministry of Justice to issue a refusal notice in compliance with section 17(1) in respect of the annexes. If the Ministry of Justice concludes that no exemption applies or if the exemption in question is qualified and the balance of the public interest favours disclosing the information, the annexes should be provided to the complainant.
• View PDF of Decision Notice: [1]

• Section of Act / Finding: FOI 17 - Complaint Upheld - Find other matching decisions