Department for Work and Pensions v Information Commissioner & Anor

Department for Work and Pensions v Information Commissioner & Anor

Section 22 FOIA did not apply because, at the time of the requests, there was no settled intention to publish the specific information sought; decisions on publication and redactions were made only shortly before scheduled publication. The public interest in transparency and scrutiny of the Universal Credit programme, which affects millions and involves significant public funds, outweighed the generic and unsubstantiated arguments for withholding under sections 35 and 36 FOIA, except for a small amount of information where the chilling effect was substantiated.

Parties
Appellant: Department for Work and Pensions; 1st Respondent: Information Commissioner; 2nd Respondent in Ea/2022/0328: John Slater
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
11 October 2024
Procedural Posture
Appeal / First Tier Tribunal Decision
Outcome
Appeal in EA/2022/0328 allowed in part; appeals in EA/2023/0034 and EA/2023/0036 dismissed.
Legal Topics
Freedom of Information, Public Interest Test, Government Policy Disclosure, Section 22 FOIA, Section 35 FOIA, Section 36 FOIA
Administrative Law Information Law Freedom of Information Public Interest Test Government Policy Disclosure Section 22 FOIA Section 35 FOIA Section 36 FOIA

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Parties

Department for Work and Pensions

Appellant

Information Commissioner

1st Respondent

John Slater

2nd Respondent in Ea/2022/0328

Procedural Posture

Appeal / First Tier Tribunal Decision

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether section 22 FOIA (information intended for future publication) applies to the requested documents
  2. 2 Proper application of the public interest balancing test under sections 35(1)(a) and 36 FOIA
  3. 3 Whether the Information Commissioner erred in the application of exemptions and the public interest test

Ratio Decidendi

Section 22 FOIA did not apply because, at the time of the requests, there was no settled intention to publish the specific information sought; decisions on publication and redactions were made only shortly before scheduled publication. The public interest in transparency and scrutiny of the Universal Credit programme, which affects millions and involves significant public funds, outweighed the generic and unsubstantiated arguments for withholding under sections 35 and 36 FOIA, except for a small amount of information where the chilling effect was substantiated.

Court Disposition

Appeal in EA/2022/0328 allowed in part; appeals in EA/2023/0034 and EA/2023/0036 dismissed.

Orders

  • Substituted decision notice issued in EA/2022/0328: paragraphs 56 and 58 and the first 15 words of paragraph 61 of DN1 struck out; two documents in RFI3 withheld as per closed annex.
  • No substituted decision notice in EA/2023/0034 and EA/2023/0036; appeals dismissed.