George Greenwood v The Information Commissioner & Anor

George Greenwood v The Information Commissioner & Anor

The DHSC failed to conduct adequate searches for emails within the scope of the first request, omitting relevant accounts. The second decision notice was not in accordance with the law as it failed to consider information held on behalf of DHSC. Messages between Mr Hancock and Ms Coladangelo in WhatsApp groups are...

Source-derived case information.

Parties
Appellant: George Greenwood; First Respondent: The Information Commissioner; Second Respondent: Department of Health and Social Care
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
07 May 2024
Procedural Posture
Information Rights Appeal / First Tier Tribunal (general Regulatory Chamber) Judgment
Outcome
Appeal allowed
Legal Topics
Freedom of Information, Vexatious Requests, Adequacy of Search, Government Transparency, Public Interest
Information Law Administrative Law Freedom of Information Vexatious Requests Adequacy of Search Government Transparency Public Interest

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Parties

George Greenwood

Appellant

The Information Commissioner

First Respondent

Department of Health and Social Care

Second Respondent

Procedural Posture

Information Rights Appeal / First Tier Tribunal (general Regulatory Chamber) Judgment

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether DHSC conducted adequate searches for emails within the scope of the first request
  2. 2 Whether the second decision notice was in accordance with the law
  3. 3 Whether WhatsApp group messages are within scope of the second request

Ratio Decidendi

The DHSC failed to conduct adequate searches for emails within the scope of the first request, omitting relevant accounts. The second decision notice was not in accordance with the law as it failed to consider information held on behalf of DHSC. Messages between Mr Hancock and Ms Coladangelo in WhatsApp groups are correspondence within the scope of the second request. The narrowed second request is not vexatious as the DHSC did not demonstrate an unreasonable burden.

Court Disposition

Appeal allowed

Orders

  • DHSC must carry out further searches for emails, including private email addresses used by Mr Hancock and Ms Coladangelo's DHSC email, within 35 days.
  • DHSC must comply with the second request for correspondence between Matt Hancock and Gina Coladangelo relating to government business from 1 January 2021 to 29 June 2021, limited to emails and WhatsApp messages in 'Matt & his NEDs' and 'Level 4' groups, within 35 days.